Gospel Lk. 1:26-38
The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. 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.”
But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” 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. 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; for nothing will be impossible for God.” 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.
Homily
It is normal that babies be delivered by doctors or midwifes yet at times, persons who have no training at all have been called upon to fulfill this function and they have had to rely on their own sense of what is appropriate and correct at the moment. Almost always, without knowing it, they are relying on God`s grace to guide them. When in life, One is called to do things for which One thinks oneself totally unprepared it is only by surrendering to God that one can fulfill what one has been called to do.
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Unlike Zechariah who was struck dumb because at the message of the angel he doubts the fidelity of God. His answer to the angel announcing the birth of John the Baptist; “How shall I know this?” is in fact ‘Give me a reason to believe you or give me proof that what you say will happen.” He does not at this crucial moment trust the promise of God. Mary on the other hand does not ask for proof, she asks simply for an explanation. “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” Mary never doubts, she trusts the promise of God and so replies; “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Mary could reply like this because she believed with all her heart that “…nothing will be impossible for God.”
This too is how the saints lived. All of us have heard stories of saints who undertook various works without a cent to their names but they knew that it was God’s work that they were doing, not their own and so trusted that if God wanted to bring the work to completion, God would provide what was necessary.
I began this homily by saying that at times, ‘One is called to do things for which One thinks oneself totally unprepared’. One can react to such situations either by saying ‘No’ I will not or by asking oneself; Is this God’s will for me? If the answer to that question is in the affirmative, then we have to ask of God the grace of believing like Mary that “nothing will be impossible for God.” And the grace of saying with Mary; “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”
Prayer
All powerful and ever-loving God, you call us to many things in life, some of them basic, some more complicated and above all you call us to Gospel fidelity. Father give us the grace to say “Yes” and as Mary taught the human Jesus to say “Yes” to you in all things, so give us the grace and let Mary our Mother teach us also to say “Yes”. We ask this through the intercession of that same Mary, our Mother and of Jesus, the eternal “Yes” to You Father. Amen
