
Gospel
Lk 1:26-38 (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/1?26)
The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”
But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”
But Mary said to the angel,
“How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?”
And the angel said to her in reply,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God.”
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.
Reflection
Every time I read this passage I am astounded at Mary’s selflessness, courage and faith. She had to have been afraid when out of the blue an angel appeared to her saying “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” It only says she was “greatly troubled” and “pondered what sort of greeting this might be”, but I can only imagine the fear, shock and confusion she must have felt. And the angel Gabriel continued his message with reassurance to her saying “do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God and Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus”. Now I don’t know if it’s just me but this would do little to reassure me and only stoke my fears and leave me with more questions than answers.
To put this all into perspective Mary learns that she will be the one to carry Jesus, conceived through the Holy Spirit, and on top of that also learns that her relative Elizabeth in her old age has conceived a child (“For nothing will be impossible for God”) and Mary’s only response to all of this is “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word”. The faith in saying those words…after receiving the shock of a lifetime with this news and yet her response is not one out of fear but of trust. She had the courage to say yes to God and to the future and plan he laid out and had in store for her.
Mary's example challenges us to examine our own responses to God's call in our lives. Do we approach God's will with fear and hesitation, or do we respond with the same courage and trust that Mary displayed? Like Mary, may we have the courage to say "yes" to God's plan for our lives, trusting that nothing is impossible for God and that His will is always for our ultimate good.
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