As you draw near to Christmas, may you in this Eucharist be endowed with the grace to always say yes to the will of God. Happy Sunday!Merry Christmas and prosperous Year 2018.
+ John I. Okoye
DOCTRINE AND FAITH
In the Advent season there are some personalities that are outstanding and around whom the messages of the period are woven. One cannot have followed the atmosphere of Advent without taking into consideration the contribution of some oracles in the book of Prophet Isaiah. Likewise, the witness of John the Baptist, add colour to the season. Today, the last Sunday of Advent, the church contemplates Mary and her role in the work of salivation. It was to her that the Archangel Gabriel was sent to solicit her cooperation in the Incarnation of the Son of God. She was to be the mother of Jesus, the Saviour. Mary exclaimed: “Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum”. (Let it happen to me as you have said) These were the very words of submission to God’s will with which Mary gave her priceless consent to the divine plan for the restoration of humanity in harmony with God. These words which ended the encounter between Mary and the Archangel as narrated in today’s gospel marked the high point in the events leading to the actualisation of the mystery of incarnation. Mary bowed to God’s demand even when the modality of its realisation was not perfectly comprehensible. In unequalled obedience to God’s will, she freely gave her word, permitting the Word of God to take flesh in her womb. By So doing, Mary became the most important collaborator with God in the work of salvation. Humble submission to God’s will is an act of faith and an indication of the depth of one’s love and trust in God. Mary exemplified all these. The message the angel brought her was like a jigsaw puzzle and she did not hide her candid worry. The thrill she must have felt about the thought of conceiving the Son of the Most High did not diminish her pious desire and resolution to remain a virgin. “But how can this come about, since I have no knowledge of man”, she asked. The response the archangel gave her made it clear that God had the answer. All that was required of her was just to make a humble submission and watch God do the rest. That she did. No doubt she valued her virginity and was intent on keeping it. Yet she was ready to allow God’s will be done even when it looked incomprehensible.
What does the mother Church want us to learn from Mary in this last Sunday of Advent? The church wants us to learn that it is important for us to learn from Mary to leave some space for God and to renounce all pretences to independence and autonomy so that God will have the freedom to direct our future. Again it is important to learn from Mary how to be totally open to the love and initiative of God who is willing to sanctify our lives. It is also important to respond, like Mary, unalloyed, “here I am” and ready to do God’s will. This is not always easy because such response implies adhesion to God’s will at all times, places and circumstances. To respond, here I am, I am your servant obliges one to renounce ones pride and egoism and urges one to make the constant effort to eliminate vices and negative influences in our lives.
The mystery of incarnation is one big act of saying yes to God. Jesus said yes to the Father and came down to share in our humanity. Mary said yes to God and offered her body that the Word of God may take flesh in her womb. As we draw closer to the season of Christmas, one lesson we need to draw from the mystery of incarnation, which will make our celebration more meaningful, is the need to be ready always to say yes to God. This implies unconditional submission to God’s will especially when it tends to go contrary to our human desire and strategies no matter how noble or pious they may seem. Therefore best worship we can offer to God is to let his will, not ours be done. Happy Sunday! Merry Christmas and prosperous Year 2018! + John I. Okoye.
(pictures by chukwubike)
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