Thursday of the Third Week of Advent
Intention: We pray for a faith-filled and transforming Christmastime for our world, one that fills us with peace, justice, and good will toward all.
Today’s Gospel | Luke 1:26-38
In the sixth month, 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, favored one! 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.
Reflection for the Third Thursday of Advent
The writer Jonathan Lockwood Huie once observed, “A wonderful gift may not be wrapped as you expect.” Many of life’s most wonderful and important moments come to us in completely unforeseen ways and can be missed if one is not open to the endless possibilities of life. What helps is if one first is open to the source of these possibilities. In today’s Gospel, we see in Mary someone who at first appears to be stunned by the unexpected. However, look closely and it becomes apparent that her incredulity at Gabriel’s visit has a different cause. She is not astonished that such a thing could happen; she is astonished that it is happening to her. Mary’s simple and unassuming openness is at the core of her and faith, and of what it means to know and receive blessing. When experiencing God’s touch, the closed person is threatened, while the open person is humbled. It is an open heart that can live in readiness for God’s inevitable approach, quietly prepared to welcome, to listen, to accept. During Advent, we are challenged to ponder the open heart of Mary. What does it mean to live a life in which one is unafraid of the surprise of grace?
Prayer
Eternal Father, as the days draw closer to the one when we remember the birth of your Son, help us to open our ears and hearts to the sound of his approach. Teach us to prepare a place in our lives in which we can greet him and embrace his presence. May we be filled with gratitude that your promise has been kept and that we have been shown our salvation and that of our world. We ask this of you who lives and reigns with your Son and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.