Nothing Impossible

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary, today, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, exhort us to vulnerability and surrender as preparation to accept the nudges of the Holy Spirit on our journey.

Our future

The Prophet Zechariah expands on the themes of the First Three Visions.

* [2:15] Many nations…my people: a way of expressing God’s relationship to people in covenant language. The covenant between God and Israel (see Jer 31:33; 32:38) is here universalized to include all nations.

* [2:16] The holy land: the Lord’s earthly territory, a designation found only rarely in the Old Testament. (Zechariah, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB, n.d.)

Judith assembles the people to display the Head of Holofernes.

* [13:12–20] Elements from chaps. 8–9 are echoed here. The assembly of the people at Judith’s return parallels the meeting of the town officials summoned by Judith in 8:10. Uzziah blesses Judith in 8:5 and again in 13:18–20. (Judith, CHAPTER 13 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Gospel of Luke is the announcement of the Birth of Jesus.

* [1:26–38] The announcement to Mary of the birth of Jesus is parallel to the announcement to Zechariah of the birth of John. In both the angel Gabriel appears to the parent who is troubled by the vision (Lk 1:11–12, 26–29) and then told by the angel not to fear (Lk 1:13, 30). After the announcement is made (Lk 1:14–17, 31–33) the parent objects (Lk 1:18, 34) and a sign is given to confirm the announcement (Lk 1:20, 36). The particular focus of the announcement of the birth of Jesus is on his identity as Son of David (Lk 1:32–33) and Son of God

* [1:32] Son of the Most High: cf. Lk 1:76 where John is described as “prophet of the Most High.” “Most High” is a title for God commonly used by Luke (Lk 1:35, 76; 6:35; 8:28; Acts 7:48; 16:17).

* [1:34] Mary’s questioning response is a denial of sexual relations and is used by Luke to lead to the angel’s declaration about the Spirit’s role in the conception of this child (Lk 1:35). According to Luke, the virginal conception of Jesus takes place through the holy Spirit, the power of God, and therefore Jesus has a unique relationship to Yahweh: he is Son of God.

* [1:36–37] The sign given to Mary in confirmation of the angel’s announcement to her is the pregnancy of her aged relative Elizabeth. If a woman past the childbearing age could become pregnant, why, the angel implies, should there be doubt about Mary’s pregnancy, for nothing will be impossible for God.

* [1:43] Even before his birth, Jesus is identified in Luke as the Lord.

* [1:45] Blessed are you who believed: Luke portrays Mary as a believer whose faith stands in contrast to the disbelief of Zechariah (Lk 1:20). Mary’s role as believer in the infancy narrative should be seen in connection with the explicit mention of her presence among “those who believed” after the resurrection at the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 1:14). (Luke, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB, n.d.)

Nancy Shirley wonders as a mother (and grandmother/great grandmother), what Mary thought about her future.

Those of us who are parents remember how many questions arose for us as we first thought about our children’s future.  Even before we saw their beautiful, wrinkled faces, we anticipated.  Who would they look like?  Will they be healthy?  What will they be when they grow up?  Did Mary deal with that myriad of questions?  Did Mary have any idea of her baby’s future?  Did she know the sacrifice He would make for us?  So many questions in my mind of how a young, innocent girl could take on this enormous responsibility seemingly without anxiety rather with a pure, open heart.  There is only one explanation: unwavering FAITH!

This song represents the essence of Mary so clearly that I must have it here for today: Hail Mary, Gentle Woman

Since we are close to the Nativity, I have to include my favorite version of Mary, Did You Know? It capture the many questions, we have as parents about the future of our children in the unique circumstance that Mary faced. (Shirley, 2023)

Don Schwager quotes “Mary conceives the Creator of all things,” by an anonymous early author from the Greek church.

"Gabriel flew down from the vault of heaven and came to Nazareth; standing before the virgin Mary, he cried to her, 'Rejoice! You shall conceive a son more ancient than Adam, the Creator of all things and Savior of those who cry to you. Rejoice, pure virgin!' Gabriel brought from heaven good tidings to the Virgin, and he cried out to her, 'Rejoice! You shall conceive him whom the world cannot contain; he shall be contained within your womb. You shall bear him who shone forth from the Father before the morning star!' (Psalm 110:3).

"The co-eternal Word of the Father who has no beginning, not being parted from the things on high, has now descended here below, in his boundless love taking pity on fallen humankind. He has assumed the poverty of Adam, clothing himself in a form strange to him." (excerpt from STICHERA OF THE ANNUNCIATION) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 1:26-38 notes that today, on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, we celebrate Mary’s apparitions to St. Juan Diego in Mexico in 1531. She who once said yes to God’s plan for her life saw this same disposition in Juan Diego. Calling him “the most humble of my sons,” she relied on him to communicate her request to the local bishop for a church to be built. Juan Diego obediently relayed her message, even though some of the people rejected and mocked him. The Lord honored his humility, and the miracle of Mary’s image imprinted on his tilma won over the bishop and Juan Diego’s critics.

Today, tell the Lord that you, too, want to be humble as Mary and St. Juan Diego were. Tell him that you want simply to do his will, and ask him to help you overcome any obstacle, like fear or rejection, that would keep you from carrying it out. As it did for Juan Diego, God’s plans will bear good fruit as you respond with a wholehearted yes to him.

“Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray that I may grow in humility. I want to see God’s will be done in me and through me.” (Meditation on Luke 1:26-38, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler notes the call in Zechariah to daughter Zion that God will restore her. He explains some of the imagery in the alternate reading from Revelation that points to the protection of Mary and the Church. The use of the Greek perfect tense in the greeting of Gabriel that Mary is full of grace indicates that this began in the past and continues in the present. Friar Jude notes that the overshadowing of Mary by the Holy Spirit is presenting her as the New Ark of the Covenant.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that Joan Chittister, Murshid Saadi Shakur Chishti, and Rabbi Arthur Waskow, writing from their traditions of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, believe we all share equally in God’s image, even amid our joint history of violence. If we don’t view everything as created in the image of God, what happens? We start picking and choosing: well, that’s created in the image of God, but that is not. But everything, everything, is created in the image of God.

What, then, does likeness mean? In the early centuries of Christianity, the Church Fathers concluded: image was our objective, unquestionable creation as a child or image of God. Likeness was our personal appropriation of that reality. Two people might equally be images of God, but perhaps only one chooses to become kind, forgiving, inclusive, accepting, and patient, full of the great virtues. We already have image, but we grow in likeness. There is a dynamism toward growth, universality, and an infinite love that we can’t get rid of. [2] (Rohr, 2023)

We ponder to understand that nothing is impossible for God as we celebrate the conversion of Mexico that began with Our Lady of Guadalupe.

References

Judith, CHAPTER 13 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved December 12, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/judith/13? 

Luke, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved December 12, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/1?26 

Meditation on Luke 1:26-38. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved December 12, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/12/12/847033/ 

Rohr, R. (2023, March 2). We Are All Images of God. CAC Daily Meditations 2023. Retrieved December 12, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/we-are-all-images-of-god/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved December 12, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=dec12a 

Shirley, N. (2023, December 12). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved December 12, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/121223.html 

Zechariah, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved December 12, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/zechariah/2?14 

According to Your Will

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today, the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, challenge our tendency to choose our plans over the Will of God for our life.

Santa Maria Maggiore

In the reading from the Prophet Isaiah, he gives Ahaz the Sign of Immanuel.

* [7:14] Isaiah’s sign seeks to reassure Ahaz that he need not fear the invading armies of Syria and Israel in the light of God’s promise to David (2 Sm 7:12–16). The oracle follows a traditional announcement formula by which the birth and sometimes naming of a child is promised to particular individuals (Gn 16:11; Jgs 13:3). The young woman: Hebrew ‘almah designates a young woman of marriageable age without specific reference to virginity. The Septuagint translated the Hebrew term as parthenos, which normally does mean virgin, and this translation underlies Mt 1:23. Emmanuel: the name means “with us is God.” Since for the Christian the incarnation is the ultimate expression of God’s willingness to “be with us,” it is understandable that this text was interpreted to refer to the birth of Christ. (Isaiah, CHAPTER 7, n.d.)

Psalm 40 is a thanksgiving for deliverance and a prayer for help.

* [Psalm 40] A thanksgiving (Ps 40:2–13) has been combined with a lament (Ps 40:14–17) that appears also in Ps 70. The psalmist describes the rescue in spatial terms—being raised up from the swampy underworld to firm earth where one can praise God (Ps 40:2–4). All who trust God will experience like protection (Ps 40:5–6)! The Psalm stipulates the precise mode of thanksgiving: not animal sacrifice but open and enthusiastic proclamation of the salvation just experienced (Ps 40:7–11). A prayer for protection concludes (Ps 40:12–17). (Psalms, PSALM 40, n.d.)

The reading from the Letter to the Hebrews proclaims one Sacrifice instead of many.

* [10:1–10] Christian faith now realizes that the Old Testament sacrifices did not effect the spiritual benefits to come but only prefigured them (Heb 10:1). For if the sacrifices had actually effected the forgiveness of sin, there would have been no reason for their constant repetition (Heb 10:2). They were rather a continual reminder of the people’s sins (Heb 10:3). It is not reasonable to suppose that human sins could be removed by the blood of animal sacrifices (Heb 10:4). Christ, therefore, is here shown to understand his mission in terms of Ps 40:5–7, cited according to the Septuagint (Heb 10:5–7). Jesus acknowledged that the Old Testament sacrifices did not remit the sins of the people and so, perceiving the will of God, offered his own body for this purpose (Heb 10:8–10). (Hebrews, CHAPTER 10, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Luke, the Birth of Jesus is foretold.

* [1:34] Mary’s questioning response is a denial of sexual relations and is used by Luke to lead to the angel’s declaration about the Spirit’s role in the conception of this child (Lk 1:35). According to Luke, the virginal conception of Jesus takes place through the holy Spirit, the power of God, and therefore Jesus has a unique relationship to Yahweh: he is Son of God.

* [1:36–37] The sign given to Mary in confirmation of the angel’s announcement to her is the pregnancy of her aged relative Elizabeth. If a woman past the childbearing age could become pregnant, why, the angel implies, should there be doubt about Mary’s pregnancy, for nothing will be impossible for God. (Luke, CHAPTER 1, n.d.)

Molly Mattingly observes that exactly nine months before Christmas, our contemplation of the beginning of Jesus’ life overlaps with our contemplation of his death. It’s as if we behold the entire Paschal Mystery in a small prism or seed today: “heaven and earth in little space,” as the anonymous medieval poet wrote in “Rosa Mystica.” It is no mistake that Catholic author J.R.R. Tolkien assigned the date March 25 as the day the One Ring was destroyed and the start of a new age in The Lord of the Rings: the Annunciation, in its smallness, marks the beginning of downfall for dark forces.

There are thousands of artistic renditions of this moment in salvation history. I’ll share three of my favorites. “Annunciation” by Henry Ossawa Tanner captures the smallness of the moment: Mary in her small house, with disheveled rugs and blankets; the light of an angel that does not overcome the space but retains an other-worldly glow; the open attentiveness on Mary’s face and the way she turns toward the angel combined with the confusion, fear, or hesitation in the rest of her posture. Perhaps this depicts the moment between Gabriel’s words, “for nothing will be impossible for God,” and Mary’s response. When I have prayed imaginatively with Mary, there is a deep strength in her posture when she decides freely that yes, she will carry Christ into the world. (Mattingly, 2023)

Don Schwager quotes “Do you wish to be great?,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"Just imagine the incredible kindness and mercy! He was the only Son, but He did not want to remain alone. So that humans might be born of God God was born of humans. Begotten of God  is He through Whom we were created - Born of a woman is He through Whom we are to be re-created. The Word first wished to be born of humans, so that you might be assured of being born of God" (excerpt from Sermon on John 2, 13) (Schwager, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler explains the migration of the “almah” of Isaiah through the Greek translation of virgin used by Luke. The blood of bulls and goats proclaimed a transfusion of life into the heart of sinners prior to Jesus' obedience to the Will of God. Friar Jude shares a model for us in the vulnerability and surrender of Mary’s theophany.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces spiritual writer Adele Ahlberg Calhoun who describes how Jesus looked for “teachability” in those who followed him.

Jesus was passionate about those with ears to hear. He was attracted to those who willingly admitted how much they didn’t know. People who could lay aside their prejudices and entertain something new were often the recipients of Jesus’ transforming word. Jesus is still looking for teachable disciples. How teachable are we? Do we hide behind our knowledge and feel uncomfortable being the learner? Will we be the student again and again and again? (Rohr, 2023)

We ponder the “yes” of Mary that establishes vulnerability, surrender, trust, and love as the disposition that reveals the Will of God.

References

Hebrews, CHAPTER 10. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved March 25, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/hebrews/10? 

Isaiah, CHAPTER 7. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved March 25, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/7?10 

Luke, CHAPTER 1. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved March 25, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/1?26 

Mattingly, M. (2023, March 25). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved March 25, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/032523.html 

Psalms, PSALM 40. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved March 25, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/40?7 

Rohr, R. (2023, March 25). Cultivating a Beginner's Mind: Weekly Summary — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved March 25, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/cultivating-a-beginners-mind-weekly-summary-2023-03-25/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved March 25, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=mar25a