Advent Reflection: Week 3

(Luke 1:26-38)

Two weeks ago, we looked at the hope fostered by the prophet Isaiah for the coming of the Lord. Last week (in the middle of a snowstorm!), we focused on the faith of John the Baptist in God's immanent presence in the world. And now, in this third week of Advent, we focus on the Virgin Mary and her great act of love and trust.

As I prayed with this passage of the Annunciation from the Gospel of Luke, I began to think about the different images we have of Mary in our churches and in our homes. So often, Mary is depicted in statues, stained glass windows, and artistic renderings with eyes closed and hands folded in prayer. She is calm, serene, and at peace.

These are beautiful depictions, but I'm not sure they quite reflect the emotions of tonight's Gospel. I like the painting by artist Henry Ossawa Tanner which shows Mary as a young Jewish girl with messy dark hair, startled awake by the glow of a pillar of light, representing the angel Gabriel. The bed sheets are strewn about. Mary sits uncomfortably on the bed. For me, this painting reflects Mary's experience of the Annunciation. The Gospel passage describes her as "greatly troubled" and "ponderous." Mary even questions the angel: "How can this be?!" God had invited Mary into something quite unexpected and unplanned. Naturally, Mary was troubled, confused, and had many questions.

"The Annunciation" by Henry Ossawa Tanner (1898)

My friends, we can probably relate to these emotions of Mary. Consider the many ways in which God calls and invites us to be open, to do that which is entirely unexpected. In various ways, we experience the unexpectedness of God:

-We might be called to stretch ourselves in serving the needs of others, especially the poor, the hungry, the homeless, and the immigrant in our midst.
-We might be challenged to forgive somebody who hurt us many years ago and only now, this person is apologizing to us.
-We welcome the unexpected or unplanned child into our families. Or maybe we take the lower-paying job and stretch our checkbooks so that we can spend more time with our family.
-We care for our sick and aged parents.
-In my case, the unexpectedness of God came in the call to further explore priestly ministry.

In these ways, and in so many other instances, we are being invited by God to make Christ present in the world. Mary became the bearer of Christ -the Theotokos- through her motherhood. How are we being called to bring Christ into the world?

The Theotokos

No matter how we are called, it can be quite a challenge to say "yes"! By ourselves, we cannot do it. We are paralyzed by our own fears and doubts. But we need not fear! For God gives us a word of comfort. God's angel says, "Fear not! Do not be afraid!"

God alone helps us to move from fear to freedom, from uncertainty and doubt to trust and confidence. This is our Advent journey.

We move from the impossible to the possible because God comes to dwell within us. God desires to be birthed within us! Mary was an open receptacle. Mary is the one who was open to this unplanned and unexpected will of God the Father. Mary's "yes" comes only after questioning and grappling with this invitation from God.

The same is true for us. We continue to wrestle with what we are to do with our lives, how we are to respond in faith, love, and trust to those unexpected and unplanned moments of invitation. And in the end, when we finally do live out our own "yes," when we open ourselves up in loving trust to God, and when we truly say and mean those words of Mary, "Be it done to me according to your word," then our souls will begin to feel like those artistic renderings of Mary: calm, serene, unafraid, and at peace.