4th
Sunday of Advent
Cycle B
December 21, 2014 4pm
and 9am
Saint Margaret Parish, Bel Air
The Annunciation
Today’s
gospel story is one of the most depicted scenes in the entire Bible.
It is
called the Annunciation. It is the event
that sets in motion God taking on our humanity in the birth of Jesus.
Because
of this, I want to reflect with you on some of the details in this beautiful story. To do this, I invite you to take the
hymnbooks and open to page 889 – page 889 – we are not going to sing a hymn!
There
we can see the full text of this gospel on the lower left page. Maybe we would call this a kind of
Bible-study approach to today’s homily.
1. Mary as Disciple
The number one thing to notice is that Saint Luke presents Mary as the
first and model disciple.
Just look at what happens. Gabriel
greets Mary and explains what is about to take place.
What is Mary’s response? We see it
at the very end of the passage.
“I am the handmaid
of the Lord. May it be done to me
according to your word.”
So, Mary 1) listens and then 2) accepts God’s message. In doing this, she shows herself to be the
first and model disciple.
It is helpful to look at this in the context of a later story in Luke’s
gospel. Jesus is teaching inside a house
and someone says, “Your mother and family
are outside wanting to talk with you.”
And Jesus responds, “My mother and
family are those who hear the Word of God and live it.” So Jesus defines what it means to be a
member of his spiritual family or a disciple – 1) hearing and 2) living his
word.
That definition has already been fulfilled in Mary before Jesus was even
born. In fact, she becomes Jesus’
physical mother and forms his human family because she is the first member of his
spiritual family.
2. Jesus from David
Now, notice, toward the beginning of this passage, Luke says that Mary is
betrothed to “Joseph, of the house of
David.”
And then, a few verses down, the angel says of Jesus: “the Lord God will give him the throne of
David his father.” From the time of
King David, 1000 years before the birth of Jesus, there were many prophecies of
a savior.
These prophecies began with what we heard in the first reading. King David wants to build a house for God – a
brick and mortar temple.
God responds that he will build a house for David – a house of
descendents. All the prophets who follow
foresee a savior coming from this house or family of David.
So, in these verses, the gospel shows Jesus as the fulfillment of these
prophecies. And in doing this, it shows the
human side of Jesus – his humanity.
He is identified with these ancestors, beginning with David and ending
with Joseph. The humanity of Jesus is
carefully established.
3. Jesus from God
That takes us to the last point that I want to note.
The passage also tells us that Jesus is not just an ordinary human being. The angel Gabriel says to Mary: “He will be called Son of the Most High.”
And then, a verse or two later, Gabriel is even clearer to Mary: “The power of the Most High will overshadow
you.” The Book of Genesis uses the
same word “overshadow” to describe
the work of the Holy Spirit in the act of creation.
Then, at the end of the passage, Mary says: “May it be done to me according to your word.” Again the Book of Genesis uses the same word
that Mary uses here – “Fiat” – “May it be
done,” “Let it happen”—to describe God’s action in creating the world.
So the idea is that God is doing a new creation – something radically new
with Mary. The angel Gabriel gets very
clear on this: “The child to be born will
be called holy, the Son of God.”
So this child is both human and divine.
Jesus is also the Son of God, the very presence of God with us.
Conclusion
I think we can say that this Annunciation story is like a gospel in
miniature.
It calls us to believe in the full identity of Jesus – human and divine. And with this belief, it calls us to live the
words and follow the way of the Savior.
By doing that, we will follow the example of Mary and also be members of
Jesus’ spiritual family, his disciples.
That is how this last Sunday of Advent prepares us for the celebration
of Christmas.
