Gospel LK 1:26-38

The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin's name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
"Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you."
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
"Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end."
But Mary said to the angel,
"How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?"
And the angel said to her in reply,
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God."
Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word."
Then the angel departed from her.

The Feast of the Annunciation
 
 My first image of the Annunciation probably came from one depicted by Fra Angelico.

It’s all so beautiful...there’s a certain stillness to it, the angel is giving his message...he looks pretty calm...And Mary looks like a grand lady in a medieval home, receiving an expected visitor. I guess the message says this is how things were meant to be. There’s no sense of drama or uncertainty.
 
 I don’t want to be too critical of Fran Angelico, at the time they didn’t know anything about biblical archaeology or the clothing or the customs of the time. Indeed Mary is pictured in the clothes of her own age. She sits in a house whose architecture would be familiar to all the observers.
 
 What seems strange to me in this century was absolutely familiar to the people of the time. They weren’t saying “this isn’t historically accurate”! They saw the message of the angel Gabriel being made in their own time, this made it all real to them.
 
 Last year, I got a chance to visit Nazareth in Galilee. There’s a beautiful church there dedicated to the Annunciation, built over the ruins, the remains of Mary’s house. This is the place where we believe the Annunciation took place. It’s interesting that in some of the other biblical sites and churches there is a lot of noise and sometimes it’s not as inspiring as you might imagine it to be.

In Mary’s home, however, there is a profound silence. It’s an not uncomfortable silence but a consoling one. People spontaneously fall to their knees as they approach the door to the home, this is where Mary said yes. This is the place where she conceived of the Holy Spirit...and in truth this is the place where the word became flesh...in the womb of Mary.
 
 This is the place where God reaches into history to save us... not from a distance or high above the clouds, but with true love and sacrifice and mercy and sweat and tears and laughter and joy and hope. The God who came to us 2000 years ago has not abandoned us. He is still with us and he will use us as instruments of mercy salvation.

In more recent years, I found another image of the Annunciation which at first I couldn’t make much sense off. The angel isn’t really that obvious. It took me a while to recognize what was going on. Mary looks frightened and bewildered. The message tells us that Mary was greatly distressed and troubled but she trusted in God. She gave a generous yes.
 
 Lord in these times of distress and uncertainty, we are troubled and bewildered. We know you are with us, using us as your instruments of mercy and grace. We place all our trust in you.

With Love and Blessings,

Father Damian