December 24, 2023
IV Sunday of Advent B
(Lk 1: 26,38)
Today's Gospel (Lk 1:26-38) shows us how God encounters his people.
For any encounter to take place it needs a specific time and space, in this case, it is the sixth month from John the Baptist's birth announcement (Lk 1:26), we are in a town in Galilee, called Nazareth, and the Angel Gabriel enters the home of a young woman (Lk 1:26-28).
That time, that place, was no different or better than the time and place where we are now.
It was also a difficult time full of conflict and suffering; and that place was like any small town, like ours, where the normal life of every person flows, with its joys, sorrows, and hopes.
There the destiny of God and man intersects. Not outside of time and space, not in an ideal time and space. But here and now, to say that the encounter can happen anywhere; to say that the encounter does not depend on external conditions, but on the space and time that are within us.... If our hearts are ready and open then the encounter happens.
Mary is this space. A poor space, because to be a virgin (Lk. 1:27) is first and foremost a form of poverty, of powerlessness, of acceptance.
Mary makes space and time for the Lord by listening attentively; she listens to what the angel has to say to her. In a sense, we can see the angel's words travel the paths of our humanity, of our deepest feelings.
First, joy: the angel does not bring a proclamation of doom, a threat of revenge. God has for man a desire for joy, and this is his first message, "Rejoice!" (Lk. 1:28). Joy has a definite and sure motive, which is: "The Lord is with you" (Lk 1:28). It is the proclamation that returns to every Old Testament vocation, it is the main thing God says when he entrusts a mission to someone: the Lord is with you, that is, you will not be alone in carrying out this plan of salvation, which will be fulfilled as much as you welcome my closeness, my presence. Joy is always the sign of a renewed covenant, a restored relationship, an encounter: there is no joy in a life isolated in solitude.
Then there is an invitation not to be afraid (Lk 1:30). The invitation, is, to entrust every fear to the Lord, not to let fear take hold of us, not to listen to the voice in us that says that nothing is possible anymore. Mary, too, feels troubled (Lk 1:29), and in her turmoil, she wonders about the meaning of what is happening. And in wondering, she opens herself to a greater meaning. Fear can become the first step toward faith.
Finally, the angel's message intercepts a deep and true human desire. Everything in us demands life and its fullness: Mary is full of grace (Lk 1:28), and upon her descends the Spirit who overshadows her (Lk 1:35). This reference is found in Exodus (Ex 40:34-35), where it speaks of the cloud that remains over the tent of meeting to assure the people of God of his continuous presence along their journey, that he is walking with them. Only when God walks with us, and we walk with Him, then we can experience the fullness of this life.
Mary then is no longer just a simple girl from Nazareth: she becomes God's house, a place where he dwells.
Through her yes, God was able to fulfill his promise, the one he made to David, to build a house where he would dwell with man forever.
All this happens "only" because Mary listened: and to listen means to trust in the power of the Word. To trust means to allow oneself to believe. When this happens, when the Word is heard, and welcomed, then it becomes flesh and the source of our life. In Mary, this reception of the Spirit begot the flesh of Jesus and allowed his divinity to make its home among men.
But we, too, when we listen, can make space for God in our lives, and become his dwelling place.
When this happens, fear ceases and it restores our reason for joy. This is the fullness of life.
Not only for ourselves but for all those around us.
+Pierbattista
