Posted by The WORD in other words (2009) by Fr Rudy Horst SVD – Christ the King Seminary, Quezon City
Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord
Mary described herself before the angel as a humble handmaid of the Lord. Humility is a term often misunderstood. Real humility is not weakness. It is not spinelessness. It is not saying Yes, all the time. Real humility demands courage. Look at the story of the annunciation! Mary listened to the angel but did not understand what she heard. And before saying Yes, she confronted the angel and asked without fear the valid question, “How can this be…?”
God gave us freedom; we are not his slaves. He respects the gift of freedom he gave us. He will never force us into something. As He asked Mary’s consent to His plan, He offers us also his plans and it is up to us whether we accept them or not. God allows us to ask questions, to study the offer, to think with God-given brain and to understand.
Humility begins after this process.
Faith, therefore, is not saying Yes blindly to everything. Faith is searching for God’s will and totally entrusting oneself to Him because one is convinced: My understanding is limited but God knows better, and He loves me.
Mary still did not fully understand the answer of the angel. But then she must have thought: “Who am I to understand fully God’s ways? God is love, He cannot ask something from me that would not be good for me.” And so she answered, “I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1,38) That is humility—faith at its best.
Isn’t it that our prayer is not always “Thy will be done” but “Thy will be changed”? We should never forget that it is not our task to change God’s plans and message, but that God’s message comes to change us.
Because we don’t understand God’s plans (how could we?), we are hesitant to say Yes. We are hesitant to jump into the abyss because we are not so sure whether God’s hands are really there to catch us. From Mary we learn: Do not put a question mark where God puts a period!
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