Are We Listening

Homily for the Solemnity of the Annunciation

The very first line of today’s Gospel text provides us with all the background material that we need to understand the annunciation of the birth of Jesus. Mary is a virgin; she lives in Nazareth; she was betrothed to a man named Joseph; and Joseph is of the house of David.

As a young Jewish maiden, Mary would have been familiar with the great stories of the Hebrew Scriptures. She would have heard and listened to the stories of the barrenness of Sarah and Hannah and the wife of Manoah. She intimately knew the story of God had calling Moses to be the one who led the Israelites out of Egypt. She was well aware of Samuel’s choice of David from the First Book of Samuel. She had heard and listened for years to the stories of God’s call to the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah who protested that they were not worthy to be God’s spokesperson. Her history was filled with stories of angels visiting her ancestors.

Consequently, because Mary had been listening, truly listening to the Hebrew Scriptures, her soul, her spirit was available to her accepting this visitor. However, she was disturbed and frightened, not at the visit, but at the message itself and the promises offered. Why was she highly favored? Why does the angel tell her that she is holy and that God is with her? Nonetheless, she would have immediately recognized that God had chosen her to follow in the footsteps of her ancestors. Just like so many before her, how could she see herself as worthy? How would she find the strength to carry the child who was to be named Jesus, a name which she knew meant “savior”?

We might insert into the Litany of Loretto such invocations as “Mary ever-listening, Mary ever-available, Mary made-worthy,” pray for us. Mary listened, heard, and reacted humanly and responded generously. She did not stop the elements of a relationship of calling her to trust and surprises.

Interrupting our Lenten journey to celebrate this solemnity calls us to listen to what God has been asking of us during this holy season. “Giving up” is a Lenten practice, and can quite gracefully orient our Lenten activities. There are sounds, voices, noises which are quite harmful to our living receptively. Are we listening to God? What element of our lives makes it difficult for us to lay aside our desire for control so that we can echo Mary’s “Fiat.” What is acting as an obstacle to our acceptance of God’s call to be holy, to be merciful, and to be in right relationships with God and neighbor.

We have a little less than four weeks to continue on our Lenten pilgrimage. Today’s solemnity is a reminder that God has said, “This is my beloved Son, listen to him.” Mary stands as an example of someone who truly listened to the Hebrew Scriptures. She knew what God had promised. Consequently, when God asked her to be one who gave birth to the one who would fulfill the promise, she bowed her head and said, “Be it done unto me according to your word.”