What happens when God enters your life?

***

Luke 1: 26-38

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, full of grace! 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 will be 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.

The Gospel of the Lord.

***

***

When God enters a person’s life, it takes dramatic turns, which we often don’t see coming. 

Consider the life of Mary. From the second she said “yes” to the Holy Spirit, all of the plans she envisioned for her life changed. 

She became an expectant mother. Christ started growing slowly, silently in her womb.

Then her marriage with Joseph was nearly called off. And it would’ve been had he not also said “yes” to the Holy Spirit.

After an angel appears to Joseph, encouraging him to take Mary and her child into his home, he accepts a turn in his own life which he never saw coming – foster fatherhood.

Within a year, the three of them – Mary, Joseph, and Jesus – experience another dramatic turn: the flight into Egypt. King Herod’s bloodthirsty campaign to kill Jesus forces them to flee their home, taking refuge in a foreign land.

Twelve years later, God continues stretching the minds and hearts of Mary and Joseph as Jesus disappears in the Temple for three days. And when they find him, all Jesus has to say is, “Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s business?”

Twenty years later, Mary is found standing at the foot of the Cross – a turn no parent ever wants to take.

***

But today we celebrate the final two, splendid turns in Mary’s life. Her assumption into heaven, and by extension her title as “Queen of Heaven.”

Looking back to her days as a young teenage virgin, Mary never could’ve imagined such a title – or glorious reality. But there she sits, enthroned in heaven, interceding on behalf of the Church.

***

She reminds us that when God enters our lives, dramatic and unexpected turns take place. Some of them we’d shriek from – like standing at the foot of the Cross; other’s we’d be humbled by, like welcoming the Lord into our heart.

But all of them somehow lead us along winding roads, which end in the same place: the kingdom of God.

May the Blessed Mother intercede on our behalf, that whenever we encounter a bend in the road, we may open our hearts and say “yes” to Jesus.

***

***

Image credits: (1) Modern Age Spirituality (2) Fish Eaters, The Queenship of Mary (3) Santa Maria FourSquare Church