Their times in your life, many of them just fleeting moments, when you’re asked to do something that is either uncomfortable, inconvenient, or just plain hard. It could be a simple as getting up off the couch and doing a chore for Mom and or me. Maybe something much more difficult. Each of us has a story. At one time or another we had to make a decision. Yes, or no.
Sometime today I want you to close your eyes and picture this scene.
In a small ancient town, over 2000 years ago, there is a small, nondescript house, probably with stone walls and dirt floors. Inside, maybe there were just a couple of rooms. In one of those rooms there’s a young girl, maybe 13 or 14 years old. I’d like to believe she’s praying.
All of a sudden, there’s an intense light. A man appears in the room. She is very frightened. The man kneels at her feet and bows his head. His words, “Hail Mary, full of Grace!“.
We are so used to watching science fiction and monster movies and supernatural ghost stories with great CGI. Just imagine for a second what it would’ve been like for a young girl back then to experience this. Her heart racing with fear of the unknown and of what’s happening before her.
Then, on top of this frightening moment, the man tells the young girl that she has been chosen by God to give birth to the savior of the world, the Messiah, the Christ, Jesus. At this moment in history, the Jewish people in Israel were under occupation by the Romans, so the prayer for the Messiah to deliver them from oppression was on everybody’s lips for decades. This message from the man to the young girl must’ve been incredible shock.
Above all else, this young girl must have been so confused and fearful because she had never been with a man. But the man said, “Be not afraid”!
In this tiny, humble room, this young girl was asked do to do something very difficult, fraught with issues. How could she explain this? What would she tell her fiancé, Joseph??? What would her parents say? What thoughts must have been racing through her mind.
What would her response be???? I believe all the angels heaven stopped at that moment and were listening and hoping. She had free will to say yes or no.
This was the moment that would change everything, forever.
Her response, “ Behold, I am the handmade of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word“.
At that moment, which we celebrate today, heaven must have rejoiced.
This young, simple, and innocent girl from a small, poor, insignificant town loved God and trusted Him. No matter what the repercussions.
Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Annunciation. Today we celebrate like the angels did at that moment. Why?
Because Mary said Yes.
Dad’s Lenten Blog 