4th sunday Advent Year B
Amen to God’s Will
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
During Advent, we have been thinking of Mary bearing Jesus in her womb. Now on this last Sunday of Advent we think more particularly about Mary.
In order for us to appreciate better God’s choice of Mary and her fiat to God’s call, it is helpful for us to have a general picture of Jesus’ time. Women at Jesus’ time were regarded as pieces of property to be owned and disposed of by men as the men deemed fit. In courts of law, the testimony of a woman was not admissible. Every morning, a Jewish man would thank God that, among other things, he was not a woman!
We believe that the conception of Jesus in the womb of Mary took place at the moment she said “Yes” to God. That is why the feast of the Annunciation is placed on March 25, nine months before Christmas. She said ‘Yes’ to the angel Gabriel to become the mother of Jesus. Think of the consequences it could have had for her.
How old was Mary at the time? We don’t really know, but that hasn’t stopped people from speculating. The minimum age for marriage under Jewish law is 13 for boys, 12 for girls. The official betrothal could take place a year prior to the full-fledged marriage. The Talmud recommends that a man marry by the age of 18. Therefore, it would not have been unusual for Mary to have been betrothed to Joseph by the age of 15.
She was betrothed to Joseph. That meant they were legally bound to each other although they did not live together. In Israel a woman who was unfaithful during betrothal was stoned to death (Deut 22:20-21). Mary responded to God’s Call saying: “Be it done unto me according to your word.” Her response was faith. She believed. We have always regarded Mary as a model believer, an example of faith. But when we consider that the possibility that being stoned to death awaited Mary for saying yes to the angel, we see how strong her faith really was. She was willing even to risk death for the sake of obeying God. Apart from that, we can easily imagine all the many nasty things that were said about Mary, all the nasty looks that she had to endure, and all the hushed whisperings that she knew were about her. She was indeed a woman of great faith.
Nazareth is a village whose population was perhaps 200 to 400 people, all of whom were most likely Jewish, in terms of size, the largest Nazareth could have been was a little less than 30 acres with human beings inhabiting perhaps only 10 of those acres. Lots of space separated the houses—which were very small—to provide for each family’s livestock pens and small garden.
Reflecting on these conditions, it is quite likely that everyone knew everyone else and everyone else’s private affairs and personal business as well. Therefore, it is not easy for Mother Mary to cover her pregnancy. Personal strengths as well as personal weaknesses and failures were likely known by all. As a result, it would be difficult for any Nazarene to be pretentious.
“Amen.” One word in Aramaic, the language of Palestine, says it all, “Amen.” It means, “So be it”, “be it done unto me according to your word.” Mary literally said, “Amen”, and then she conceived Jesus in her womb. St. Augustine says Mary believed by faith and conceived by faith, i.e. conceived Jesus in her mind through faith before conceiving him in her womb. Every time we say “Amen” to God, we conceive Jesus in faith as Mary did. Then when we act on Jesus’ words, we bring Jesus in to the world as Mary did.
Mary knew that from the human point of view she may not even be able to bring her pregnancy to its full term but she had faith to believe that what is impossible for us is possible for God. And so, with that faith she said yes. She surrendered into the hands of God, and it really was surrendering because she did not know what the consequences would be. But she had faith to believe that no matter what difficulties would follow God would provide a way out and a remedy. Mary’s final words to the angel are a model for each of us, “I am the Lord’s servant, let what you have said be done to me.” And because Mary surrendered to God, Jesus came.
Mary was humble, that was why she was able to make the greatest act of faith in history. We could pick up four fundamental attitudes of Mary for her to say Amen to God’s call to be the Mother of Jesus. She has unlimited trust in whatever God wills. She does not demand that first she must ´understand´; she accepts that God´s ways, even in their human ramifications, necessarily surpass us. She has no preconceived personal plans that are non-negotiable and to which God´s plan must be adjusted. To know and do His will is the hinge on which her life turns.
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, We are the glass through which the light of Christ is to shine. Whether it is blacked-out, smudged or crystal clear depends on our response to Christ’s invitation to be His disciples. So, in these final days of preparation to celebrate Christmas, may others see our deeper vision of Christ reflected in the manner in which we celebrate our Christmas.
Mary shows us how to be a follower of Jesus, making a loving surrender into the hands of God who loves us. The angel left Mary. She was on her own now, or so it seemed. In fact she was not really on her own, God was with her and in her. It is like that for us too sometimes. God calls us, we answer and then we feel on our own. But we are not really alone because God is with us.
Let us pray now asking for help to continue responding to God’s call even when we think we’re on our own but we are not in fact on our own, he is with us.....
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
During Advent, we have been thinking of Mary bearing Jesus in her womb. Now on this last Sunday of Advent we think more particularly about Mary.
In order for us to appreciate better God’s choice of Mary and her fiat to God’s call, it is helpful for us to have a general picture of Jesus’ time. Women at Jesus’ time were regarded as pieces of property to be owned and disposed of by men as the men deemed fit. In courts of law, the testimony of a woman was not admissible. Every morning, a Jewish man would thank God that, among other things, he was not a woman!
We believe that the conception of Jesus in the womb of Mary took place at the moment she said “Yes” to God. That is why the feast of the Annunciation is placed on March 25, nine months before Christmas. She said ‘Yes’ to the angel Gabriel to become the mother of Jesus. Think of the consequences it could have had for her.
How old was Mary at the time? We don’t really know, but that hasn’t stopped people from speculating. The minimum age for marriage under Jewish law is 13 for boys, 12 for girls. The official betrothal could take place a year prior to the full-fledged marriage. The Talmud recommends that a man marry by the age of 18. Therefore, it would not have been unusual for Mary to have been betrothed to Joseph by the age of 15.
She was betrothed to Joseph. That meant they were legally bound to each other although they did not live together. In Israel a woman who was unfaithful during betrothal was stoned to death (Deut 22:20-21). Mary responded to God’s Call saying: “Be it done unto me according to your word.” Her response was faith. She believed. We have always regarded Mary as a model believer, an example of faith. But when we consider that the possibility that being stoned to death awaited Mary for saying yes to the angel, we see how strong her faith really was. She was willing even to risk death for the sake of obeying God. Apart from that, we can easily imagine all the many nasty things that were said about Mary, all the nasty looks that she had to endure, and all the hushed whisperings that she knew were about her. She was indeed a woman of great faith.
Nazareth is a village whose population was perhaps 200 to 400 people, all of whom were most likely Jewish, in terms of size, the largest Nazareth could have been was a little less than 30 acres with human beings inhabiting perhaps only 10 of those acres. Lots of space separated the houses—which were very small—to provide for each family’s livestock pens and small garden.
Reflecting on these conditions, it is quite likely that everyone knew everyone else and everyone else’s private affairs and personal business as well. Therefore, it is not easy for Mother Mary to cover her pregnancy. Personal strengths as well as personal weaknesses and failures were likely known by all. As a result, it would be difficult for any Nazarene to be pretentious.
“Amen.” One word in Aramaic, the language of Palestine, says it all, “Amen.” It means, “So be it”, “be it done unto me according to your word.” Mary literally said, “Amen”, and then she conceived Jesus in her womb. St. Augustine says Mary believed by faith and conceived by faith, i.e. conceived Jesus in her mind through faith before conceiving him in her womb. Every time we say “Amen” to God, we conceive Jesus in faith as Mary did. Then when we act on Jesus’ words, we bring Jesus in to the world as Mary did.
Mary knew that from the human point of view she may not even be able to bring her pregnancy to its full term but she had faith to believe that what is impossible for us is possible for God. And so, with that faith she said yes. She surrendered into the hands of God, and it really was surrendering because she did not know what the consequences would be. But she had faith to believe that no matter what difficulties would follow God would provide a way out and a remedy. Mary’s final words to the angel are a model for each of us, “I am the Lord’s servant, let what you have said be done to me.” And because Mary surrendered to God, Jesus came.
Mary was humble, that was why she was able to make the greatest act of faith in history. We could pick up four fundamental attitudes of Mary for her to say Amen to God’s call to be the Mother of Jesus. She has unlimited trust in whatever God wills. She does not demand that first she must ´understand´; she accepts that God´s ways, even in their human ramifications, necessarily surpass us. She has no preconceived personal plans that are non-negotiable and to which God´s plan must be adjusted. To know and do His will is the hinge on which her life turns.
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, We are the glass through which the light of Christ is to shine. Whether it is blacked-out, smudged or crystal clear depends on our response to Christ’s invitation to be His disciples. So, in these final days of preparation to celebrate Christmas, may others see our deeper vision of Christ reflected in the manner in which we celebrate our Christmas.
Mary shows us how to be a follower of Jesus, making a loving surrender into the hands of God who loves us. The angel left Mary. She was on her own now, or so it seemed. In fact she was not really on her own, God was with her and in her. It is like that for us too sometimes. God calls us, we answer and then we feel on our own. But we are not really alone because God is with us.
Let us pray now asking for help to continue responding to God’s call even when we think we’re on our own but we are not in fact on our own, he is with us.....
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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