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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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What would have happened if Mary said “no?”
Would the Lord have taken on flesh, died on a cross, or have been raised? Would we ever celebrate Easter? How might the world – and God’s own plans – have changed if Mary said, “no”?
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Put yourself in her shoes.
She’s a teenager preparing to get married. Out of the blue, an angel appears to her, dropping the biggest bomb imaginable.
“Hail, favored one! Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus… and of his kingdom, there will be no end!”
While that sounds nice – and quite impossible – consider some of Mary’s genuine concerns: What if she dies in childbirth? What if Joseph won’t accept her? What if her family excommunicates her? What if this isn’t real?
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There’s no way Mary could’ve reasoned her way to, “Yes.”
This was a trial of the heart.
Only a Jew who knew the Law – and lived it from the fullness of their heart – could ever get close to her words, “Let it be done unto me according to your word.”
As Christ later proclaims, “The first of all the Commandments is this: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.”
If Mary loved either Joseph, her family, or even her own life, more than God, then she never could’ve said, “yes” to the angel Gabriel.
But she surrenders it all. Thus, this moment more than any other reveals Mary’s purity of heart and her fulfillment of all religion.
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This Feast of the Annunciation also begs the question, “What if we say, ‘no’?”
What good is it for Mary to do her part, to smuggle Christ into the world, if we do not do the same in our own time, way, and place?
Just as Christ drew on Mary’s flesh and bones to incarnate himself in our world, so the Lord makes himself present in every age, using our own heart, hands, and feet.
Ours are the lips through which he forgives; the hands by which he serves; the heart through which he loves. As Teresa of Avila once said, “Christ has no body now but yours.”
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How do you make Christ present for others?
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May Mary, Mother of God, pray for us that we would follow her way, loving the Lord our God more than anyone or anything, even ourselves.
In so doing, Christ will make himself present in our world in every generation, even in you and me.
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Image credits: (1) Fra Angelico, Annunciation (2) The Christ Child, Fra Angelico (3) Bible Hub