“But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found
favor with God.
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
Luke 1:30-33
Reflection
Sometimes it is not until 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 seem to end up longer than before. We pay one bill, and two more come in the
mail. We strive for perfection, only come to the realization that we are far from it. We finally “get there”, wherever
that may mean, 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 of this cold morning. Through the pauses for a deep breath. Through the anxiety and fear. We hear it.
“Do not be afraid.” We've heard it before. The voice that transcends our realty and 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. But we hear
it. “Do
not be afraid,”. And suddenly, when we least expect it, we feel joy and peace. We realize that God is with us all, that his love is infinite and we have found favor with him. We always have through our Christ nature.
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, scripture 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 posses such an eternal purpose, the angel chose to focus on Mary’s immediate need first.
One of his children was afraid and he comforts her in the most essential ,say. “Do
not be afraid.”
Prayer
God of the Universe and All That Exists, we thank you for the comfort that you give us when we need you the most. Thank you that none of us have to attain perfection and we journey through the imperfections of life. And as the Angel Gabriel assured Mary that she did not need to be afraid, may we all hear those same
words when we face fears, uncertainties and troubles in life. Let us find our joy and peace in you and only you. Amen
May Peace, Shalom and Shanti be with you all!
May Peace, Shalom and Shanti be with you all!
Haribol!
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