Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Wednesday of the Third Week of Advent

(Isaiah 7:10-14; Luke 1:26-38)

A lovely collect prayer was said to be used in the Byzantine mass on Christmas.  Directed to Jesus, the prayer asks the Savior what the people might give him for his birth.  The prayer then suggests the perfect gift -- a mother, a pure and holy mother.  Today’s gospel reading shows the fittingness of that gift.

The gospel contrasts Mary to Zechariah to whom the same angel announced the birth of a son.   Where Zechariah is incredulous about the announcement, Mary only shows interest.  Because Zechariah’s wife is beyond child-bearing years, he requests a sign to assure the credibility of the angel’s statement.  Mary only asks how her even more miraculous virgin-birth could take place probably because she needs to know what she has to do to make it happen.  Wonderfully she is given a sign verifying what the angel has told her.  Her relative Elizabeth, Zechariah’s wife, is bearing a son in her old age.  Then Mary makes explicit her submission to God’s will. “…I am the handmaiden of the Lord,” she tells the angel, “Be it done to me according to your word.”

Mary is indeed our representative gift to the Christ-child.  We strive to be like her in both sinlessness and devotion.  We set our sights on following God’s will in all that we say and do.  Especially when this road turns uphill, we pray to Him for assistance.

Homily for December 8, 2007

The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

(Luke 1:26-28)

What makes Mary so great? Is it that she has eyes of blue and wears dresses of gold? No, we know that these features are only products of our imagination and, in any case, accidentals. Then is it because Mary is the mother of Jesus that makes her stand out among all the people of history? Not really. Listen to how Jesus responds when someone cries out to him, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.” “Rather,” Jesus responds, “blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”

That’s it! Mary’s greatness lies precisely in her listening to the word of God and putting it into practice. In the gospel passage today, God sends Mary a message though the archangel Gabriel. Mary listens carefully asking questions of clarification. “Why does he call me ‘full of grace’?” she seems to be asking herself. “How can this be, since I have nor relations with a man?” she queries God’s messenger.

Even more importantly Mary acts on the word of God. She consents to what the angel says will happen to her. And in the verse following the present passage Mary sets out to visit her relative Elizabeth who, Gabriel tells her, is about to give birth.

How can she do otherwise, cynics among us might ask, if she herself was immaculately conceived? But Mary’s preservation from original sin is not completely different from our salvation from sin through Baptism. They both proceed from the merits of Jesus’ death and resurrection. She, like the rest of us, must choose whether or not she will do what God asks of her, whether or not she will follow her son Jesus.

Of course, she follows God’s will. By saying “yes” to the angel Mary becomes the first disciple of the New Testament. Our response to her fulfilling the word of God should not be so much praise of Mary as imitation of her. We too must carefully listen to the word of God and put it into practice. In these initial days of Advent the message is quite clear. We are to prepare for Christ by converting from the vices we indulge in. How do we sin? Perhaps by lying for convenience? Or maybe we look on others as inferiors made for our satisfaction? Or we may simply fail at generosity? Now is the time to rid ourselves of these bad habits.

We used to repeat frequently all the titles given to Mary through the centuries. “Seat of wisdom,” we called her, and “refuge for sinners.” We might add to the litany “first disciple.” She is Jesus’ first and, we can say, foremost disciple. Especially during Advent we would do well to imitate her by dispelling our vices. We would do well to dispel our vices.