Cosmos-Liturgy-Sex

Here is the last biblical reflection for Advent.

By Msgr. Stuart Swetland

Fourth Sunday of Advent, December 18

Second Samuel 7:1-5, 8-11, 16; Psalm 89:2-3, 4-5, 27, 29; Romans 16:25-27; Luke 1:26-38

The Liturgy of the Word during Advent provides us a cast of characters who help prepare us for our celebration of the Christmas season. All have a role to play as each is proverbially brought on stage and then they exit to be replaced by another. We have seen the prophets Isaiah and John the Baptist play leading roles in this year’s Advent pageant.

Now as Christmas is upon us (six more shopping days!), the Church reveals the central Advent figure for our consideration, Mary of Nazareth. When John Paul II commented on the moving account of the Annunciation by the Archangel Gabriel in Mexico City in 1979, he reminded us that the Second Vatican Council held Mary out as a “model of faith.” As the “first Christian,” that is the first and best example of her Son, Mary is for us the model of Christian discipleship. Rather than emphasizing her uniqueness and special gifts, this approach allows us to see Mary in solidarity with us as the Mother of all Christians.

As such, we wish to imitate her faithfulness. The first thing we notice about her faith is that it was an open and searching faith. Mary was searching for God’s will in her life. When artists depict the Annunciation they usually place Mary in prayer when Gabriel appears. She was prayerfully looking to do God’s will.

The second attribute of Mary’s faithfulness was her “fiat.” Mary accepted God’s will when it became known to her. She said yes—“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Her faith was an accepting faith.

Mary’s faith was also consistent. She did not just say “yes” with her lips, she said yes with her life. She was willing not only, as the saying goes, to “talk the talk,” she was willing to “walk the walk.” Her faith was consistent.

Not only was Mary’s faith consistent, it was also constant. Her faith was not sometimes yes and sometimes no, but rather a constant yes to God. This is most poignantly seen in what John Paul II calls her second (and greatest) “fiat”—the fiat at the foot of the Cross. Here, Mary knowing full well that her Son was the Messiah, the long hoped Savior of Israel, saw Him dying naked and nailed to a tree, cruelly suffering at the hands of the Romans. But even here, when her faith must surely have been tempted, she said yes to God. Her suffering with her Son adds her fiat to Jesus’ prayer that “not my will but Thy will be done,” demonstrating Mary’s constant faithfulness throughout her life.

Like Mary, we are called to a faithfulness that is open and searching for God’s will. We too are called to accept His will once it is made known to us. Our faith must be both consistent and constant. Our yes to God must mean yes and we must live it each and every day of our lives.

As we enter the final week of preparation for Christmas, we are wrapping up our final, frantic efforts to make this Christmas wonderful for our friends and families. We know, as the slogan goes, that “Jesus is the Reason for the Season.” Our gift to Him this season, all He would want from us, in our faith, hope and love. In union with and in imitation of Mary, this Christmas let us give Jesus a faith that is open, searching, accepting, consistent and constant as we give the gift of self unto our Lord, the newborn King.

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