In one of the Religious Organizations in the long past, a successor to the Leadership was announced. It shocked the Leader who had cherished this responsibility for 18 years. To handover the charge to someone else was so difficult, that sickness overtook and never recovered. We receive daily, messages from the known circle of people, and sometimes, from unknown circle of Divine interventions. How do we respond and integrate them into our life?The Word Incarnate is ready to come into us. If you and I are not properly prepared for this coming, all our preparations in this advent, would do no good. The Word Incarnate, Jesus offers us messages, sometimes they are glad tidings and sometimes those that would be shocking to us.
The First reading points out to us, David’s plan of building a house for God. David was one of those exceptionally brilliant, determined and charming individuals who never failed, even when he took on Goliath. He was one of God’s favorites. He wanted to build a temple for God at Jerusalem and so the prophet Nathan supported his desire “ Do whatever you have in mind”. Yet the next day Nathan places before David, God’s plan for his people. God promises abundant blessings for his posterity and that from his dynasty, God would bring forth a savior, a Messiah for the whole world.
In the second reading, we read about a message given not to an individual but to a community, to a race. For centuries the Israelites were thinking they were the only people, the only nation set apart by God as holy people, kingly race, and royal priesthood. They felt convinced that they were the only chosen race to receive all the promises from the Lord God. And so the early team of Jesus thought that the good news of Jesus was to be preached and enjoyed only by the Jewish converts. All the disciples of Jesus were Jewish and so, they never wanted to reach out and preach the Gospel to the gentiles. The Letter of St.Paul to the Romans reveals to them, that the mystery of God had to be preached and revealed to the whole world and that all races and nations had to receive the revelation of God.
In the Gospel today, we read what St. Luke reveals about the mystery of God, through the event of the Annunciation. While all humans march to Temples, Mosques, to Churches to find the Lord, to worship and encounter Him, God chose a Woman’s womb as His dwelling place. Women who were then considered as non-social beings in the society, became part of God’s search for being born of a Woman and give life to its injured sinful humanity.. The topics on Love, money, business, physical health, eating, drinking, morality, parties, and all that go with ordinary human life, became part of his teaching and renewing ministry. That was and is still the greatest shock to millions of people, especially the fake spiritual or religious ones.
While we are celebrating at Christmas, the mystery of God namely the incarnation of Christ, the Spirit of God reminds us to learn more about the mystery of our own lives. The Mystery of God and the mystery of human life must be blended together. This New Age urgently requires of us, to accept God as part of our lives. Sometimes, its hard to forgo, give-up, surrender, handover areas of life we are enslaved by. The Word of God invites us today to learn the secret of life’s success, first by acknowledging his blessings, secondly to accept people of all races, and thirdly to honour Mary for her Trust in God. Through her honesty, humility and perseverance. She teaches us that God can make everything possible and fruitful. Humanity only has to surrender to God by saying, “Let it be done unto me according to your word.” This would be our integrated response, that will make our God live among us - Emmanuel, God-with-us.
Fr. J. Joseph SMM