Homily for Wednesday, 25 March 2015– Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord

Readings of the day: Isaiah 7:10-14, 8:10; Psalm 40:7-8a, 8b-9, 10, 11; Hebrews 10:4-10; Luke 1:26-38

This homily was given at Bethany House, a shelter for homeless women and children in Rochester, NY, and a ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph.

“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you!” This is the angel Gabriel’s greeting to Mary in our Gospel reading today. And yet has anybody here ever thought about how this greeting is not just to Mary, but to us, too?

Gabriel’s greeting to Mary is unnerving for sure. And then Gabriel follows this greeting by announcing to Mary that she “will conceive a child”; not just any child but Jesus, the Savior of the world. Luke’s Gospel gives us a detailed sense of how Mary felt at this announcement, which we celebrate today as the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord. Clearly Mary is afraid: “How can this be?” she asks Gabriel. But we know that Mary’s fear does not stop her from saying her famous “Yes” to God: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”

One of my favorite hymns, heard more often during Advent, sets the scene of the Annunciation: “The angel Gabriel from heaven came, his wings as drifted snow, his eyes as flame. ‘All hail,’ said he, ‘O lowly maiden Mary. Most highly favored lady! Gloria’”! The way this hymn describes the scene of the Annunciation, it is a fearful scene indeed.

How would we respond to Gabriel’s greeting and announcement if we were in Mary’s place? Would we echo her “Yes” to God: “May it be done to me according to your word”? Or would we be more like King Ahaz in our first reading, from Isaiah, who refuses the Lord’s will for him and for Israel? “I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!” Ahaz turns away from the Lord’s greeting that is very similar to Gabriel’s message to Mary: “God is with us.”

Do we sense and trust in God’s presence “with us,” especially in crisis situations? How many of us, here at Bethany House, have faced poverty; faced, as Mary did, an unplanned pregnancy; faced homelessness and unemployment or underemployment? And if we have not been among the poor, the homeless, the unemployed and underemployed, or those faced with bringing a child into our world in these circumstances, have we ever taken time to care for people who have; to minister to and with them?

Even (perhaps especially) through crisis situations or in our ministry with those experiencing crisis, God still greets us: “Hail, full of grace”! Will we echo Mary’s “Yes” to a God who saves us; is “with us”; lifts us up; upholds our dignity; makes us “full of grace” even in our most difficult situations? “Behold… Let it be done to me according to your word.”