Homily for the Annunciation 2020

Isaiah 7:10-14, 7:8; Psalm 40:7-11; Hebrews 10:4-10; Luke 1:26-38

Abbot Lawrence – St. Gregory’s Abbey

Sacred Scripture reveals much to us about God, about humanity and about the seemingly improbable ways God acts in order to bring humanity to salvation. One of the improbable ways God acts is by calling seemingly unlikely persons to accomplish seemingly impossible things. God called Abram to leave behind all that he knew in order to possess a promised land he had never seen. God then called the elderly Abraham to believe that he would have a progeny that would be impossible to count. Abraham trusted in God, and it happened. Abraham came to the Promised Land, fathered Isaac when he was 99 and even we today are his spiritual progeny. God called the fugitive Moses to return to Egypt, to walk into the presence of the most powerful ruler on the earth and to demand that he liberate his enslaved workforce. Moses trusted in God and it happened. God called the shepherd boy David to challenge the giant Goliath and win victory for his king and nation. David trusted and it happened. David dispatched Goliath with a stone and became a hero to the nation. And as we celebrate today, God called the lowly virgin Mary to be mother to the Messiah, the Son of God, without knowing what it would cost her. Mary trusted God, and it happened: the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.

Today we celebrate that greatest of example of how God has acted in an improbable way by calling a seemingly unlikely person to do seemingly impossible things. God calls to a poor and lowly virgin, a young maiden from an insignificant place, to become the mother of the King of Kings, whose rule will have no end. And perhaps most improbable of all, the all powerful and eternal God asks for the freely given consent of this young maiden, placing the ultimate unfolding of God’s plan of salvation into her hands, into her heart and into her will. Mary trusted in God. Mary said yes. And it happened: the virgin was with child; she bore a son; and he is Emmanuel – “God is with us!”

It is right to marvel at this wondrous dawn of our salvation. Just as God called to Abraham, Moses and David to bring forth a people of covenant with God, so also God called to Mary to bring forth the One who would embody that Covenant in its fullness. Mary is the beginning of the fulfilment of the promises made to Abraham, Moses and David, and through her faith and humility she became the vessel and model of the salvation for all who follow.

The story of the improbable acts of God in calling the unlikely to do the seemingly impossible did not end with the Incarnation of Jesus in the womb of Mary. Nor did this story end with the passion, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. The story of salvation, of the Incarnation of God’s Promise, continues down to our own day. God’s work to bring humanity to the fullness of life continues and we are a part of the story. Certainly we do not have the same role to play as Abraham, Moses, David or the Blessed Virgin Mary. But even though we are seemingly unlikely candidates to be the recipients and channels of the grace of salvation, God nonetheless calls us his beloved sons and daughters and entrusts to us the message of salvation. As the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us, “we have been consecrated through the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

From time to time we might think that God is calling us to do the impossible, and perhaps others will ridicule the vision of our faith as an impossible dream. In such times of such skepticism and cynical doubt, we must remember the faith and humility of Mary who said: “Let it be done according to your will.” Following her, we also can say “yes.” Trusting that God’s promises will be fulfilled, we and the world will see that “nothing will be impossible for God.”