Homily, Fourth Sunday of Advent: Listening and saying yes to God

         Today starts the fourth week of Advent. We’ve all been preparing for the Lord’s coming at Christmas. We may have been busy getting ready for Christmas putting up decorations, buying presents, and figuring out how to celebrate the holiday safely. Some of us have had to cut back this year and won’t be able to be with our loved ones. Christmas this year seems a bit different from the past and may be a bit challenging.   With all the challenges we’ve gone through this year, it may be good to reflect on why God sent his Son to be with us, pondering in our hearts like Mary did. 

        In today’s Gospel the angel Gabriel is sent by God, to announce to Mary that she would

conceive a child.  The angels greeting, “Hail, full of Grace.  The Lord is with you.”, is troubling for Mary. This usual Hebrew greeting would be, shalom, meaning, “peace be with you”.    The greeting she hears, Hail, is in Greek and means rejoice or Joy.    The second part of the greeting: “full of grace!” is also related to joy.  Why would Gabriel use this greeting?  Because joy and grace belong together announcing the good news of the Gospel.  Mary ponders this greeting, reflecting on it in her heart on what it means.

The angel then tells her, “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you shall name him Jesus” and “The Lord will give him the throne of David his father,  and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of this kingdom there will be no end”.  The angel is rejoicing in the gift of the Holy Spirit that brings about the conception of Jesus, a name that means: GOD SAVES.  This greeting is a sign that salvation is coming for all people, both Jews and Gentiles.  THIS is truly GOOD NEWS.  

Mary reflects in her heart on the angel’s greeting and seeks to understand what it means.  Mary was betrothed to Joseph, a step on the way to marriage. Having a child before marriage was definitely not in her plans. This could jeopardize her marriage plans and even be a threat to her own life. This would be troubling for Mary.  Gabriel consoles her by saying, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God”.   

Mary’s pondering leads to a question.   She’s in dialogue with God’s messenger and listening to him. This is a good model for us to follow, in our prayer life. Prayer is dialogue with God.  It’s not just about asking God for something, but also having a conversation and listening to God. We can learn from Mary to reflect in prayer when faced with troubling situations, and to try understanding them in God’s overall plan. 

Mary seeks to understand how it’s possible for her to conceive a child without being with a man.  The angel answers Mary, “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”.  To reassure Mary the angel tells of her cousin, Elizabeth, who was childless, beyond childbearing age, and now is six months pregnant. He finishes with “nothing will be impossible for God.”

Mary pondered and chose to say YES: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.  May it be done to me according to your word”.   Mary was free to say yes or no, just like we are.    It’s amazing that exalted God, who created humanity, would rely on a humble young woman’s response to restore humanity.   This yes set-in motion the reversal of Adam and Eve’s no to God and brought about the salvation of humanity through the birth of Jesus. 

It’s said that Mary’s yes to God allowed her to conceive through her ears.   What seemed to be a troubling situation for Mary, turned into the most joyful event for all of humanity. By pondering in her heart in dialogue with God she came to understand God’s will for her.

This year with the pandemic we’ve all had plans that did not turn out as expected. We all know people who have gotten sick or have died, many have lost jobs, and significant events in our lives have been canceled or postponed.   We’ve all struggled with isolation and being away from loved ones.     We definitely did not plan what we’re going through, and it’s been troubling for all of us. In this time of trouble, have we pondered in our hearts like Mary asking God what this all means? It may be a call for us to be in relationship with God listening his will for us, to be saved by his Son Jesus.  We will soon be celebrating the birth of our savior, Jesus, whose name means “God Saves”. The exalted God chose to be born humble that he might disclose majesty through this very humility.  He chose to be born as a baby to live among our imperfect humanity in order to save the world.

Let’s use the last few days of Advent to ponder in our hearts and have a dialogue with God just as Mary did. May we be open to God’s will and grace for each of us, especially to be saved by his Son. St. Augustine said that Mary first conceived Christ in her heart by faith before she conceived him in her womb.   As we approach the birth of Christ, may we seek to have this same faith and to say yes to follow God’s will.   May the Eucharist we are about to receive gives us the strength us to respond as Mary did.