The Gospel of Luke 1:26-38
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “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 holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
Let us Pray: The Song of Mary Magnificat Luke 1:46-55
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; *
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed: *
the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him *
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm, *
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, *
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things, *
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel, *
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers, *
to Abraham and his children for ever.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
God is often deeply hidden, and God is active through each of us for each other. In the visit of Mary, God came to Her in the ordinary moments of an ordinary day. These Advent and Christmas days give us the space to allow the huge eternal mystery to become part of the everyday. This Gospel from Luke is one that is very familiar to us. It is the story of Mary’s Annunciation when the angel appeared to her and revealed to her that she would conceive and bear a Son. Ask yourself: how do you think Mary reacted emotionally to the angel’s appearance and to the angel’s words that she would have a child, even though she had not “been” with a man? Mary was extremely troubled at the angel’s news. She must have had many questions and concerns: What did all this mean? How was this to come about? What would she tell Joseph? This tale was too fantastic for him to believe! Would he believe her or reject her? Yet somehow in the midst of her turmoil, Mary was able to trust God. And she freely consented to what God was asking of her. And thus, she would trust God even in this surreal and frightening situation. Yet, how was she to explain her situation to Joseph? Yet, she had to share this fantastic experience with him. How would he react? Would he be angry or humiliated? Would he spurn her? Or would he draw his own conclusions and believe that Mary had “been” with another man? Imagine the storm of emotions that this young Mary must have experienced! We do know that Joseph was simply, joyfully, wholeheartedly obedient to God, in marrying Mary, in naming Jesus, in shepherding the precious pair to Egypt, in bringing them to Nazareth, in the undetermined number of years of quiet faith and courage. And as Mary and us at times, we see Jesus and life also presents us with difficult or painful situations that may stir up a storm of emotion in us. How do we respond? Do we get angry, fearful, or anxious? Do we distance ourselves from God? Do we gradually come to believe that God is with us? Do we trust that God will guide and grace us? Remember the words of the Angel Gabriel “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. We have a wonderful model in Mary. Like Mary, we need to keep ourselves grounded in the God we know, trust and love. If we do this, then we may believe and trust that we will receive the grace and strength we need. This will bring us peace. God will bring us peace!
When I wrote this reflection on the Fourth Sunday of Advent three years ago, we were in lockdown because of Covid. Now as we again celebrate the last Sunday of Advent and wait with anticipation for the birth of the One who brings us Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. Soon it will be Christmas, the time we have been waiting through the year for. It will bring a period of happiness and joy to many but also to many it will bring a time of mourning and despair as many have lost loved ones in previous years. Even though many are not with us they remain in our hearts and this Sunday of Advent is the Sunday of Love, we can still feel the love of those we have lost. And as we look back on the other Sundays of Advent, the Sunday of Hope allows us to know that there is always Hope no matter how difficult things appear. The Sunday of Peace. Peace we can find within ourselves knowing that God has promised us, if we believe, the gift of eternal life. The Sunday of Joy, as John the Baptist emphasized, it’s not about me, so giving can bring the joy we need right now by giving to others. This year the fourth Sunday of Advent is also Christmas Eve. A day that gives us an opportunity to pause and reflect back on the year and especially the weeks of Advent. Four weeks of anticipation and expectations. Weeks when we are hoping to be able to celebrate Christmas with family and friends. This could be a good time to actually look at our expectations and ask ourselves do we expect too much or too little. Maybe we need to balance our expectations with what we want and what we need. To take the opportunity to help others that are in need and their expectations are just for a warm place and a warm meal. As winter wraps the world into a very quiet peace, the sounds of life are quiet. For a period, you can exist in a calm center of a sheltering love that has the feeling of keeping you safe. Peacefulness and love surround you, giving you time to breathe. As you enjoy the peacefulness only a silent sound reminds you that the love of God stands beside you. We rejoice as we go out into the world in your name to finish our Advent journey filled with Hope, Peace, Joy and Love ready to receive that promise afresh into our lives.
As I close may the peace of the Lord be with you and remember the words of Our Lord Jesus. “My Peace I give to you”.
Go out into the world in peace and follow in the steps of our Lord.
Merry Christmas. Pastor Bob
Reflections by Bob 