Tuesday of the
Fourth Week of Advent
(Isaiah 7:10-14; Luke 1:26-38)
In a movie a few years back a teenage girl, growing up
dirt poor in the Ozarks, sacrifices the joy of adolescence to hold her family
together. Her father puts their house up
as bond when he is arrested. Then he turns up missing. The young girl has to
find out what has happened to him if her mother and brothers will have a place
to live. She rises to the task. We should
see Mary similarly challenged in today’s gospel.
When the angel Gabriel greets her with the words, “’Hail,
full of grace,’” Mary realizes that a crisis is at hand. Attentive to the angel’s proposition that she
will mother the Son of God, Mary asks how it is possible for a virgin. She accepts the angel’s explanation and gives
assent: “’May it be done to me according to your word.’” She shows herself to
be a worthy disciple by first reflecting on the word of God and then doing it.
Mary’s assent has echoed throughout history. We too are faced with the Word of God – Jesus
himself. We respond as his disciples
when we carefully consider what he says and act upon it. In a world that regularly conflicts with
Jesus’ values and mores, living the commitment is often difficult. Gratefully, we too like Mary have been graced
to carry it out.
