GOSPEL READING:
Luke 1:26-38( 26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from 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; and the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, "Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!" 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And 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 bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end." 34 And Mary said to the angel, "How shall this be, since I have no husband?" 35 And the angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. 36 And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing will be impossible."38 And Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.
SCRIPTURE READING:
2 Samuel 7:1-5,8-11,161 Now when the king dwelt in his house, and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies round about, 2 the king said to Nathan the prophet, "See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent." 3 And Nathan said to the king, "Go, do all that is in your heart; for the LORD is with you." 4 But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, 5 "Go and tell my servant David, `Thus says the LORD: Would you build me a house to dwell in? 8 Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David, `Thus says the LORD of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel; 9 and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, 11 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. 16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure for ever before me; your throne shall be established for ever.'"
Meditation: Does the proclamation of the Gospel message
fill you with joy and hope? When the Lord comes to redeem his
people he fills us with his Holy Spirit, the source of our joy and
hope in the promises of God When God made a covenant
with David as King over Israel he made a promise to David and to
his descendants that David's dynasty would endure forever through
the coming of the Messiah King (2 Samuel 7:16). This King would
establish an everlasting kingdom of peace and security for his
people. We often think of peace as the absence of trouble. The
peace which the Messiah brings cancels the debt of sin and
restores our broken relationship with God our heavenly Father.
The new era of salvation begins with the
conception and birth of Jesus
We see the fulfillment of God's unfolding plan of redemption in the
events leading up to the Incarnation, the birth of the Messiah King.
The new era of salvation begins with the miraculous conception of
Jesus in the womb of Mary. This child to be born is conceived by the
gracious action of the Holy Spirit upon Mary, who finds favor with
God (Luke 1:28). This child will be "great" and "Son of the
Most High" and "King," and his name shall be called "Jesus" (Luke
1:31-32), which means "the Lord saves." "He will save his people
from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). The angel repeats to Mary, the
daughter of the house of David, the promise made to King David: "The
Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he
will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom
there will be no end" (2 Samuel 7:12-16, Isaiah 9:6-7, Luke
1:32-33).
Mary is a true hearer of the Word of God
How does Mary respond to the word of God delivered by the angel
Gabriel? She knows she is hearing something beyond human
capability. It will surely take a miracle which surpasses all that
God has done previously. Her question, "how shall this be, since I
have no husband" is not prompted by doubt or skepticism, but by
wonderment! She is a true hearer of the Word and she immediately
responds with faith and trust.
Mary's prompt response of "yes" to the divine message is a model
of faith for all believers. Mary believed God's promises even when
they seemed impossible. She was full of grace because she trusted
that what God said was true and would be fulfilled. She was
willing and eager to do God's will, even if it seemed difficult or
costly. Mary is the "mother of God" because God becomes incarnate
when he takes on flesh in her womb. When we pray the Nicene
Creed we state our confession of faith in this great mystery: "For
us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven; by the
power of the Holy Spirit, he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and was made man".
God gives us the grace to say "yes" to his will and to his
transforming work in our lives
What is the key that unlocks the power and grace of God's kingdom
in our personal lives? Faith and obedience for sure! God gives us
grace and he expects us to respond with the same willing obedience
and heartfelt trust as Mary did. When God commands he also gives
the help and means to respond. We can either yield to his grace or
resist and go our own way. Do you believe in God's promises and do
you yield to his grace?
Heavenly Father, you offer us abundant grace, mercy, and forgiveness through your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Help me to live a grace-filled life as Mary did by believing in your promises and by giving you my unqualified 'yes' to your will and plan for my life.
Psalm 24:1-6
1 The earth is the LORD's and the fulness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein;
2 for he has founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the rivers.
3 Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false, and does not swear deceitfully.
5 He will receive blessing from the LORD, and vindication from the God of his salvation.
6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. [Selah]
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: Jesus is Son of God and Son of Mary, by Bede the Venerable, 672-735 A.D.
"We should carefully note the order of the words here, and the
more firmly they are engrafted in our heart, the more evident it
will be that the sum total of our redemption consists in them. For
they proclaim with perfect clarity that the Lord Jesus, that is,
our Savior, was both the true Son of God the Father and the true
Son of a mother who was a human being. 'Behold,' he says, 'you
will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son' - acknowledge
that this true human being assumed the true substance of flesh
from the flesh of the Virgin! 'He will be great and will be called
the Son of the Most High' - confess too that this same Son is true
God of true God, co-eternal Son forever of the eternal Father!" (excerpt
from HOMILIES ON THE GOSPELS 1.3.22)
