MARY'S "YES"
Mary's prompt response of "yes" to the
divine message is a model of faith for all of us.
Nothing will be impossible for God! Today we celebrate the Feast of the
Annunciation. St. Luke tells us that in the sixth month after the conception of
St. John the Baptist within Elizabeth, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to
the Virgin Mary at Nazareth, a small town in the mountains of Galilee. Mary was
of the house of David, and was espoused to Joseph, of the same royal family.
She had, however, not yet gone to live in the household of her spouse, but was
still in her mother's house, working, perhaps, over her dowry. And the angel
having taken the figure and the form of a man, came into the house and said to
her: "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you." Mary, having heard
the words of greeting, did not speak; she was troubled in spirit, since she
knew not the angel, nor the cause of his coming, nor the meaning of the
salutation. And the angel continued and said: "Fear not, Mary, for thou
hast found grace with God. Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt
bring forth a Son; and thou shalt call His name Jesus. He shall be great, and
shall be called the Son of Most High; and the Lord God shall give unto Him the
throne of David His father - and He shall reign in the house of Jacob forever.
And of His kingdom there shall be no end." Mary understood that there was
question of the coming Redeemer. But why should she be elected from amongst
women for the splendid dignity of being the mother of the Messiah, having vowed
her virginity to God? (St. Augustine).
Therefore, not doubting the word, but filled with fear and astonishment,
she said: "How shall this be done, because I know not man?"
The angel, to remove Mary's anxiety and to assure her that her
virginity, which she had vowed to God, would be spared, answered, "The
Holy Spirit shall come upon thee and the power of the Most High shall
overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy One which shall be born of thee
shall be called the Son of God."
In token of the truth of his word, Gabriel made known to her the
conception of John, the miraculous pregnancy of her relative, now elderly and
sterile: "And behold, thy cousin Elizabeth; she also hath conceived a son
in her old age, and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren:
because no word shall be impossible with God." Mary may not yet have fully
understood the meaning of the heavenly message and how the maternity might be
reconciled with her vow of virginity, but clinging to the first words of the
angel and trusting to the omnipotence of God she said: "Behold the
handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word." This was
Mary's "Yes" that continues to resonate down the "arches of the
years."
The Annunciation is the incipiency of Jesus in His human nature. Through
His mother Mary, He is a member of the human race. About to establish a new
generation of "children of God," the Redeemer does not arrive in the
way of earthly generations: the power of the Holy Spirit enters the chaste womb
of the Virgin Mary, forming the humanity of Christ. Many holy fathers (Sts.
Jerome, Ephrem, Augustine) say that the consent of Mary was essential to the
Redemption. It was the will of God, St. Thomas says, that the redemption of
humankind should depend upon the consent of Mary. This does not mean that God
in His plans was bound by the will of a human creature, and that his people
would not have been redeemed if Mary had not consented. It only means that the
consent of Mary was foreseen from all eternity, and therefore was received as
essential into the design of God.
I would like to finish by asking this question for us to ponder this
morning: Do we want to live a grace-filled life? God freely lavishes His grace
upon all who believe in Him. We see the unfolding of God's plan of redemption
in the events leading up to the Incarnation, the birth of the Messiah. Mary's
prompt response of "yes" to the divine message is a model of faith
for all of us. Our Father gives grace and He wants us to respond with the same
willingness, obedience, and heart-felt trust that Mary had. When God commands,
He also gives the grace, strength, and means to respond. We can either yield to
His grace or resist and go our own way. Do we believe in God's promise and do
we yield to His grace?