Gospel for Monday 12/09 the Second Week of Lent.

Luke 1:26-38

In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And coming to her, he said, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. 32 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, 33 and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom, there will be no end.” 34 But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” 35 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.  36 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; 37 for nothing will be impossible for God.” 38 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

This Gospel is filled with messages dear to our hearts. This story, these words describe the important position we place Mary in. The message “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you. Luke 1:28 places Mary in her singular position, set aside from every other person ever born. The words Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son… and will be called Son of the Most High, Luke 1:31-32 tell of the special role she plays in our salvation. How could we not set a special place for her in our hearts?

As Catholics, these things we all know. But two other things jump out at me when I read this Gospel this year.

After giving her the proper greeting befitting her place, the angel’s first words to Mary are “Do not be afraid” Luke 1:30. We find this same message all over the entire Gospels. And here again, a little later in the story, speaking on His behalf, an angel gives the same direction to the shepherds in the fields. Surely, these words must be important because they hold such a prominent place in the Nativity narrative – Do not be afraid.

The message arrives with Jesus. Jesus has come to take fear from our hearts. Fear is one of the devil’s greatest tools and Jesus knows all too well the debilitating effect fear has on our lives. In this Gospel story, the angel explains away Mary’s fear by reminding her of how special she is and Mary listens. If only I could listen that well when Jesus eschews my fears by reminding me of how special I am to Him.

This Advent may we push aside fear by listening for all those ways in which Jesus tells us how special we are to him.

For me, a second truth sneaks it away into this narrative. Adam and Eve fall from favor with God because of their pride and those feelings of self-importance and self-sufficiency that creep into their hearts (another tool of the devil’s). Mary’s reaction to her interaction with God is quite the opposite; “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Luke 1:38. Jesus’ supreme act of humility in entering Mary’s womb and Mary’s humble obedience, set in motion those events that will prove to be our salvation and change our lives forever.

Fear and pride fall from the sky like lightning in the presence of Jesus and His mother Mary. Humbleness and obedience cast aside pride and fear. Our salvation story begins.

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