Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent

READINGS:

First Reading: 2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16

Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 89:2-3, 4-5, 27 29

Second Reading: Romans 16:25-27

Gospel: Luke 1:26-38 

FOCUS: The event of the Annunciation is one of the world’s most important moments ever. 

FUNCTION: Prepare your hearts to receive Christ with joy when He comes.

          You probably wouldn’t think much of the place.  Nazareth didn’t have a great reputation.  In fact, many years later, before he met Him, one of Jesus’ followers would remark, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” (see John 1:46).  At the time, no one knew the importance that place would hold for human history.  For it was there…in a little town of Galilee named Nazareth…that the most important meeting to ever happen on the face of the earth would transpire.

          Although we’ve all heard the story, it’s hard for us to really grasp the magnitude of the moment— that moment when the archangel Gabriel first appeared to the Virgin Mary, informing her that God wanted to bring about in her the conception and birth of His only-begotten Son.  It was the newsflash of history!  Imagine the possible headlines, in big, bold letters:

          “Angel Appears to Virgin Bearing Unbelievable News,”

          “Lowly Town Site of Major Message from Heavenly Being,”

          “Angel Promises Virginal Conception: Fact or Fiction?”

          “Lowly Virgin Chosen to be Mother of God’s Only Son.”     

          Suddenly, almost without warning—what had been promised by God to King David a thousand years before—what had been prophesied by so many of God’s prophets—what Moses had prophesied to the people he led out of Egypt— and what had been long-awaited by so many people throughout so many centuries—was finally going to be fulfilled in and through Mary, the lowly and humble Virgin of Nazareth.  Finally, salvation was about to spring forth.  Finally, a new day was dawning for humanity.  Finally, hope was on the horizon.  Finally, God’s promises were about to be fulfilled.   

          The Angel speaks, “Hail, Full of Grace!  The Lord is with you!”

          Mary is confused.  What kind of greeting could this be, she wonders?  Never before had she been addressed in such a grand and important way, and by such a magnificent and luminous being….and at such a young age! 

          The Angel speaks again, “Do not be afraid Mary, for you have found favor with God.”  Mary sighs with relief.  The angel’s words are good news: she has found favor with the God of the ancient covenant, with the Lord of her people.  That’s always been her desire: to be pleasing to God, to find favor with Him through prayer, and to do His will faithfully and without reservation.

          But those first words from the angel aren’t even half of the story.  The angel goes on, “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.”

          Mary is awestruck and humbled in the sight of God.  Did she hear the angel correctly?  She’s been chosen by God to be the mother of WHO, exactly?  Ah, yes, God’s promised Messiah…the One who would liberate Israel and would one day bring peace to the whole world…the One that God promised to send into the world through the mouths of so many prophets.  God chose to give Mary the single greatest honor in the world….the honor of being the mother of the world’s one and only Savior: the Messiah, the Son of God. 

          But there’s a catch.  Mary speaks, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?”  Unlike so many of her contemporaries, Mary wanted to remain virginal in the Lord’s eyes, to be entirely consecrated to Him through her virginal purity.  How would it be possible for her to be both virgin and mother?  How would it be possible for her to offer her virginal purity to God and still be the mother of God’s promised Messiah? 

          The angel speaks, “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.”  There is Mary’s answer.  The child would be conceived not through human means, but through supernatural means…through the Holy Spirit, the power of the Most High.  This Child would be no ordinary child.  This Child would truly be the Son of God, a human being who could call on God as His Father in a unique way, and later enable others to do the same.

          And in case there’s any doubt that God could accomplish this, the angel offers another newsflash: “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 will be impossible for God.”  Amazing!  God helped the old woman Elizabeth conceive a son, even though she was formerly infertile and childless.  Mary thinks, if God could accomplish that, He can accomplish anything!  Indeed, God has demonstrated that nothing is impossible for Him!

          And after all that, there is a moment of silence.  It seems to go on forever.  While Mary only experiences the presence of this one angel, she doesn’t realize that there are countless others, practically holding their breath, waiting in silence, waiting to her the Virgin’s response.  The hosts of heaven know that God gave humanity the gift of free will for a reason, to choose to follow God freely, to say yes to His will not because they had to, but because they chose to.  It all came down to this.  Mary paused, drawing together all her courage and all her sincerity, and spoke the words that the whole universe waited to hear, “Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord.  May it be done to me according to your word.”

          In His goodness and His graciousness, God willed to include humanity in His plan of salvation.  Our first parents, Adam and Eve, fell from God’s grace through a free choice.  And so God willed that humanity would not be saved, except through another human’s free choice.  And when God proposed His plan of salvation, Mary said yes.  Her reply was humanity’s “yes” from humanity’s best -- the lowly and humble Virgin of Nazareth.

          Mary’s yes made His conception and birth possible.  We know that He would later go on to preach and teach and heal, and eventually to suffer and die, and on the third day, be raised to new and eternal life.  And as the world’s one and only Savior, He must be received again and again, as Mary received Him. 

          Salvation is God’s free gift.  God forces His gift on no one.  No one is forced to be saved.  On Christmas day, God will invite us to receive the most beautiful gift ever: the gift of Jesus!  It is the gift of a poor Child lying in a manger, the gift of an itinerant preacher, teacher, and healer from Nazareth, the gift of a Savior.

          So as Christmas draws near, don’t neglect either to give to others or to receive from God the greatest gift of all— the gift of God’s love for the world— the gift of Jesus.