ADVENT Gospel for Friday December 20. Fourth Week of Lent
Luke 1:26-38
Announcement of the Birth of Jesus.
26 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
How is your Advent season going? Is all the running around done or is there still more to do? Are you hosting family or are you going somewhere for Christmas dinner? Is the house clean and all the presents wrapped? I can probably go on, but if you’re anything like me, this time of year is filled with a bunch of “stuff”. Anxiety to get all the shopping done, pressure to get to everything on the calendar on time, joy watching the kids in their school and church performances, gratefulness for our family, friends, and community as well as all God has given us. It’s a whirlwind of good and challenging “stuff”. When we stand back and try to see it from the outside looking in, all that stuff gets mixed together and on Christmas day we reflect on the incredible blessing the Advent season was this year. There’s an overwhelming feeling of gratitude to finally celebrate Jesus’ birthday.
Today’s Gospel makes me think of this time of year. Less than a week from Christmas and there’s so much going on you wonder how you’re going to make it through it all. Looking at the Gospel reading, first Mary is troubled with the greeting “full of grace” and then is told to not be afraid. I don’t know about you, but I would be very afraid if an angel visits me and is calling me a weird name. After that, Mary is told she’s going to conceive the Son of God. Of course, she asks how, given she’s a virgin, and is basically told to trust God and to look to her barren cousin who is now pregnant to see what God can do. Mary says yes and her nine-month Advent season begins.
Let’s think about what Mary, a teenager at the time, was processing. She’s talking to an angel of God. She’s going to become pregnant with the Son of God. Her cousin who was barren is now in the sixth month of her pregnancy. She’s a virgin and pregnant, what are people going to think? What’s Joseph going to think? Talk about a whirlwind of “stuff,” this makes my “stuff” look like a bunch of nothing. I often take Mary’s Yes for granted, but the last line of verse 38 always reminds me that Mary was a teenage girl and her life continued after the visit from the angel. The line says “And the angel departed from her.”
We all have “stuff” in our lives, no one had more “stuff” than Mary, but if we’re willing to say yes to God, he is able to take all that “stuff” and make a masterpiece. Clearly, Mary’s “stuff” became the greatest masterpiece in the history of the world. It blows my mind to think about how Mary felt when “…the angel departed from her.” Just processing the whole scene must have been so surreal – that’s some serious “stuff.” There are times when we all feel alone and/or overwhelmed with emotion as I’m sure Mary did at that time. I’m the first to admit I take Mary’s Yes for granted all the time, but every time I read this Gospel reading it causes me to pause and appreciate the “stuff” our incredible mother went through. As we continue to prepare for Jesus’ birth, please take some time to appreciate all your “stuff”, even the challenges in life because when God mixes it all together there’s a masterpiece on the other end.
William Till