Readings:
Isaiah 7: 10 – 14
Luke 1: 26 – 38
Reflection:
The first Reading sets the stage for the Gospel. Isaiah tells the dis-believing King Ahaz that God has a plan to save his People and that a young maiden, later interpreted as a virgin in the Greek translation, would bear a child whose name would be Immanuel – God-with -us.
So when we hear the Gospel of the angel coming to the young woman Mary in an obscure village in Galilee, we are already alerted that this is a Work of God – the angel comes as a messenger of God Most High. As we hear or read this Gospel, let us feel a sense of awe and the majesty of what is happening. Let us try to hear it as if for the first time!
God in his great Faithful Love is bringing into our sinful broken world – a world full of promise, yet beset by our failures and violence – His very own Son.
Mary, a young woman from an obscure village in Galilee – is gifted and chosen to be the mother of the Saviour, the Word of God who becomes Man.
She, at first perhaps afraid and surprised by the vision and message of the angel seeks to understand how this will come about. She is a virgin and does not live with her betrothed Joseph
The angel explains that she will conceive and bear a child – through the power of the Holy Spirit. ‘And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God.’
Mary’s response is simple, trusting and full of humble faith. “You see before you the Lord’s servant; let it happen to me as you have said.”
Let us learn from this Gospel that God has a plan for each of us and for all of us. His Plan is mysterious and full of love. Let us learn to be open to follow what God’s designs are for me and to learn from the simple faith and trust of Mary whose “Yes” to God has made all the difference !
Pat McIndoe CP, a Passionist at St. Joseph, Port Moresby, PNG.