Becoming Fully Alive: On the feast of the Immaculate Conception

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Gospel (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.

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Have you ever watched an eagle soar in the sky?

It’s simply awesome. 

It’s majestic. It’s free.

But if you trim its feathers, then instantly it’s grounded, making it unable to fly. 

You might say, clipping a bird’s wings prevents it from becoming fully alive.

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In the Gospel, it feels like Mary’s wings have been clipped.

She’s grounded in fear. 

Imagine her sitting comfortably on the sofa during an otherwise ordinary night. Maybe she was watching something like The Real Housewives of Nazareth when suddenly the angel Gabriel appears to her and says: 

“Behold, Mary you will conceive in your womb and bear a son…and of his kingdom there will be no end!”

“Excuse, me!” She must’ve thought. “Can you say that in my good ear?” 

After all, Mary wonders, “Who’s this angel anyway? Where is he from? And how can I become pregnant? I’ve had no relations with a man! … And how will I tell Joseph? He’ll never believe me!”

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Suddenly, her future seems uncertain, as if her plans have been thrown out the window. She’s too terrified to consider what this all means.

Her wings have been clipped. 

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Perhaps some of us have had a similar sense of fear.

Think about how you may have felt after receiving a malignant diagnosis. Or how your heart ached when your child went off to college, leaving you with an empty nest. Or the day you were laid off after working for the same company for thirty years.

Like Mary, sometimes our lives take unexpected turns, leaving us grounded in fear.

But Mary’s faith enabled her to overcome that fear, embracing a future yet to be written. “Let it be done to me according to your word,” she says.

With hindsight, we know what a blessed future it will be.

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As we turn to face 2023, the Gospel invites us to embrace yet another year, trusting that God is with us, just as he was with Mary.

No matter what stage of life we’re in – whether we’re newly baptized, teenagers, newlyweds, parents, grandparents, seniors, or somewhere in between, God has a plan.

As it’s written in the Psalms, “The Lord watches over the footsteps of his faithful ones.”

With faith – not fear – we’ll become fully alive.

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Image credits: (1) Radio Angelus (2) Leonardo DaVinci, Annunciation (3) Twitter