The Fourth Sunday of Advent [B]
II Samuel 7:1-5,8-11,16  +  Romans 16:25-27  +  Luke 1:26-38

“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.  May it be done to me according to your word.”

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references to the Catechism of the Catholic Church cited for this Sunday by the Vatican’s Homiletic Directory:

CCC 484-494: the Annunciation
CCC 439, 496, 559, 2616: Jesus is the Son of David
CCC 143-149, 494, 2087: the “obedience of faith”

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Everywhere you look, Christmas already seems here.  Whether we see it in the decorations around us, the parties we have celebrated, or the gifts we have exchanged, the word “Advent” seems somewhat empty.  But as we draw closer to beginning the Church’s celebrations of the Christmas season, there is one more message that comes to us on this last Sunday of Advent—our time of preparation.

This message comes from an angel, and its words are not only for Mary, but for each of us to whom the angel speaks today through the Gospel.  St. Gabriel’s message tells us about a plan:  a plan God has for Mary’s life, and a plan that God has for the life of each one of us.  The purpose of this gospel passage is to show us how to accept in our lives this plan that God has for us.  The way that the gospel shows us to accept this plan is to imitate the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Let’s look more closely at what happens in this gospel passage, because what happens in this event of the Annunciation is what ought to be happening in the lives of each of us, and what must happen if Christmas is to have any meaning for us.

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The first important thing for us to notice in the Annunciation is that it is a dialogue:  the angel speaks, and Mary speaks.  The angel bring the message of God’s plan for Mary’s life:  “You shall conceive and bear a son, and give him the name Jesus.”  But this is not a matter of Gabriel offering dictation from God to Mary, for God is not a dictator.  God’s respect for Mary’s free will is absolute.  The message of Gabriel demands a response from Mary, and the second part of the dialogue is Mary’s response.

Mary responds in two ways:  she asks a question, and gives a reply.  First, the question of Mary is very important for us to consider, since it shows us that Mary is a woman of purpose.  She does not arbitrarily accept God’s will any more than God arbitrarily imposed it.  Mary’s question:  “How can this be?”  does not show us a woman who doubts God’s Will, but who ponders it in her heart.  The angel’s answer to her question does not change her mind, because she was always of one mind.  What her question shows is that her mind always searched for God as much as her will.

Throughout the life of each of us, there is some situation that has presented itself, which very possibly is from God, which challenges you to respond in a Christian manner.  The first thing that this scene of the Annunciation shows us is that we should not worry about pondering it over, about asking questions.  God does not dictate our actions to us; He demands that we ponder them in faith, asking the questions that need to be asked.

The second part of Mary’s response to Gabriel makes us realize that there was never any doubt about what Mary’s reply to God would be.  She proclaims, “Let it be done unto me according to your word.”  The angelic word of message gives rise to the human word of consent:  “Fiat”, meaning “your will is my response.”  Certainly Mary’s question had not prejudiced her reply.  After all, Gabriel’s answer to her question was to point out that her cousin Elizabeth, an elderly woman, was in her sixth month of pregnancy.  Gabriel was simply heaping one miracle upon another.  He may have made it clear that God was at work, but he certainly didn’t make it clear how or why all this was going on.  And yet, Mary’s response was the same:  “Fiat”, “your will is my will.”

If we turn our minds back to those situations that challenge our Christian faith, we realize that God does often respond to our questions– just not always in the way we would wish.  He can show us different signs that might convince us what His will is, but those aren’t necessarily going to explain to us why His will is what it is (and we should not expect them to do so).  We can ask questions of God to help us circle around or probe the questions in our minds, but once we are assured of what that will is, any hesitation becomes doubt.

Acting as Mary does in this scene, with complete faith, is an example for our own spiritual lives.  In many ways, through many messengers, in our prayer and through our interaction with others in daily life, we perceive God at work, making His plan for our life clear.  Is our reply to God just as clear, however?

This last message of the Gospel before the birth of Jesus is helping us to realize something very important:  as we search for God’s will, humility is the attitude we must have.  We can not come to savor the joy of Christmas without living out the humility of Advent.  Advent is a season of humble expectation.

We could use two examples to help us visualize this relationship between Advent and Christmas, humility and joy.  One is very secular:  the relationship between an employee and employer.  Someone who applies for a job is very respectful, humble before an interviewer.  He strives to put forward his best side.  Another example is much more sacred:  the relationship between a man and woman who are attracted to each other.  As a man and a woman court each other, they ask questions of each other, but in humility and respect.  They do not seek an explanation for the attraction that exists between them, for they know that the love between them is first and foremost a mystery.

So is the relationship between you and God.  Husband and wife rejoice in each other without fully understanding the mystery of love that exists between them.  The Church looks forward to celebrating the mystery of God made man which we will begin celebrating in just a few days.  As members of the Church, we hope to serve God as faithfully as the Virgin Mary did, as faithfully as man and wife seek to serve each other.

Our prayer then, in these last days of the Advent season should be a prayer of petition, asking God to help us grow in humility.  For if we have prepared a straight path into our hearts for the Lord to travel, we still must meet Him there with humility, for fear of offending Him.  After His journey from heaven to earth, where He seeks to dwell at the very center of our hearts, what sort of response would it be to meet Him there closed to the plan He has for our lives?

As we approach this altar now, to offer with Christ the Sacrifice of His Body and Blood, let us offer up together to the Father anything that would keep us from meeting the new-born Lord with humbleness of heart.  May Mary be our model of simple and gentle acceptance, hearing and heeding the plan He has for our lives.

The Annunciation by Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)