Third Monday in Advent
My sixteenth Advent devotional of a four week series! Join me as I explore the meaning of the Advent and meditate on the Divine!
The Lesson:
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 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.” “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 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. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.” “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
- Luke 1:26-38
Meditation:
The first words of the Prayers of the Rosary begin with “Hail Mary, Full of Grace, the Lord is With Thee.” These words, of course, come from an older Bible version of our lesson today in Luke 1. However, someone recently pointed out to me that while the prayer names Mary, the angel Gabriel, who appears to her to announce her chosenness and her pregnancy, does not use her name. Instead, as we read, he says, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” It has always struck me as odd that Mary “was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.” However, when considering the fact that Gabriel addressed her in that fashion, and not by her name, it begins to make some sense why, in fact, Mary was troubled. He then, of course, goes on to address her by name, and then tells her that she has “found favor with God.” This is also somewhat of an odd statement. How exactly did Mary find favor with Yahweh?
While scripture is silent on this matter, Sacred Tradition is not. Tradition tells us that Saint Anne, the mother of Mary, had her dedicated as a Temple Virgin at the age of three, and that she served in the Temple from then until fourteen, when she was then engaged to be married to Joseph, an older widower who would care for her. This is not altogether surprising, considering Elizabeth’s husband, Zechariah, was Levite who served in the temple. This also helps makes sense of how Mary would have found favor in the sight of Yahweh. Mary was not simply a young woman living in a small Judean town under Roman occupation, she had been dedicated to the service of Yahweh. The text also seems to substantiate this to a point, when Mary replies to Gabriel, “I am the Lord’s servant, may your word to me be fulfilled.” Mary knew exactly what it meant to serve Yahweh, because she had already done so for eleven years. So, while what Gabriel asked Mary to do was quite extraordinary, apostolic tradition does help us to make sense of why Yahweh chose Mary and not someone else. Mary’s example should be one that everyone takes to heart. How is Yahweh calling you to serve his people and his creation today? Are you listening?
Liturgical Prayer:
Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Remember that your compassion, O LORD,
and your kindness are from of old.
In your kindness remember me,
because of your goodness, O LORD.
Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
he teaches the humble his way.
Teach me your ways, O Lord.
The Collect:
Incline a merciful ear to our cry, we pray, O Lord,
and, casting light on the darkness of our hearts,
visit us with the grace of your Son.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.