The Fourth Sunday of Advent (Year B), Dec. 21, 2008
BCP: 2 Sam. 7:4,8-16; Psalm 132 or 132:8-15; Rom. 16:25-27; Luke 1:26-38
RCL: 2 Sam. 7:1-11, 16; Canticle 3 or 15 or Psalm 89:1-4, 19-26; Rom. 16:25-27; Luke 1:26-38
 
There is, most assuredly, a level of reality which transcends what we usually see and hear. It consists of those paradigms and ideals by which people strive to organize their lives. It includes things like freedom and mercy and self-sacrifice, and all of these are real indeed.
 
There are people in the past and the present, moreover, who are so identified with these overarching paradigms that they seem to embody them in the flesh. Martin Luther King, Jr., for instance, is so associated with racial justice that the ideal can, in some sense, be seen when one looks at his photograph. For many throughout the world, Nelson Mandela has become an incarnation of mercy and forgiveness through his work with South Africa’s Truth and Justice Commission. And Maximilian Kolbe of Auschwitz, freely giving his own life to save that of a condemned fellow prisoner, is an almost universal icon of Christian self-sacrifice.
 
Finally, there are places where, by close association, these “incarnate ideals” seem almost to be present and where their voices can figuratively be heard. Visiting the Lorraine Motel and the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis can occasion a sort of spiritual renewal. On Robben Island in South Africa, one can vaguely feel the presence of the former president. And at the site of Auschwitz, Fr. Kolbe’s spirit is obviously present among those of a million or more Jewish martyrs.
 
In today’s gospel, blessed Mary personifies a paradigm of conforming one’s own will to that of God. She models, that is, cooperation with God’s “hand at work in the world about us” (BCP, p. 372). “Do not be afraid, Mary,” says the angel, “for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.” “The Holy Spirit will come upon you,” moreover, “and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.” But frightening though this must be for an unmarried girl, Mary’s response is both direct and immediate: “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” And herein lies an example for all Christians.
 
Mary is most certainly an icon of free cooperation with the saving will of God. Indeed, it is through her selfless obedience that the Incarnation becomes possible. It’s hardly surprising, therefore, that her spirit is known in statues and images present in many of our churches, and shrines at places like Lourdes, Guadalupe and Walsingham hold such appeal for millions of faithful people.
 
Look It Up
According to Acts 1, how does Mary express her faithfulness following the Lord's resurrection?
 
Think About It
What are some of the places in which I feel particularly close to God? Why?
 
Next Sunday
The First Sunday after Christmas Day, Dec. 28, 2008
BCP and RCL: Isaiah 61:10-62:3; Psalm 147 or 147:13-21; Gal. 3:23-25; 4:4-7; John 1:1-18