Monday of the Second Week of Advent
For a young woman of Mary’s day, it would not be good news to learn that she would become pregnant soon and not by the man that she was engaged to marry. More than likely, that news would be the harbinger of endless rumors, scandal, the end of her engagement. In short, her demise as a “good” woman.
It is all too easy to read this text from the perspective of Christmas. That is, from the vantage point of knowing that what comes of this news, eventually, is the miracle of Jesus’s birth. But that’s not where Mary was on that day. That’s not what she could see. And to fail to appreciate that obscures her great act of faith.
Too often we and the people we love receive news that is not good. Sometimes it’s downright frightening. And while we may have some idea that what is coming will be really hard, we are not likely to know all that it will really mean. This is just as it was for Mary.
As we think about Mary this Advent season, it’s really important for us to remember that at the Annunciation, she was just a young woman. She didn’t know what was ahead. She did know that it was scary.
And she said yes. Yes, to God’s call. Yes, to a future she did not know. Yes, to committing her whole self to being God’s servant.
May we do the same. Whatever the news. May we hear Gabriel’s words: Do not be afraid. For you have found favor with God.
In this season of Advent, may we live in faith, as Mary did, that we have found favor with God. How could it be otherwise? How else could Advent become Christmas?
- Sue Trollinger