The WORD in other words (2023) by Fr Raymund Festin SVD – Rome, Italy
4th Sunday of Advent – B
Today’s Gospel recounts the story of the Annunciation. The story revolves around the interesting discourse between Mary and the Angel Gabriel.
It is remarkable how the Evangelist Luke skillfully casts the greatest conversation ever conducted in history in the simplest and shortest terms.
- The angel Gabriel greets Mary and reveals to her—in the words of St. Paul in the first reading—“the mystery kept secret for long ages,” the Incarnation.
- The puzzled Mary then asks a perceptive question.
- The angel explains the mystery of God’s divine plan.
- After weighing her options, Mary gives her consent to God’s proposal, her Fiat.
That is how St. Luke crafts the brief, a two-movement verbal exchange between heaven and earth: very simple, concise, direct to the point, and punctuated by Gabriel’s return to the heavenly abode. No frills. No press release. No applause.
Brevity and simplicity are God’s way of communicating; the human way is excess of words.
The dialogue between Mary and Gabriel is the most sublime and momentous event of all times. For the prospect of God’s becoming human—as well as the redemption of fallen humanity—depended on the outcome of that summit that took place in Nazareth more than 2,000 years ago. That we celebrate Christmas is because Mary said Yes to God.
What catches our attention in the Gospel is that Mary shows herself unfazed and unintimidated by the presence of the heavenly messenger.
Remember how Zechariah reacted when Gabriel appeared to him inside the Temple’s sanctuary? Zechariah quaked in fear; he panicked. The women who went to the tomb on Easter Sunday were also frightened to the bone upon seeing the Angels, and, according to St. Mark’s account, they hastily fled in terror.
Not Mary of Nazareth.
She remains calm, composed, and cool in her encounter with God’s courier. The unflappable bearing of the world’s most favored human must have impressed Gabriel. And she was only about 15 years old at that time. Her character must be of tensile strength.
Two attributes of Mary shine and stand out during the Annunciation.
The first is her gift of discernment. She did not rush to giving her accent to the divine proposition. She must have thought about it very attentively and carefully. She must have spent considerable time in prayerful solitude—thinking, praying, and pondering. Her decision is the product of deep self-reflection and sound judgment. And this shows how sharp and intelligent Mary is.
The second is her generosity of spirit. Mary certainly had her own plans and projects for the future. She must have had her personal dreams to realize and her private aspirations to fulfill.
But all these she laid aside in saying her Yes to God.
And she did not set conditions on her decision. She just let go of everything and trusted God.
What courage! What generosity of spirit!
In this season of Christmas, we thank the Blessed Mother for giving her Fiat to God, because of which Jesus came to us. We also thank her for her generosity and self-sacrifice.
Indeed, she is the most blessed of all—overflowing with God’s grace.
Finally, we pray that we, too, may become like Mary—prayerfully self-reflective and discerning, courageous and generous.
