Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord
Have you ever wanted to ask God for a sign, but resisted? I have. Sometimes it feels silly, like I’m asking God to perform a magic trick. It’s not magic, though, to ask God to reassure us or to point out the way we should go, to announce God’s desire for our life. It’s a sign of trust in a loving God. I suspect that our reluctance to ask for signs, like Ahaz's, is rooted in fear. It can be difficult to trust the enormity of God’s love for each of us.
It takes trust to ask someone for something. Perhaps we don’t ask God for too much in prayer because we are defending ourselves against disappointment, worried that God won’t provide. However, God is so loving that even when Ahaz refused to ask for a sign, God still gave one. God speaks to Ahaz, and to each of us, even when we are living in fear and struggling to trust God. It is hard for us to hear God when we are fearful and lack trust. It limits our openness to God, who is full of wonderful surprises.
Rather than being defensive in our prayers, what might it look like to live in joyful anticipation, waiting for God’s next loving word, open to God’s surprising announcements in our own lives? This is Mary’s experience. Mary also heard God’s voice, not through a prophet like the prophet Isaiah speaking to Ahaz, but directly through an angel. Mary is open; she listens; she remains curious; she trusts God’s love to fulfill the promise and to carry her when the way seems uncertain in the years to come.
Mary’s openness to hearing and responding to God’s call is a testament to her love of God and to her trust in God’s love for her. She is a beautiful example of how when we embrace God’s love, we are filled to overflowing, and God’s love reaches beyond us and into the world. Mary is overjoyed and runs to Elizabeth, a woman she trusts, and whose own pregnancy is a reaffirming sign.
Joy abounds even as Mary knows, as we know, that sometimes love leads us to hard places, to embrace the challenges of loving even unto death. We also know and trust that God’s love sustains us along the way and leads us to a life more fulfilling than we can imagine and ultimately to eternal life. Mary’s response to God changed the world. Through her Christ is born, the sign given to Ahaz is fulfilled!
—Kelly Adamson