The reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah chapter 7 verses 10-12 has an interesting conversation between the King of Judah Ahaz and the Lord in which Ahaz decides to not follow through on his hearing of the Lord’s voice to ask for a sign for his people in which he remarks “I will not ask! I will not tempt the Lord!” Verse 14 of chapter 7 in Isaiah has a wonderful image about what will come for our salvation history in which the vision of Mary’s yes to the Lord is made manifest with the foreshadowing event in which “a virgin shall be with child and bear a son and shall name him Immanuel.”
In Luke’s Gospel, chapter 1 verse 26 we see where in the sixth month the messenger of God, Gabriel, is sent to Mary in the town of Nazareth. Mary was betrothed to a man named Joseph with lineage to the house of David. Obviously such a lineage and betrothal were sacred customs according to Jewish law. Mary is perplexed in the angel’s proclamation that she will be the theotokos or God-bearer and be with child since she had no relations with man (Lk: 1:34). Mary’s great fiat and yes to God’s work of salvation history is made manifest with the greatest statement of all time. “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word” (Lk: 1:38).
Thomas Merton’s No Man Is An Island discusses the will of God in our lives in which he remarks that one can “judge the invisible reality of His will by the visible and sometimes contemptible signs which show us where His will is found” (Merton, Thomas. No Man Is an Island New York: Harcourt, 1983, p. 61). Today, as a church, we remember God’s plan for salvation history in our lives. While we may not see the signs granted to us by our God in our lives, they are there, oftentimes hidden from us due to our sin, shortcomings, and ways of the world as not being fully aware and open to His saving and perpetual grace in our lives. Today, let us be open to God’s grace that we might say yes to God and transform our very hearts and souls to do His will. Take courage and take heart for Mary is our example of casting aside all doubts and being radically dependent on where God’s will might be found. God bless and peace be with you.
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