I think that before we can appreciate the power and drama of the Nativity, we have to recognize the "reason for the reason for the season" - Mary's "Yes".
"In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said, 'Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.'
But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.'
But Mary said to the angel, 'How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?'
And the angel said to her in reply, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing is impossible for God.
Mary said, 'Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.'
Then the angel departed from her."
-Luke 1:26-38
In Luke, we find the best description of what we now call the Annunciation - the angel Gabriel coming to Mary with the news that she has been chosen as the Mother of God.
Gabriel, having just announced the "Prophet of the Most High", now comes with an even bigger revelation: "He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High". Gabriel presents Mary with an incredible offer: Become the Mother of God.
It wasn't as though Mary immediately jumped at the opportunity, though. She was afraid. She was "greatly troubled" (1:29). She knew that once the rumors started spreading of her mysterious pregnancy, people weren't going to buy the "God did it" answer. Back then, having a child out of wedlock was grounds for stoning.
Nevertheless, Mary had a free choice. She could have said "I am not worthy, choose somebody else." She could have said no. But in that moment, Mary did not let her humility get the best of her. She was daring.
I can only imagine the drama of that moment. All of salvation history hinged on that single point in time. If Mary did not say yes, the Savior could not have entered the world. Ergo, he could not have been crucified for us. We could not have been saved.
Mary, from the moment of her conception, had been "chosen" for this. But that didn't mean she had to say yes. Israel, after all, was God's "Chosen People" yet time and time again in the Old Testament we find them turning their backs on God and saying "No." They were "chosen" for God, but they rejected God. Mary, with that same free will, said "Yes."
It is at this point that it's worth thinking about the nature of free will. Why didn't God just send Gabriel to say "Guess what you're going to do now..." and not give her a choice? God could have easily forced Mary to give birth to Jesus against her will. But God didn't, for the same reason God gave us the freedom to sin. God, and God's Love, requires choice.
One of the fundamental properties of Love is that it must be a free choice. You can extort somebody into saying "I love you," but you cannot force them to actually love you no matter how hard you try. If we were created to love God, our whole creation depends on the ability not to love God. If we did not have the ability to sin, we could not have the ability to truly love.
So, Mary had to have free will. She had to choose. Just as sin came into the world through the choice of Eve, redemption had to come into the world through the choice of Mary, the New Eve.
Knowing the risks, and admitting her fear, Mary still said "yes". She didn't give conditions ("I'll give birth to Jesus if you wait until I'm married") - she submitted herself entirely to God's will. "May it be done to me according to your word." She knew she might be killed for this. She knew it would force her to go against not only societal expectations, but could possibly make her a pariah to her own family. Nevertheless, Mary chose the narrow gate.
We, too, are given a choice by God. Perhaps it's not as dramatic as bearing the Savior of the World (Although the argument could be made that that's exactly what we do every time we receive communion) but God has called each and every one of us. Like Mary, we are often scared of our calling. A few days ago I read a fascinating list of "Signs You Have a Vocation" (I'll try to find the link) and one of them was being scared and apprehensive.
We are all called to greatness. It's alright to be scared of that calling, so long as we offer up that fear as a sacrifice. Mary was given the challenge to bring Jesus into the world. We, too, have that challenge - to bring Jesus into our world each and every day.
We have the power to say "no". We can see our path and reject it for any number of reasons - "I'd rather get married" "I can't give everything up" "I'm not good enough". We can, like the rich man in Matthew, "leave disappointed" Maybe we think God's plan isn't what will make us happy. God, however, knows us better than we know ourselves.
I remember in grade school, when we learned about the Annunciation we would always be asked "If Gabriel appeared to you right now and told you this, what would you say?" What we often fail to realize is that we DO have that calling. We all have a calling, not simply to the priesthood or the married life, but to bring about the Glory of God. That's what Christmas is all about. Not just remembering a very unique birth in a manger two thousand years ago, but to bring about that birth every day of our lives.
Remembering, in the liturgical sense, is not just nostalgia. It is a pattern. Don't just recall the Nativity, cause it every day.
And when you discern in your heart the calling God has for you, I pray that you will find strength to be like Mary and say "May it be done to me according to your word."
It wasn't as though Mary immediately jumped at the opportunity, though. She was afraid. She was "greatly troubled" (1:29). She knew that once the rumors started spreading of her mysterious pregnancy, people weren't going to buy the "God did it" answer. Back then, having a child out of wedlock was grounds for stoning.
Nevertheless, Mary had a free choice. She could have said "I am not worthy, choose somebody else." She could have said no. But in that moment, Mary did not let her humility get the best of her. She was daring.
I can only imagine the drama of that moment. All of salvation history hinged on that single point in time. If Mary did not say yes, the Savior could not have entered the world. Ergo, he could not have been crucified for us. We could not have been saved.
Mary, from the moment of her conception, had been "chosen" for this. But that didn't mean she had to say yes. Israel, after all, was God's "Chosen People" yet time and time again in the Old Testament we find them turning their backs on God and saying "No." They were "chosen" for God, but they rejected God. Mary, with that same free will, said "Yes."
It is at this point that it's worth thinking about the nature of free will. Why didn't God just send Gabriel to say "Guess what you're going to do now..." and not give her a choice? God could have easily forced Mary to give birth to Jesus against her will. But God didn't, for the same reason God gave us the freedom to sin. God, and God's Love, requires choice.
One of the fundamental properties of Love is that it must be a free choice. You can extort somebody into saying "I love you," but you cannot force them to actually love you no matter how hard you try. If we were created to love God, our whole creation depends on the ability not to love God. If we did not have the ability to sin, we could not have the ability to truly love.
So, Mary had to have free will. She had to choose. Just as sin came into the world through the choice of Eve, redemption had to come into the world through the choice of Mary, the New Eve.
Knowing the risks, and admitting her fear, Mary still said "yes". She didn't give conditions ("I'll give birth to Jesus if you wait until I'm married") - she submitted herself entirely to God's will. "May it be done to me according to your word." She knew she might be killed for this. She knew it would force her to go against not only societal expectations, but could possibly make her a pariah to her own family. Nevertheless, Mary chose the narrow gate.
We, too, are given a choice by God. Perhaps it's not as dramatic as bearing the Savior of the World (Although the argument could be made that that's exactly what we do every time we receive communion) but God has called each and every one of us. Like Mary, we are often scared of our calling. A few days ago I read a fascinating list of "Signs You Have a Vocation" (I'll try to find the link) and one of them was being scared and apprehensive.
We are all called to greatness. It's alright to be scared of that calling, so long as we offer up that fear as a sacrifice. Mary was given the challenge to bring Jesus into the world. We, too, have that challenge - to bring Jesus into our world each and every day.
We have the power to say "no". We can see our path and reject it for any number of reasons - "I'd rather get married" "I can't give everything up" "I'm not good enough". We can, like the rich man in Matthew, "leave disappointed" Maybe we think God's plan isn't what will make us happy. God, however, knows us better than we know ourselves.
I remember in grade school, when we learned about the Annunciation we would always be asked "If Gabriel appeared to you right now and told you this, what would you say?" What we often fail to realize is that we DO have that calling. We all have a calling, not simply to the priesthood or the married life, but to bring about the Glory of God. That's what Christmas is all about. Not just remembering a very unique birth in a manger two thousand years ago, but to bring about that birth every day of our lives.
Remembering, in the liturgical sense, is not just nostalgia. It is a pattern. Don't just recall the Nativity, cause it every day.
And when you discern in your heart the calling God has for you, I pray that you will find strength to be like Mary and say "May it be done to me according to your word."
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