Word to the Wise
Saturday, March 25, 2017 - March 25 - The Annunciation of the Lord
[Isa 7:10-14; 8:10; Heb 10:4-10; Luke 1:26-38]"Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you." [Luke]
I have to admit that the title of this feast is a strange one to me. It celebrates an announcement of an event more than the event itself! It's as if everyone congratulates the doctor who tells the woman she's pregnant instead of the woman! And, why not call it the feast of the "Incarnation?" Jesus was not "incarnated" when he was born, as any good pro-life person will affirm. He became incarnate when he was conceived! This feast day should be the ultimate pro-life feast of the year!
So, is it a feast day in honor of Mary? Or is it a feast day in honor of Jesus? I'll leave that to the theologians and liturgists to decide. In one of the "prefaces" for Christmas Day, there is the phrase "...In the wonder of the incarnation..." The moment celebrated by this feast day is a miracle and a source of wonder. God enters history in a new way, becoming subject to the very natural laws created "in the beginning." [Genesis] The conception itself is miraculous but the celebration of the feast is set exactly nine months before his birth. I'm sure many women could wish for such precise timing! It's all part of the mystery of God's economy of salvation.
The imagination can have some fun with the scene. We are not told what Mary was doing when Gabriel appeared! Did she drop a broom and scream? None of this is disrespectful. The messiness and ordinariness of human life is part of the incarnation. Today we celebrate the conception of Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit with the cooperation of Mary. Our job is to "announce" it. AMEN