March 25, 2010
The Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord
Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God; let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky! But Ahaz answered, "I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!" Then he said: Listen, O house of David! Is it not enough for you to weary men, must you also weary my God? Isaiah 7:11-13
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. Luke 1:38
Piety
Sacrifice and offering you do not want; but ears open to obedience you gave me. Holocausts and sin-offerings you do not require; so I said, "Here I am; your commands for me are written in the scroll. To do your will is my delight; my God, your law is in my heart!" I announced your deed to a great assembly; I did not restrain my lips; you, LORD, are my witness. Your deed I did not hide within my heart; your loyal deliverance I have proclaimed. I made no secret of your enduring kindness to a great assembly. Psalm 40:7-11
Study
Nine months before we celebrate Christmas and ten days before the miracle of the Easter Resurrection, we recall the miracle which set this chain of events in motion. A profound yet amazingly simple promise by a virgin in Nazareth: “May it be done to me according to your word.”
This interaction between Mary and Gabriel is so profound that it is the first mystery meditation of the 40 decades of the Rosary. This interaction is so profound that it also paved the way for the attitude exemplified by John the Baptist in his ministry. This interaction is so profound that it also foreshadows the attitude which governed every breath taken by Jesus during his life on earth.
How can it be? How can God come to us and be with us through the interaction with a young teenage girl living in poverty in the region of Palestine? How can it be? Elizabeth answers that question for us: Nothing will be impossible for God.
Action
We do not celebrate this event in order to know all the answers. We celebrate the Annunciation as a solemn occasion so that we may remember it. But the solemn occasion does not end with remembrance. We celebrate the Annunciation as a solemn occasion so that we may emulate it. We do this – we act – because we remember to put this attitude in our hearts as well.
The contract between the Lord and his people is simple. Psalm 40 and the first reading from the poetic prophet Isaiah prompt us to act. The Lord will be there for us if we are there for him.
Jesus began his public ministry reading from these same scrolls. To do God’s will is his delight. Daily focus on the tripod of piety, study and action is the scroll for us. This Fourth Day pursuit can help to make knowing and doing God’s will our delight as well. Maybe we will not be asked to pay the ultimate price paid by John the Baptist, Jesus Christ or Oscar Romero. Yet the sign he offered to them is the same sign offered to us: “The virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel, which means, ‘God is with us!’”
De colores!
