Homily - 4th Sunday in Advent, Year B

Homily — 4^th Sunday in Advent, Year B

2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16 <> Romans 16:25-27 <> Luke 1:26-38

Fr. Timothy W. Castor

On this last Sunday of Advent, just a few days before the great solemnity of our Savior’s birth, Holy Mother Church turns our hearts and our minds toward our Blessed Mother Mary. The Gospel invites us to go back in time nine months, to the little village of Nazareth, where we witness the great and history-making event of the Annunciation. Here, we meet a young maiden named Mary, and we learn that she is a descendant of King David—a fact that should remind us of the great promise the Lord made to David—a promise we heard in today’s first reading: "I will raise up your heir after you... I will make his kingdom firm... your house and your kingdom shall endure for ever before me." Many hundreds of years have passed since that promise was made, but on this day, to this young girl, that promise will be fulfilled.

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promises, but he does so in his own time and according to his own way. This should be an encouragement to us as we look for the answers to our prayers.

But to return to our Gospel story, we notice that there are only two persons in this scene: the angel Gabriel, and the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is the angel who does most of talking—Mary has only two lines in this exchange, but they are most important because on her words hangs the fate of the whole world.

The angel appears to Mary and greets her: "Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you." Mary is frightened—as any of us would have been—but she remains silent. Gabriel reassures her with these words of comfort: "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God." There’s a truth here for all of us to accept—that if we are in a right relationship with God, we will have nothing to fear.

The angel continues and makes his great proclamation: "Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus." At this point, Our Lady cannot remain silent, because something very precious—her virginity—is being challenged. "How can this be," she asks, "since I have no relations with a man?" It is a natural expression of doubt, because in the face of the facts, what the angel proposes is impossible. And so Gabriel explains that it is not through a man that she will conceive, but through the Holy Spirit and through the power of the Most High. Her child, he tells her, will be the Son of God, and so she will become the Mother of God. To show her that "nothing will be impossible for God," he tells Mary about her cousin Elizabeth, a barren old woman, who also will give birth to a son, St. John the Baptist. And then, Gabriel waits for her response.

St. Bernard of Clairvaux, a doctor of the church and one of her greatest spiritual writers, made much of this moment in a beautiful homily he wrote back in the 12^th century. Listen to his words:

The angel awaits an answer; it is time for him to return to God who sent him. We too are waiting, O Lady, for your word of compassion; the sentence of condemnation weighs heavily upon us. The price of our salvation is offered to you. We shall be set free at once if you consent. In the eternal Word of God we all came to be, and behold, we die. In your brief response we are to be remade in order to be recalled to life. ... Answer quickly, O Virgin. Reply in haste to the angel, or rather through the angel to the Lord. Answer with a word, receive the Word of God. Speak your own word, conceive the divine Word. Breathe a passing word, embrace the eternal Word. Why do you delay, why are you afraid? Believe, give praise, and receive. Let humility be bold, let modesty be confident. This is no time for virginal simplicity to forget prudence. In this matter alone, O prudent Virgin, do not fear to be presumptuous. Though modest silence is pleasing, dutiful speech is now more necessary. Open your heart to faith, O blessed Virgin, your lips to praise, your womb to the Creator. See, the desired of all nations is at your door, knocking to enter. If he should pass by because of your delay, in sorrow you would begin to seek him afresh, the One whom your soul loves. Arise, hasten, open. Arise in faith, hasten in devotion, open in praise and thanksgiving. "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord," she says, "may it be done to me according to your word."

It could be argued that this simple phrase, "may it be done to me according to your word," are the most important words ever spoken by mere mortal. These words changed the course of human history, and opened for us the way to salvation. They are also for us a guide to our whole life as Christians—may it be done to me according to your word—and they are echoed in the very last words spoken by our lady and recorded in the Holy Gospel; the words she spoke to the servants at the wedding in Cana: "do whatever he tells you." Our Blessed Mother has given us a simple guide to life and has set for us a beautiful example. If we obey her message and follow her example, our lives will be full of happiness and peace and we will always be ready to meet the Lord.

Christmas is once again upon us, and we’re busy with last-minute preparations. We want everything to be perfect, we want our homes to be beautiful, glowing with lights and decorations, we want our tables to be full of holiday food and cheer, we want to see happy smiles of the faces of our family and friends. But as you prepare your homes and your tables, prepare also your hearts. Through simple trust and humble obedience, receive the Divine Word, Jesus Christ, into your lives, not only on Christmas Day, but on every day of the year. And may Mary’s beautiful expression of faith become yours as well, "may it be done to me according to your word."