Thursday, March 25, 2021
The Annunciation of the Lord (Solemnity)
First Reading: Isaiah 7:10-14; 8:10
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 40:7-11
Second Reading: Hebrews 10:4-10
Gospel: Luke 1:26-38
Today, the 25th day of March, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord.
SEE LORD I HAVE COME TO DO YOUR WILL
The Old Testament prophecies function at two different levels. The first level is the Old Testament situation to which the prophecy refers immediately. The second level is the New Testament situation to which the prophecy refers ultimately. Today’s readying illustrates both levels. The old testament situation is God’s promise to save his people from physical destruction through a son born to Ahaz(ca 700 B.C) while the New testament situation is God’s promise to save his people from Spiritual destruction through a son born to Mary.
In the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, we learned that the angel Gabriel came to Mary and announced that she was to be the mother of Jesus. Greeting her, he said, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.” Lk 1:28. Troubled by this greeting, Mary did not know what to make of it. Gabriel assured her of God’s love for her and told her, “…you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.” Lk 1:31. The angel informed her how the Holy Spirit would come to her and, to help her to understand the power of God, told her that her cousin, Elizabeth, had conceived a child in her old age. Mary’s response to Gabriel’s words were, “…I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Lk 1:38
Mary did not immediately think of herself, but set out to visit her cousin, Elizabeth, to be with her at the birth of John the Baptist. We will celebrate this unselfish act on May 31 that’s the Visitation.
Mary’s message today: Our greatest saint, Mary did one simple thing. She listened to God’s will—that she was to be the mother of Jesus—and she accepted God’s will.
The will if God is total abandonment of oneself, given up your existence to exist only in God. Mary had her own life and plan but to fulfil the salvific mission, she gave up herself by accepting the divine Will thus saying I am the handmaid of the Lord… So Mary’s ‘yes’ is the vessel through which God-among-us steps into our world and opens up to us as one of us. Therefore, Our ‘yes’ today is not a claim to perfection or a statement of moral superiority any more than the days we can only bring ourselves to say, ‘no, I just can’t’ mark us out as deficient or failures. Pertinent to note is that the openness of God’s love is unending, so that wherever we find ourselves we are welcomed and embraced. So whatever these strained circumstances and whatever insecurity they may cause, ‘the Lord is with you, do not be afraid’. And as we learn to say YES to the will of God, be rest assured He will never turn His back on you. HAPPY FEAST OF ANNUNCIATION OF THE LORD.
Happy Solemnity
Rev. Simon Chimuanya Ogwo, msscc