God always has great plans for us His creatures. In the accomplishment of these plans, He usually invites us to cooperate with Him. The interesting thing is that He never comes with force but invites us with great arguments and persuasive words. We find all these played out in the readings of today’s solemn feast of the Annunciation.
Invitation to Mary to Work with God
The story of the Annunciation is the account of the divine persuasion of a human agent to cooperate with Him in the accomplishment of His plan to save humanity. The interaction between the Angel Gabriel and Mary reveals deeply the way God acts with us whenever He wants to involve us in the accomplishment of His plan. In the story, Mary has already been chosen to be the one to provide the human body for the incarnation of the Word of God. But her free consent has to be sought.
She has all the reasons to say no, following her own will. She already has her own plans for her life, with a clear picture of a happy marital life with Joseph in the quietness of the village. Now God invites her to get involved in a role she never imagined. Ordinarily she is fascinated but being a humble type she knows that the demands are too much. She asks to know how possible such a mission would be since she is still a virgin and, of course, already betrothed to a man. What would the local people say if she is seen to be pregnant before marriage?
The angel convinces her with two powerful arguments: first, she is full of grace and the Lord is with her, meaning that she is not alone, and she would not act with ordinary human power. The second is that God is a master of possibilities, as nothing is impossible before him. A case in point is the surprising pregnancy of Elizabeth at old age and despite her acclaimed barrenness. So, any fear of Mary regarding the unknown is taken care of. God is superior to every force and every situation. At the end, Mary bends her will to the superior will of God: “I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word.”
Living According to God’s Will
The whole biblical story, from Genesis to Revelation, is presented as a progressive unfolding of God’s plan of salvation for humanity. The plot of the story develops through the dynamism of human cooperation or inability to bend to the divine will. The people of Israel passed through different vicissitudes in their struggle to cooperate with the will of God. At each point, the free choices that the human party makes either hasten or delay the actualization of the divine plan.
The text of Isaiah 7 in the first reading of today points to the fact that the proposal that God makes to Mary in the Annunciation is a fulfillment of a plan formed long ago that a virgin would conceive and give birth to a son who would become God’s agent of salvation. In the same way, our daily tasks as Christians are little steps in contributing to the full realization of God’s plan for us and our world. All that is required is that we continually surrender our own human wills to the superior will of God.
This is clearly stated in both the responsorial psalm of today from Psalm 40 and the second reading from the letter to the Hebrews (10:4-10), as they commonly recite: “See, Lord, I have come to do Your will.” The whole purpose of Christ’s coming in human form is to accomplish the will of God. Likewise, all who follow him must be ready to follow that will in season and out of season.
The Fear of the Unknown
Most of the time, our inability or reluctance to follow God’s will emanates from our fear of the unknown. Following God is like making a leap in the dark. Only the one who has strong faith can make such a leap. This is exactly what Mary does in today’s story. The feast of the Annunciation, thus, invites us in a special way to let God’s word of life guide our daily choices and actions. This is the only way to live with inner tranquility in a world increasingly filled with uncertainty.
[Readings: Isaiah 7:10-14; 8:10; Hebrews 10:4-10; Luke 1:26-38]
