Fourth Sunday of Advent
I was talking to a dearly beloved parishioner yesterday. And she was talking about how her knees and her hips were beginning to give her problems. Obviously, she was very scared. She loves dancing, skiing, and being with her grandchildren, and she is afraid that she might have to stop doing the things that she loves to do. She talked to me about a healing mass she participated in. She genuinely wanted her ailment to be gone. When the priest anointed her with the laying on of hands, he prayed in words like, “Lord, please heal her of her pain but if it is your will that she should carry this pain, then give her the strength to endure it.” She said, to me yesterday, “But that is not I wanted to hear.” When I asked her permission to share this story, she said “I was being silly, but I meant what with all my heart!”
I do not think this person is alone in feeling this way. I for one, at one time or another have felt the same way. Sometimes, to accept what life has to offer can be so very difficult. When we compare how we respond with how Mary responded in today’s gospel reading, “May it done to me according to your will,” perhaps we realise how much more we must grow spiritually.
In today’s readings we hear about two epic characters in the Bible separated by a thousand years of history – David and Mary. Both of them were beloved to God. They were both chosen unexpectedly (David, the youngest son of Jesse was anointed while he was tending sheep and Mary was perhaps at home) for tasks that seemed incapable for them to accomplish (the shepherd boy would be king of Israel and Mary would become the mother of the Son of God). David would become the most honored king Israel ever knew and Mary would give birth to the promised the king of the world. God’s promise to David that his kingdom would last forever is in fact fulfilled through Mary. Jesus, her son would inaugurate the Kingdom of God. A thousand years apart, David and Mary are connected by the same prophecy.
David and Mary’s life teach us three things.
1. Giving priority to God’s perspective
The one thing that impressed me about today’s readings is how two people, thousand years apart become intimately connected. Before I go there though, did you get the gist of the first reading? David, as the most successful king of Israel wants to build the house for God. David’s intentions are good and holy. But think about it! As if the most magnificent structure David intended to build could hold the power and majesty of God! Isn’t the entire universe is God’s temple? And so God puts David’s thinking in a certain perspective. God tells David that God would build a house for David instead. History tells us that David was not the one to build this house; it would be David’s son Solomon who would build the Temple of Jerusalem. Here is the kicker, though. Little did David and Solomon know that a thousand years later, God would use the same promise to speak to a humble virgin named Mary to build a totally different kind of Temple and a totally different kind of people.
What does this mean for us? Just like David and Mary, each one of us can only have a limited perspective on life. Because of this we will always have questions. I may ask, why did God call me to be a priest? You may ask, why did my marriage fail? Or, what did I deserve to get the best spouse in the world? Why am I poor? Why did my child become pregnant or why did my child become an addict or die in an accident? Or what did I do to deserve such wonderful children? How could I have fallen into such a sin?
These are all question to which we can only give limited answers. We, like David, Solomon and Mary are constrained by the limits of our existence. The story of David and Mary teaches us that there is a greater purpose at work in all of human history. Human destiny as a whole and your personal history and mine is in the hands of God.
2. Mustering the Ability to Believe. To believe that God’s perspective is in play in the world and in our personal lives is what we call faith – faith not only in God but also in human history. Ultimately, even though David’s intentions to build a Temple did not materialize, he had to trust God that God would accomplish this in God’s time. Mary too, at the annunciation has questions. “How can this be since I have to relations with a man?” Both David and Mary exercise what we call, trust. They believed that a greater power is at work in them. Yes, they did not understand. Yes, they had questions but they mustered within themselves the ability to believe that what was outside their control and understanding is possible. When they angel said to her, “… for nothing will be impossible with God,” Mary actually believed that this statement was true. Can we get where Mary was in her trust?
3. If Only We Could Believe! We are one week away from Christmas. Who in the world could ever imagine that a child born is stable and laid in a manger would change the course of human history? I suggest that this week, we focus on our ability to believe. Are there areas in our life that we are finding difficult to accept and find God there? As we look at the past and realize God’s unimaginable work in human history and in our individual lives, could Mary’s prayer become ours? Instead of saying, “That is not what I want to hear,” could we say “May it be done according to your word?” I am suggesting that we take that kind of trust to the manger on Christmas day.
Who would have thought that humble bread and simple wine would become a way for God to come to us? As we bring bread and wine to the altar let also bring our life to God. Let us pray that as we participate in the bread and the cup that our life may become like that of David and Mary. “Yes, Lord.! May it be done to me according to your word.”
Fr. Satish Joseph