Fourth Sunday of Advent (December 18^th 2011)  

Luke 1:26-38

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

Questions raised by this passage from the Gospel

1. Who are the angels that have led us in the way of the faith?

2. The angel describes Mary as the one who has been highly favoured. In what sense are our lives too filled with grace?

3. When we are confronted by distressing circumstances, do we continue to hold firm to our faith and try to see how these difficult circumstances fit into God's plan?

4. Is what way are my daily actions driven by fear?

5. Does faith consist in the ability to face tribulation on my own, or is it better described as the ability to lean on the One who is stronger?

6. What marvellous work does the Lord wish to accomplish in me?

Faith has its origin in heaven and is prompted in us by angels, both supernatural and natural

This wonderful text describes how our redemption is set in motion by Mary's acceptance of the word of God. In Luke's Gospel, Mary is presented as the model of faith, the one who possessed faith in its fullness. No other creature in history had faith as she had it. Reflection on this passage is like attending a "school of faith" where the most blessed among women teaches us how it is done.

            The passage begins with the appearance of an angel. When we contemplate the faith of Mary and its fecundity, we must keep in mind that faith has its origin in heaven and is borne by angels or messengers. The angel Gabriel was sent by God. If we happen to be Christians, then it is because we have received the faith from other Christians, angels who have taught us in the ways of the faith. Maybe our angels were our own parents, who made a commitment at their wedding to raise their children in the faith, and who took the vows on our behalf when we were baptized. We are surrounded by angels, those that are natural and those that are supernatural.

            The angel Gabriel appears to Mary as she stands at a crossroads in her life. She is a virgin, betrothed to a man of the House of David. She is not just any girl, anywhere in the world. The whole of the Old Testament stands in the background of this encounter with the angel. The angel says "Rejoice o highly favoured! The Lord is with you!"

Mary was full of grace, but our lives also are filled with grace and we too have reason for rejoicing

The joyful aspect of this greeting cannot be over-emphasized. The angel is saying, "What happy news! The Lord is on your side! Be cheerful, wonderful things are happening in your life!" The angel tells Mary to rejoice because she is full of grace, but it is also true for all of us that are lives are filled with grace! There are so many good things that we ought to rejoice about! Why do we allow ourselves to be sad or disheartened because of a few aspects of our lives that we decide are all-important? The amount of people who become dejected because they are dissatisfied with how they look! But the angel tells us, "Be joyful, leave sadness behind! Stop thinking that you are far from the grace of God! How generous God is with us! Let us open our eyes to how good and patient the Lord is with us! He doesn't treat us according to our sins. He continually leads us in the way of salvation! Rejoice, rejoice!"

Faith is not against reason but involves reasoning with the noblest part of our soul

Mary is disturbed with the greeting that the angel gives her. But if an angel appeared to any of us we would be bothered! The Greek term for "disturbed" that appears in the original text indicates that Mary was not just slightly uneasy about the angel's greeting but was extremely troubled on an interior level. But Mary does not allow this distress to overcome her. She asks herself what such a greeting could mean. In other words she continues to reason, aware that God must continually surprise us, shake us, and astonish us in order to complete his plan for us. This point is very important. Faith does not entail the abandonment of reason but the correct use of reason. It involves reasoning with the noblest part of our soul, and the uncovering of the most beautiful aspect of ourselves. When life confronts us with difficulties, then we are prompted to develop, grow, ask ourselves questions like what sense do these things have in our lives? Where is God trying to lead me?

The work of God cannot be accomplished in us if we give in to fear

The angel replies "Do not be afraid". This phrase is the hallmark of the angels and appears again and again in the Old Testament. It highlights the fact that the work of God cannot be accomplished in us if we give in to fear. Fear is a poor counsellor, a bad teacher, the worst companion of life, and in reality is often based on self-deception. There are healthy fears and unhealthy fears. It is normal and right to have a sense of danger in certain situations. In Greek culture, the word for fear is "phobos", but Phobos was actually a God who was responsible for making people run away, or take evasive action. And it is true that fear often guides our actions in a decisive way. Many of our actions are motivated by our attempts to flee from something. Our desires are often camouflaged fears. We think we have carried out an action in order to achieve a certain goal, but in reality we are seeking a refuge from one of our fears. It is not possible to arrive at the glory that the Lord has destined for each of us if we continue to be instructed, hampered and driven by fear.

Faith does not consist in being strong in oneself, but in the ability to lean on the One who is stronger

We must stop seeking refuges in which to hide from fear, and instead start seeking to fulfil the plan that God has destined for us. We must stop living like refugees and start living like pilgrims. How do we manage this? How can we conquer our fears? How can we overcome the threats - genuine or otherwise - that encircle us? The angel does not simply say, "Do not be afraid, Mary". He also adds, " . . .because you have found favour with God". We do not have to overcome fear on our own merits. The angel reminds us that there is someone on whom we can lean. According to Psalm 23, "If I walk through the valley of death I will not fear". The psalm doesn't say that the valley of death does not exist, but that the Lord will be with me in that valley.

            Faith does not consist in being strong in oneself, but in the ability to lean on the One who is stronger. Faith is not a state of existence in which no risks or dangers present themselves; but involves knowing how to entrust one's existence to the Lord in moments of danger. Faith is knowing how to cross the valley of death with the Lord.

The works of God are always of a marvellous sort, and so it is with the works that God wishes to accomplish in each of us.

In this moment of conquering of fear, a marvellous work will be realized. From Mary the Messiah will be generated. In Mary the period of waiting that is represented by the Old Testament will come to its fulfilment. Mary asks how exactly all of this will come about, and the angel replies that it will be accomplished by the Holy Spirit. "Your question is very pertinent Mary", the angel is telling her. "The way in which this work will be completed will not be by human means, but in a marvellous and extraordinary way". The angel then refers to Elizabeth conceiving a child when she was sterile. The works of God are of this sort, the angel is saying. A man is born of a virgin. A man comes out of the tomb. God creates the world from nothing. These are the "impossible" works that God wishes to accomplish in all of us. If we do not in our daily lives open ourselves to the extraordinary works of God, then we reduce Christianity to a series of moral precepts and questionable philosophies. The arena in which God operates is the arena of the extraordinary. Sometimes we try to interpret and explain the works of God so that they sound plausible. But I do not follow the Lord in order to achieve something that was already plausible. We do not give our lives for something that we could have done by ourselves on our own merits. No. God calls us to extraordinary things. And Christmas is not just the celebration of a family festivity that makes us feel better. Christmas is about believing that God can truly enter into our existence. To this eruption of the divine in our lives, we can rightly say "Come Lord! Let the extraordinary enter into our existence!"

            Mary's reply to the angel is not just a simple granting of permission for the Lord to be conceived. Mary's expression reveals a powerful desire on her part. "Let it be done onto me according to your word!" This Sunday we too can say, "Come Lord, enter into my life! Scatter the petty designs that have me rooted to the ground in fear! Help me open myself to your plan. I want your extraordinary grace to erupt in my life!"