Solemnity of the
Annunciation of the Lord
March 25, 2016 (celebrated
on April 4) – 8:30am
We just heard the beautiful and familiar
story of the Annunciation.
This story gives us a wonderful message
about Mary.
To begin with, Luke tells us the
name of the woman to whom the angel Gabriel comes.
Her name is Mary.
So this woman, Mary is connected
with a Jewish ancestor named Miriam.
Miriam was the sister of Aaron,
the brother of Moses.
Right after the exodus from
Egypt, when God’s people had been freed from slavery, Miriam sang the song of
praise to God:
“Sing to the Lord for he is gloriously triumphant; horse and chariot he
has cast into the sea.”
Miriam praised God and was part
of the first or original exodus.
In a similar way, Mary now has a unique
part in the new exodus.
She will bring into the world the
one who will bring about the exodus from darkness to light, from death to
resurrection.
The angel Gabriel himself does
not use Mary’s name but addresses her with other revealing designations.
He first calls her “full of grace.”
The idea is that Mary has been
pre-selected and especially blessed by God for an extraordinary role.
She is “full of grace” by God’s design from the beginning of time.
Gabriel then says to her: “The Lord is with you.”
Basically, this is a repetition
of “full of grace.”
Gabriel is stating that Mary is
full of God’s presence.
God’s presence permeates her very
being.
This is so because she will have
an absolutely unique role in the divine plan.
So, that is something of the richness
in this familiar passage and in these familiar expressions that we hear this
morning.
