Word to the Wise
Tuesday, December 21, 2010 - Monday in the Fourth Week of Advent
[Isaiah 7:10-14 and Luke 1:26-38]Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.
Yesterday we heard in the gospel scripture the story of the "annunciation" according to Matthew. Today we hear the story of the annunciation according to the gospel of Luke! As in yesterday's gospel, so in today's, we can participate in the account on many levels. We may simply rejoice in the sheer familiarity of the scene as part of all the Christmas liturgical celebration in much the same way we take out the crib and set it up and then go about our lives till it's time to put it away!
Another way is to at least imagine the scene and place ourselves within it like "a fly on the wall" to observe what is happening. The drama of the event would unfold before us along with its emotions and tensions (especially after the angel leaves: "How am I going to tell Joseph? I've got to go and see Elizabeth!, etc.")
A third way is to think about what Gabriel SAID and what Mary has consented to. She didn't say (as so many unfortunately do say in our time), "Whatever!" She said, "May it be done to me ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD. The entire theology of salvation history is contained in the angel's words! Yes, it might seem strange to expect a very young Palestinian Jewish woman in that time and age to have such theological sophistication as to say, "Cool! Sign me on!", but we are not the story teller at this moment. Luke is. , Our efforts to understand the tremendous implications of Mary's acceptance in faith (and the occasional glimpses of the sorrows ahead) will be rewarded. "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." Later on, Simeon will add some ominous words about how this vision will come about in adulthood. Right now, we have a faithful and courageous and suddenly pregnant young woman! Could we spend a few minutes with her? AMEN
config
view
logs
3840.0 KB
73 ms
4
