Fourth Sunday of Advent - Year B
This child to be born is conceived by the gracious action of the Holy Spirit upon Mary, who finds favor with God. As Eve was the mother of all humanity doomed to sin, now Mary becomes the mother of the new Adam who will father a new humanity by his grace.
In today's Gospel, we are at the scene of The Annunciation. We see Mary believed God's word and gave her "yes" to God's will when the word of God delivered by Angel Gabriel. She knows she is hearing something beyond human capability. It will surely take a miracle which surpasses all that God has done previously. Her question, "how shall this be, since I have no husband" is not prompted by doubt or skepticism, but by wonderment! She is a true hearer of the Word and she immediately responds with faith and trust. Mary's prompt response of "yes" to the divine message is a model of faith for all believers. Mary believed God's promises even when they seemed impossible. She was full of grace because she trusted that what God said was true and would be fulfilled. She was willing and eager to do God's will, even if it seemed difficult or costly. Mary is the mother of God because God becomes incarnate when he takes on flesh in her womb. Jesus, whom the Father sent from heaven, is both true God and true man.
Today, it's time for us to ponder on how often we tend to follow our own will instead of the will of God? Perhaps, some even think that the choice that we make is equivalent to God's will. No doubt that we often hear people saying that "this is what God want me to do!" I guess the decision that we often make serve as our own self-fulfilment more than the will of God for us. In the society that speaks of certainty, we love to in charge of everything and we love to control. I guess there's where the society do not have peace in their lives because they think they can solve all the problems without relying on God's power.
Today, we have Mary, Our Blessed Mother, the model of faith to guide us to be a good Christian. Being good Christians, first and foremost, means learning to receive and accept from God’s hands whatever he wishes to give us. This was the quality of Mary. She had nothing to give God. She was a young fourteen year old girl. No one takes a child or a teenager seriously. What could she offer God? She was a woman. In Jewish society, women were second class citizens – they were only a little higher than the servants. She had no possession, no talent, no power to offer to God. Yet God chose her as the mother of His Son and He blessed her. She had won God’s favour only by being attentive to God’s will. She had won God’s favour only because she was ready to ‘listen.’ Mary is great because she learnt how to receive and accept from the hands of God whatever He wished to give her.
Today, we may think that we have nothing to give God. That may be true – no gift of ours is worthy. Everything that we have comes from God. What we are capable of giving isn’t that important. The question we must ask ourselves- are we prepared to receive from God’s hands? To be the receiver instead of the giver places us in the power of the giver. We can’t choose the gift. We can only choose to accept or reject whatever is given to us. Sometimes, that can be frightening. But there is nothing to be afraid off. We are called to place our lives in the hands of God. We must allow God to take control of our lives.
Let us unite our voices with the voice of Mary: “I am the handmaid of the Lord” – “We are merely the servants of God”. “Let what you have said be done to me.
Today, it's time for us to ponder on how often we tend to follow our own will instead of the will of God? Perhaps, some even think that the choice that we make is equivalent to God's will. No doubt that we often hear people saying that "this is what God want me to do!" I guess the decision that we often make serve as our own self-fulfilment more than the will of God for us. In the society that speaks of certainty, we love to in charge of everything and we love to control. I guess there's where the society do not have peace in their lives because they think they can solve all the problems without relying on God's power.
Today, we have Mary, Our Blessed Mother, the model of faith to guide us to be a good Christian. Being good Christians, first and foremost, means learning to receive and accept from God’s hands whatever he wishes to give us. This was the quality of Mary. She had nothing to give God. She was a young fourteen year old girl. No one takes a child or a teenager seriously. What could she offer God? She was a woman. In Jewish society, women were second class citizens – they were only a little higher than the servants. She had no possession, no talent, no power to offer to God. Yet God chose her as the mother of His Son and He blessed her. She had won God’s favour only by being attentive to God’s will. She had won God’s favour only because she was ready to ‘listen.’ Mary is great because she learnt how to receive and accept from the hands of God whatever He wished to give her.
Today, we may think that we have nothing to give God. That may be true – no gift of ours is worthy. Everything that we have comes from God. What we are capable of giving isn’t that important. The question we must ask ourselves- are we prepared to receive from God’s hands? To be the receiver instead of the giver places us in the power of the giver. We can’t choose the gift. We can only choose to accept or reject whatever is given to us. Sometimes, that can be frightening. But there is nothing to be afraid off. We are called to place our lives in the hands of God. We must allow God to take control of our lives.
Let us unite our voices with the voice of Mary: “I am the handmaid of the Lord” – “We are merely the servants of God”. “Let what you have said be done to me.
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