Mary's Courage

Note...From the human side again...I forgot I had an appointment this morning when I usually post our slice of bread, so this might appear later on Monday or on Tuesday.

  

Luke 1: 26-38

Christ’s Birth Announced to Mary

²⁶ Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, ²⁷ to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; ^[a]blessed are you among women!”

²⁹ But ^[b]when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. ³⁰ Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. ³² He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. ³³ And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

³⁴ Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I ^[c]do not know a man?”

³⁵ And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. ³⁶ Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. ³⁷ For with God nothing will be impossible.”

³⁸ Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

This Gospel appears many times during the  Liturgical Year and is most fitting here in this fourth week of Advent as we approach its fulfillment in the birth of Jesus. We now await the full establishment of the kingdom, and it seems that will come far down the road...a long road, indeed!  We can help with our own personal preparation and with our on-going announcement of it through our faith hope and loving living what Jesus taught us: love God, love  neighbor. It's easy to put into a short, catchy sentence, but much harder to put into practice. Mary's simple and courageous gesture of accepting Gabriel's invitation might give us a clue to what we can and must do.Mary, give us the grace we need to believe more deeply and act more courageously as you did.

Bro. Rene