Fourth Sunday of Advent B
The three most important events in history are the conception, birth and death of Jesus Christ. Today we witness the first one, what we call the incarnation, the taking of the flesh, God becoming man. It happened in a most natural, quiet and discreet way. God began his human existence, like each one of us, as a little, tiny embryo. All started with an angel appearing to a girl. We can be there with our imagination and witness the scene. Every time we pray the angelus, we are reminding Mary of one of her most treasured memories. From eternity she can tap into any moment of history, like the inside of a gigantic wheel, and go back to the past, remain in the present or forward to the future. She is with us now.
The Annunciation happened in a lost corner of the Roman Empire, hidden from the eyes of men, involved in silence. This is the language of God. We normally forget that God talks to us heart to heart. The most important things happen in the center of our souls. Sometimes we complain: Why is God not talking to me now? We are the ones not listening to him, or not tuning in to the same frequency. Mother Teresa used to remind us that nature, trees, flowers and grass, grow in silence. The stars, the moon and the sun, move in the most complete silence. Most of the universe is wrapped in silence. Unless we shut down all the noise surrounding us we cannot hear the voice of God.
The village where this happened is called Nazareth, a small place of around 100 residents, situated at the foot of a hill, houses built in front of caves. So insignificant that Nathaniel asked if any thing good could come, had ever come out of Nazareth. There was a saying that if God punished you, he would give you a wife from Nazareth. God chose to land in a town lost in the middle of nowhere. Nothing to do with famous paintings of great artists depicting the event. The oriental tradition places the scene at the fountain of the village. We prefer to contemplate it at Mary’s house, because the Gospel gives the impression of the angel coming in, while she is recollected in prayer. If an angel comes to you to deliver a message, how is he going to find you? Watching tv, listening to music, surfing the net.
We know the name of the angel: Gabriel. He is one of the three archangels named in the Bible, in charge of the messages around Jesus. His name means God’s strength, fortitude of God. He is a big guy. If angels are impressive, he is specially remarkable: he is an archangel. The first thing he says to Mary is don’t be afraid. He tries to make her at ease. We witness a dialogue between him and the future mother of God. They say angels talk singing, flapping their wings in unison. The voice of our mother matches his tone, sounding clear and pristine.
Mary is so beautiful that we miss the conversation, distracted in contemplation. We only realised that the angel asked a question, when there is silence. He is waiting for her answer. And her yes or no will affect us deeply. We wait with great expectation for her lips to move, the whole of creation is in awe without knowing it. We witness her yes rejoicing at her docility to the will of God, ashamed that we are not generous enough to do the same, and say the same yes, which will enable us to follow her path towards God.
josephpich@gmail.com
Fourth Sunday of Advent B
The three most important events in history are the conception, birth and death of Jesus Christ. Today we witness the first one, what we call the incarnation, the taking of the flesh, God becoming man. It happened in a most natural, quiet and discreet way. God began his human existence, like each one of us, as a little, tiny embryo. All started with an angel appearing to a girl. We can be there with our imagination and witness the scene. Every time we pray the angelus, we are reminding Mary of one of her most treasured memories. From eternity she can tap into any moment of history, like the inside of a gigantic wheel, and go back to the past, remain in the present or forward to the future. She is with us now.
The Annunciation happened in a lost corner of the Roman Empire, hidden from the eyes of men, involved in silence. This is the language of God. We normally forget that God talks to us heart to heart. The most important things happen in the center of our souls. Sometimes we complain: Why is God not talking to me now? We are the ones not listening to him, or not tuning in to the same frequency. Mother Teresa used to remind us that nature, trees, flowers and grass, grow in silence. The stars, the moon and the sun, move in the most complete silence. Most of the universe is wrapped in silence. Unless we shut down all the noise surrounding us we cannot hear the voice of God.
The village where this happened is called Nazareth, a small place of around 100 residents, situated at the foot of a hill, houses built in front of caves. So insignificant that Nathaniel asked if any thing good could come, had ever come out of Nazareth. There was a saying that if God punished you, he would give you a wife from Nazareth. God chose to land in a town lost in the middle of nowhere. Nothing to do with famous paintings of great artists depicting the event. The oriental tradition places the scene at the fountain of the village. We prefer to contemplate it at Mary’s house, because the Gospel gives the impression of the angel coming in, while she is recollected in prayer. If an angel comes to you to deliver a message, how is he going to find you? Watching tv, listening to music, surfing the net.
We know the name of the angel: Gabriel. He is one of the three archangels named in the Bible, in charge of the messages around Jesus. His name means God’s strength, fortitude of God. He is a big guy. If angels are impressive, he is specially remarkable: he is an archangel. The first thing he says to Mary is don’t be afraid. He tries to make her at ease. We witness a dialogue between him and the future mother of God. They say angels talk singing, flapping their wings in unison. The voice of our mother matches his tone, sounding clear and pristine.
Mary is so beautiful that we miss the conversation, distracted in contemplation. We only realised that the angel asked a question, when there is silence. He is waiting for her answer. And her yes or no will affect us deeply. We wait with great expectation for her lips to move, the whole of creation is in awe without knowing it. We witness her yes rejoicing at her docility to the will of God, ashamed that we are not generous enough to do the same, and say the same yes, which will enable us to follow her path towards God.
josephpich@gmail.com