You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.
The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
Luke 1:30-33 (NIV)
Reflection
Sometimes it is in our
darkest hour that we finally hear the words from God, “Do not be afraid.” We often go about our days, rushing from one
place to another, feeling as though we are spinning our wheels. We attempt to
conquer our to-do lists, but they end up longer than before. We pay one bill,
and two more come in the mail. We finally “get there”, wherever that may be,
only to realize that we are utterly and completely lost. This is the point that
many of us know all too well: the point
of complete exhaustion. The point when we feel as if we can’t take another
step. We can’t handle another responsibility or deal with another
disappointment, and then…
Through the silence. Through
the pauses for a deep breath. Through the anxiety and fear. We
hear it. “Do not be afraid.” You’ve heard it,
haven’t you? The voice of God? The voice that calls out to you when you feel as
if the final wave has crashed over you, and no amount of strength will bring
you to the surface? You hear it. “Do not
be afraid,” and suddenly, when you least expect it, you feel the peace that
goes beyond your understanding. You realize that He is there, He loves you and
you have found favor with Him.
It’s easy to imagine that
Mary may have been in a place like this. She had been going about her life as
usual, trying to make ends meet and prepare for her marriage to Joseph. From
what we know of this young couple, they didn’t have it easy. Life was not
without struggles and fears and they had both probably accepted that their
future would be bit of an upward climb. Needless to say, the Bible tells us
that Mary was afraid when the Angel Gabriel appeared to her. But rather than
first announcing to her that she would become pregnant, and that her baby would
be God’s only Son, he focuses on Mary’s immediate need first. One of God’s
children was afraid and He comforts her in the way only He can. “Do not be afraid.”
Prayer
Lord, we thank You for
comforting us when we need You the most. As the Angel Gabriel told Mary to not
be afraid, let us hear those same words when we face fears, uncertainties and
troubles in life. Amen
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