“The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.”
Reflection
In the flash of an instant
and within the divine intervention of an angelic messenger Gabriel, Mary’s life would
be forever transformed. It’s hard to
imagine some of the thoughts that must have been racing through her young
mind. “Why me?”, "I'm nothing special.”, “I’m far from being good enough”, “I’m far too young”, “I’m not ready for this”, "This isn’t what Joseph and I had planned. How am i supposed to explain this to him?” But yet there she was, facing a choice that was essentially no choice at all. “I am the Lord’s servant,”, Mary answered.
“May your word to me be fulfilled.” God
chose Mary. An ordinary young woman, with
faults like anyone else, recognized that the love of God, and the Christ nature within us, was about to overwhelm all of humanity and that she would be used as a divine spiritual vessel.
How often do we question our abilities when God wants to use us? Instead of recognizing the astounding fact that a loving God chooses to use flawed human beings, we resist; thinking that we know better than the divine. Like all of us, Mary was far from perfect. In Hebrew society, she was a nobody, a poor woman in an obscure corner of Israel. She was afraid, overwhelmed and more than confused.
But in God's perfect, divine and eternal love, he chose her in bring the Christ nature to all humanity. With all of her fears, imperfections and confusion, she heard the voice of the divine, chose not to
hesitate and acknowledge that his plan was much bigger than anything she imagined for herself. In love, God chose Mary and in obedience, she
was willing to say, “I am the Lord’s servant.”
During this final week of Advent, may we set aside of our plans, hesitations and fears of imperfection. Let us release selfish desires and turn our focus outward and remain open to God's call for us. May we trust in a God that chooses to use flawed messed up human beings, not because he has to, not because we are perfect, but because of his unconditional love, and nothing more. May we "love one another", without preconceived conditions, expectations, social status or cultural privilege. May we love unconditionally and without fear.
Prayer
Most Gracious God, who sets the universe in motion, it is in this quiet
moment that we acknowledge your presence and perfect love for all of us. We know that we are far from perfect, and we realize that our imperfections sometimes hinder us from the abundant life you long for is all. But as we meditate on your perfection, help us
to trust in you and that your decisions always manifest in divine perfection. Give us the strength to step forward when you
call, knowing that it is because of your love that you chose us. Let it be only in love that we follow you, and may our love overwhelm all of our brothers and sisters of humanity. Amen.
Peace, Shalom, Shanti, Salam be will All of You!
Haribol!
