topleft05.jpg (18208 bytes)HOMILY
Fourth Sunday in Advent (B)
21 December 08


 

“Hail, full of grace!  The Lord is with you.”

Those words, spoken by the archangel Gabriel to Mary some two thousand years ago, have become so familiar that it’s relatively easy for people today to overlook what those words mean.  Yes, Gabriel was announcing to Mary that she would be the mother of God’s only begotten Son.  Why?  “God became human,” St. Athanasius wrote in his treatise On the Incarnation, “so that humans might become like God.”  In Mary’s son, God became human to show humanity—ordinary people like you and me—how they might become like God.

As we look to Mary’s son, Jesus, we see how we might become like God.  We learn from him the way and the truth that leads to freedom from sin as well as to the life that God breathed into each of us when God created us as unique and unrepeatable beings in all of history.  The life that is ours as we open our ears to hear it announced to us, “Hail full of grace!  The Lord is with you.”  We first heard that announcement when we received the Sacrament of Baptism.  We later heard that announcement when we received the Sacrament of Confirmation.  We hear that announcement anew each time we turn away from sin and embrace the life of God’s grace in the Sacrament of Penance.  And, we hear that announcement each time we receive the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.  “Hail full of grace!  The Lord is with you.”

Perhaps yes.  How many of us, however, are incredulous when we hear that announcement and do not allow those words to move through our ears and enter into our souls?  Incredulous, we ask: “God make himself incarnate in me?  Preposterous.  Sure, Mary.  Maybe even Father Jacobs.  But, me?  Oh, come on now!”

Perhaps many of us feel incredulous because we know we have sinned.  We have sinned and not repented.  “How could God make his home in me?” we ask.  Perhaps others of us feel incredulous because we allow our past sins to hover over us like one of those big, bilious summer clouds that are blackened by the combination of heat and humidity, are laden with water, and are ready, at any moment, to come pouring down upon us and ruin everything.  “How could God make his home in me?” we ask.  Perhaps others of us feel incredulous because even though we have repented for our sins, we continue believe never God could forgive us.  So, we bear a large boulder that is strapped to our backs and we claw our way along on our bellies each day eating the dirt of shame.  “How could God make his home in me?” we ask.  Some of us feel incredulous because dastardly and evil things have inexplicably transpired in our lives taking away what made us happy and, like Job, we believe God sent these things our way for some good reason, like to teach us a lesson.  “How could God make his home in me?” we ask.

However, each of these reasons—which make us feel incredulous at the thought that Gabriel could be making that same announcement to us—is completely and utterly bogus and without any merit whatsoever in God’s mind.  Why?  God didn’t become human because humans were like God.  No, St. Athanasius wrote, God became human so that humans could become like God.  “Hail, full of grace!  The Lord is with you” is an invitation to belief, namely, the belief that God has made Himself human so that humans might become like God.  It is an invitation is to a relationship...not to continued estrangement, a relationship focused upon the things of the future...not of the past, upon the restoration of what is...not the defilement of what once was, upon faith...not incredulity, hope...not despair, and love...not fear, ultimately, a change of heart...and not obligatory worship in a beautiful building.  God became human in order that human beings—imperfect people like you and me—might become like God.

Because Gabriel’s announcement is an invitation, it includes an RSVP.  God invites human beings to this relationship but leaves them free to accept or reject this gracious initiative.  Mary knew this well.  She offered reasons why God could not become human with her.  Yet, having no assurance about where accepting this invitation would lead her, what this invitation would cost her, and only certain that this invitation would change everything in her life, Mary said: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.  Be it done unto me according to your word.”

Father Joseph Pelligrino, the pastor of St. Ignatius Parish in St. Petersburg, Florida, tells the story of his roaming through the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City a few years back.  Wearing one of those IPod audio guides, Fr. Joe happened upon a medieval painting of the scene depicted in today’s Gospel, entitled “The Annunciation.”  With at least fifty paintings of the Annunciation displayed in various rooms, nooks, and crannies of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, for some reason unknown Fr. Joe punched the number identifying that painting into the IPod and listened to the narrator’s commentary about this particular masterpiece.  The narrator pointed out the painting’s various different technical elements and then discussed the role of the dove located above Mary and the Archangel Gabriel’s head.  The narrator correctly reported that the dove represented the Holy Spirit and then directed attention to the rays of light emanating from the dove which appear to be entering into one of Mary’s ears.  “In this painting,” the narrator continued, “the artist depicted the quaint theory that since Mary was a virgin and remained a virgin, the conception of Jesus took place through Mary’s ears leaving the rest of her body virginal.”  (You just can’t make this stuff up!)

Fr. Joe points out that the narrator had unfortunately and completely missed the artist’s theological point, which was that Mary heard Gabriel announce God’s word and allowed it to move through her ears, into her mind, and then most importantly into her soul.  That is why the Holy Spirit was able to overshadow Mary.  As Mary listened to and responded from the depths of her soul to God’s gracious invitation, this is how the Word of God became flesh.

The Archangel Gabriel’s announcement to Mary is also addressed to each of us.  God graciously invites us to a relationship wherein God can become human so that we can become more like God.  Like Mary, are we listening?  Do Gabriel’s words move through our ears and stop in our minds as we come up with all sorts of reasonable explanations about why God is not with us?  Or, do we allow Gabriel’s words to move through our mind and make their home in our soul?  Then, most importantly, are we willing to offer ourselves to God by saying, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.  May it be done to me according to your word”?

Because scripture is practically silent about Mary, the story of the Annunciation is crucial if we are to grasp Mary’s central role in God’s plan of salvation as it culminated on the first Christmas day.  Mary has captured the imagination of Catholics because she heard the announcement of God’s word, allowed it to enter into and transform her soul, and responded by saying, “May it be done to me according to your word.”

In his book The Blessing of Christmas, Pope Benedict XVI discusses why Mary is so important.  The Pope notes that every creature offered Mary a sign of gratitude for her trust in accepting God’s invitation: the angels offered a hymn; the heavens offered a star; the Magi offered gifts; the shepherds offered admiration; the earth offered a cave.  “But, what about the human race?”, he asks.  “What do we have to offer God?”  The Pope’s answer?  To offer exactly what Mary offered, not personal failures, sins, or excuses, but to recognize the true capacity of our human nature by becoming more like God (2007, p. 112).

“Hail, full of grace!  The Lord is with you.” Despite war and economic turmoil, we live in the very best of times.  How is that possible?  Those who see these times as possibly the worst of times are measuring success by human standards and not by God’s standards.  Today’s gospel about the Annunciation reminds all of us that success is measured to the degree—like Mary—we hear God’s word with our ears, allow God’s word to enter into our minds and transcend into our souls, and as we accept God’s invitation to be made flesh in us full of trust and confidence.

The gospel of this last Sunday of Advent issues a challenge: to be more intensive in our preparations, not for Christmas day but for God to be made flesh…with us and within us.  Mary shows us how meet that challenge successfully in her simple, two-statement response to the Archangel Gabriel: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.  May it be done to me according to your word.”

 

 

A brief commercial break...

As Catholics, we prepare for Christ's coming by celebrating the season of Advent.  During those four weeks, we prepare the way for Christ to come into our own lives each and every day not just on Christmas day.  For Catholic families, let me suggest five practical ways to prepare for Christ's coming:

1. Place an advent wreath in the center of your dinner table.  Each evening before sitting down for dinner, have one member offer a prayer of thanksgiving to God for His presence in the life of your family and light the appropriate candle(s).

Looking for an advent wreath?  The best advent wreath (and Christmas wreath, by the way) is made of holly not evergreen.  The elements of holly (the holly itself and the red berries) recall the crucifixion of Christ.  He was crowned with thorns.  The thorns bit into his brow, causing red drops of blood to flow.  No color is more associated with Christmas than red, the color of Good Friday.  This symbolism is consistent with scripture: "By the Lord's stripes we are healed."  So, the holly is green, a color associated with life and hope—reminding us of the birth of the Savior—and the berries are red—reminding us of how the gift of eternal life has been won for us through the blood of Christ.

I don't think it's easy to find holly wreathes, but then, I've never looked for one.  I do know that a round metal wire holder and plastic holly branches can be purchased at Michael's.  That would do the trick.  Then remember: three purple and one pink candle.  And, don't forget to place the Advent calendar on the front of the refrigerator.

2. Use an Advent calendar   Hang an advent calendar on the refrigerator door beginning on December 1st.  Each morning, before everyone scatters for the day, have one member of the family open one door and read the scripture verse or describe the biblical scene behind the door.  This is a great way for family members to keep focused on the coming of Christ for the rest of the day.

3. Make a Jesse tree.  The Jesse tree is the traditional way that Catholics recall Jesus' heritage, coming from the line of King David, the son of Jesse.  Have members of the family make a symbol for each day of Advent that marks an important moment in Israel's history (e.g., Noah's ark, Jacob's ladder, Moses' stone tablets, David's harp).  Then, each evening before everyone goes to bed, gather the family around the Jesse tree, have the family member explain the symbol, and hang it on the tree.

4. Celebrate the Feast of St. Nicholas on December 6th.  One way to "put Christ back into Christmas" is to reclaim the faith-filled life of heroic virtue revealed in the great Christian saint, St. Nicholas of Myra.  Besides sharing simple gifts with family members, like placing candy in shoes that have been left outside of the bedroom door, share some time with people who are alone, in the hospital, convalescing, etc.

5. Celebrate God's mercy.  Advent is a particularly fitting time for every member of the family to welcome the light of God's forgiveness into the dark places of family life.  Gather the family together and go to church to celebrate the Sacrament of Penance together.  Then, go out for pizza to celebrate God's mercy and a new beginning free from sin.

By participating in these five practical activities to prepare for Christmas day, Catholic families will not only have contemplated their need for God and God's self-revelation through salvation history.  In addition, they will have experienced God present and active in their family's life.  Then, on Christmas day, when family members greet one another by saying, "Merry Christmas," they all will truly be prepared to celebrate the Mass wherein Christ will strengthen and nourish them with his body and blood to bring Christ to the world. 

 

 

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