The Annunciation Of Mary - March 25th
We also read from Hebrews regarding Christ being the fulfillment of God's will for salvation. (Hebrews 10:4-10)
But what will stick in the mind of most is the Gospel account of Luke detailing the Angel Gabriel's visit to Mary (Luke 1:26-38 ).....
"The
angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of
the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And
coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with
you.”
But
she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of
greeting this might be.
Then
the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found
favor with God. Behold,
you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him
Jesus.
He
will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord
God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule
over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no
end.”
But
Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations
with a man?”
And the angel said to her in reply, “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.
And
behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old
age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for
nothing will be impossible for God.”
Mary
said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May
it be done to me according to your word.”
Then
the angel departed from her.”
Does
that account sound familiar? It should - you hear it every year at Christmas.
Yet here it is again at The Solemnity of The Annunciation on March 25th,
in Spring, right in the middle of Lent.
Why? Pure logic....March 25th
is exactly nine months before the birth of Jesus on December
25th.
However, the core
MESSAGE is - "Rejoice and Fear Not."
Today
we reflect on these two central messages from the Angel to Mary: "
1.
“Rejoice, full of grace"
2. "Do not fear"
Did
you catch that? The
emphasis is that, like Mary, if we are actually believers of God's
grace-filled plan in Christ, then we accept God's will and trust that
the Lord is with us - regardless of life's problems. Fears, should
not paralyze us, but rather we should listen to God's word and be
glad.
These ideas are interpreted as emotional and spiritual calls to action for believers, mirroring the experience of the Virgin Mary.
-
"Rejoice"
According
to the narrator, this is a call to live fully rather than just
surviving, engrossed in negative emotions like bitterness. It means
finding joy in the KNOWLEDGE and BELIEF that the
Lord is with you,
regardless of life's challenges, illnesses, or problems.
-
"Fear Not"
This
is a literal command by God's messegner, Gabriel, to overcome
paralysis caused by negativity. While healthy caution can prevent
literal danger, negative fear destroys and isolates us. "Fear
not," doesn't mean be blind to reality. Rather, it means
trusting in God's word and presence, rather than giving in to despair
complaining.
In
short, the memory of the Annunciation changes our daily life – or
it should change us - by calling Christians to shift from a mindset
of bitterness, anger, judging, loathing, mere plodding survival and
negativity …. to one of faith and active participation in God's
plan.
That sounds great...So how do you do that?
- Find Joy in Presence: Instead of complaining, judging, being bitter when facing life and its diffculties, work hard at actively embracing joy in the knowledge that the Lord is with you.
-
Overcome Paralysis: The
American author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, wrote that the true test of
intellect is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the
same time - while still being able to function.
In
a similar way, Christians are reminded to see with clarity and stop
letting fear or compulsion dictate their actions. Instead of giving
in to paralyzing, negative fear and emotions, the message is to
accept reality while trusting
in God's promise that
He is present.
-
Active Faith: True
LISTENING to God's word must lead to a total change in behavior,
leading one to become a better
person and Christian
by
embodying the trust shown by Mary.
When
you find yourself absorbed with complaining, bitterness, loathing,
judging others, and focusing on negatives, etc., this is a sign that
you're not truly believing that the
Lord is with you.
Rather, they are SUBSTITUTES we allow
to take the place of God's presence.
If we truly have faith in
God's presence, we trust that God has a design and is present in all
circumstances, whereas our own self-derived negativity indicates a
lack of trust in that divine presence.
So
the
message of the Annunciation helps Christians transform their daily
lives by shifting from a mindset of, “getting by” and negativity
to one of faith and active participation in God's plan. For many,
this surrender, alone, is a radical change
in behavior
and
lifestyle.
The Annunciation changed Mary's life forever. Something that
isn't much mentioned among Christians is that Mary was one girl among
many – in her time, all the young Jewish women were aware of the
Scriptures foretelling the Messiahs birth from a virgin. It could
have been ANY one of them, and they stayed close to God should they
be chosen.
Nevertheless, when the “moment of truth” came, we
see Mary's reaction – she was “troubled,” the scripture says.
Probably, she was quite surprised, amazed, and in shock. After all,
an angel of God had come to her!
But, she absorbed the reality
that God would be present with her, and she shifted her mindset.
That's what we are called to do. Stop the paralysis of fear and
negativity. Stop picking at everything and everyone, and joyously
submit, as Mary did, to Gods designs.
He is with us, and we have much
to be joyously grateful for in that!
Inspired by a video from Oxi-Espiritual - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEwyZ7qSIqU
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