Sunday Reflections
4th Sunday Advent B
He is a covenant keeping God
1. ✠ A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke1:26-38
The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. He went in and said to her, ‘Rejoice, so highly favoured! The Lord is with you.’ She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, ‘Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God’s favour. Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and his reign will have no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘But how can this come about, since I am a virgin?’ ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you’ the angel answered ‘and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. Know this too: your kinswoman Elizabeth has, in her old age, herself conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God.’ ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord,’ said Mary ‘let what you have said be done to me.’ And the angel left her.
2. This Sunday’s readings focus on the steadfastness of God and his fidelity to those who love him. In the first reading, David wanted to build a house for God. Seeing his desire God promised to bless, protect and consolidate his dynasty. He assured him that God does not need man to build him a house. It is rather God that established a house for those who love him. For having expressed the desire to build for God, David’s dynasty will last forever.
3. The gospel is on the encounter of Mary with Archangel Gabriel who was sent by God to announce to Mary God’s faithfulness which will be manifested through the birth of a son who will sit on the throne of David and whose kingdom will have no end. The son will be conceived by Mary through the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit.
4. The message of the angel was so dense and complex that Mary had to ask for clarification before she could respond to the request to become the mother of the son of God. By saying yes to God’s plan, Mary abandoned the plan to be married to Joseph. God made an eruption into her life without previous discussion. And she accommodated God. It took the yes of Mary for the covenant keeping God to fulfill his plan.
5. In Mary, we understand that the covenant keeping God needs the collaboration of human beings for him to realize his plans. He needed the free collaboration of Mary for Jesus to take flesh and redeem the world. Could it be that the world is in a bad state because humanity has refused to say yes to God’s proposal for a better world? How could God for whom all things are possible be in control of a world full of evil and wickedness? A better world can only exist when, like Mary, humanity learns to say yes to God, to accept that God is the master and humanity is the servant.
6. On this last Sunday of Advent, Mary teaches us to give space to God in our lives. You can work for a better world by saying yes to the good things that will change the world around, yes to conversion, yes to reconciliation, yes to restitution, yes to holiness of life.
Merry Christmas and prosperous New Year!
