The gift of God’s love for us
God wants to connect with man. He decided to do it in a human way. She is therefore looking for a suitable mother who could bring forth the Son of God. So he looked up at Mary of Nazareth, a humble and spotless girl with a pure soul and a sincere heart, and wants to offer her a great rank, but also a difficult task, to become the Mother of the Savior. God wants to offer it !!! Do not impose. And so he sends his messenger to Nazareth, asking for “permission” so that God Himself may incarnate under the heart of the Virgin Mary. At first Mary was scared of the angel’s words, but the angel calmed her and she began to think about his words. He is to bring a child created by God into the world. The angel is waiting for her decision. At that time Israel was expecting the Savior, but did not expect it to come into the world in this very human way.
For nothing is impossible to God. God does not look at what is great in human eyes, but at a pure heart, willing to receive and fulfill God’s will. And that is why God chose this one in many ways. Our Lady is silently considering everything, and since this thing is about to touch her person directly, she asks, “How will this happen?” (Lk 1:34). Then he receives an answer, after which everything else is subsidiary: “The Holy Spirit will come down upon you, and the power of the Most High will be encumbered by you …” and the angel continues to add: “… it will be the Son of God” (Lk 1,35). At that time, Mary, encouraged by the report of Elizabeth, made by His omnipotence by the mother in her old age, no longer hesitates and expresses her humble approval: “Let it be done according to your word” (Lk 1:38). In this way, the Virgin Mary was completely and forever surrendered to the will of the Almighty God.
How do we believe Jesus’ words, dear brothers and sisters ?? Do we believe as the Virgin Mary? Or do we believe only because we have some advantages? What is our faith? Let our faith not be motivated solely by the solemn liturgy, the sacrament of marriage, or the Christian funeral. Our faith should come from our heart, that is, from within. What do we do with our faith when trials, difficulties, sorrows come in life? How do we act? Will we remain faithful in trouble, in trouble? Or we will turn to the benefits again and justify our actions and thoughts with excuses, such as: “How bad is the time today, how difficult it is to secure a family, what luxury it is to have a child and others today.”
If Abraham had believed in this way when he was going to sacrifice his only son, he would have received no promises from God, and not at all a covenant between God and man. But Abraham believed in hope against hope with all his heart, and God counted him as righteous. Mary’s situation at the time of the announcement was also not so easy. Mary was an honorable woman full of grace and peace, and it is almost certain that she liked God and people with her life and virtues. St. Luke writes that Mary was betrothed to Joseph, who came from the family of David (cf. Lk 1:27). So it was before the wedding. And to this peaceful and humble life comes an angel with the message of God: “You will conceive and give birth to a son …” and adds “… he shall reign over the family of James and his kingdom will not end” (Lk 1,31-33).
How would we react? Perhaps we would crumble and quickly apologize: But why am I, for I am poor, is there no better woman who could be the mother of the Savior? After all, I have a promise of purity, and besides, I am betrothed to Joseph, what does he say? Will they believe me? And if he doesn’t believe me? What then? People are stoning me. (In such situations Jews stoned unfaithful women.) And Elizabeth? After all, she’s an old woman. Will the baby be healthy at all? These were the real dangers that threatened Mary if he accepted God’s proposal. Despite all this, Mary believed God and was willing to bear these dangers. Why don’t we believe in God like that? Why do we believe in color TV advertising, a pre-election gift for eye and ear glue, or sweet fake speeches? Have we really believed that we will be happier in life if we use contraceptives? Every day in this place we listen to the Word of God.
But the word of God is not enough unless the ears are willing to listen to it. God’s Word is not enough unless the heart is willing to believe it and accept it. Do we hear it with our heart? Our Lady carefully listened to the angel’s words, kept them in her heart all her life and thought about them. Our faith should not only be superficial, manifested only externally, but should lead us to direct our hearts to God, to change our minds, and to confidently trust in God. May Our Lady empower us to think and act like us. And let us not be afraid to trust God fully. Let us not be afraid to act according to our faith because God is our Father and He is with us until the end of the world. Amen.
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