II Samuel 7: 4, 8-16; Psalm 132: 8-15; Romans 16: 25-27; Luke 1: 26-38
The following is homily by Fr. Gene
Tucker, given at The
Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Springfield, Illinois on Sunday, December 21, 2014.
“WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE SAY ‘YES’?”
(Homily text: Luke 1: 26 - 38)
What
happens when we say “Yes”?
In
particular, what happens when we say “Yes” to God’s invitation?
When we
answer “Yes”, things change for us, and for the better. When we answer “Yes”, God’s will comes into
being in this world; things change, and they change for the better. They change for all eternity.
We have
before us this morning the very familiar gospel reading which tells us of the
angel Gabriel’s announcement to Mary, a reading tells us that she had found
favor with God, and that God had chosen her to be the mother of a very special
child. Usually, this passage is known by
the title “The Annunciation”.
The Blessed
Virgin is the ultimate example of saying “Yes” to God’s invitation. And because of her willingness to be the
agent of God’s will, we – along with all generations – call her “blessed”. (See Luke 1: 49.)
The immense
implications of what Gabriel said might seem to escape our notice. After all, we may have become so familiar
with this event that it’s likely that most of us could relate the main points
of the conversation between Gabriel and Mary quite accurately. But the implications of this event ought to
strike our consciences anew. For God –
in choosing Mary – had chosen to break into world history in a new and dramatic
way. The world would never be the same,
as a result.
To gain a
sense of what saying “Yes” to God’s plan meant for Mary and for us, we ought to
begin by thinking about the expectations that Mary may have had about the way
her life would unfold prior to Gabriel’s visit.
Mary was –
quite likely – very young at the time of the Annunciation. Some scholars think she may have been a young
teenager. In the Jewish culture of 2,000
years ago, young men and young women married quite early in life. There were some good reasons for that: For one thing, people didn’t live very long,
in many cases. For another, most couples
lived within a community in which there was an extended family, so resources were
often available to support a young couple.
Another reason for those early marriages was the reality that, for most,
their career goals and aspirations were quite simple, so a long period of
education and training such as we have today would have been unnecessary.
This last
point brings us to Mary’s life goals.
In the
culture of the time, the large majority of women harbored expectations that
they would be married (hopefully, married to a good husband), that they would
become parents, and that they would manage the household’s affairs and raise
the children. The culture of the time –
in contrast to our contemporary culture in the western world – could be
characterized as being a simple, agrarian culture.
So
Gabriel’s announcement shakes Mary’s life goals and expectations to the
core. I think we can see this in her
response which says, “How can this (God’s plan) be, since I have no
husband?” Gabriel portrays God’s plan on
a grand scale, invoking the name of David, the great and revered king who had
lived 1,000 years earlier. The child
Mary will bear will inherit David’s mantle.
David’s kingdom will be the kingdom of this child.
Cosmic
stuff, this.
And yet,
God’s plan carries with it immense risk for Mary.
After all,
as we remarked a moment ago, Mary is living in a simple, traditional
culture. Moreover, she is living in
Nazareth, which was – in those days – quite a small village. People tended to know pretty much everyone
else’s business, just as people tend to do in small towns today.
And people
knew that Joseph and Mary were engaged, but everyone also knew that they hadn’t
been married yet. So being pregnant with
a child was a real problem for Mary and for Joseph. (Matthew’s gospel account fleshes out the
dilemma that Joseph faces when he finds out that Mary is expecting….see Matthew
1: 18 – 19.)
Saying
“Yes” to God’s plan involved change, and it involved risk.
So, given
that reality, it’s possible, I suppose, that Mary could have told Gabriel that
her answer was “No”.
But, she didn’t. She said “Yes”.
And as a
result, the whole world changed, and the whole world benefitted from her
willingness to be the avenue by which God would announce His love for the world
and His plan to offer a way to the Father.
Jesus Christ is that perfect example of God’s love and He is the way to
the Father.
You and I
have come into a relationship with God through the work of His Son, Jesus
Christ. Mary’s faithfulness leads to a
direct benefit for us.
It is also
worth saying that, in saying “Yes” to God’s invitation, Mary found her truest
and best self, for she had found herself to be perfectly in God’s will. She set aside her life’s expectations and
goals, assumed the risk involved in doing so, and in so doing provided an
immense benefit to you and me.
Mary’s
“Yes” to God serves as a model for us.
When God
calls us to do something, we have the option to either say “Yes” or to answer
“No”.
When we say
“Yes”, things will change for us and for others. We may have to lay aside many or most of our
previous ideas about what we would do with our lives, just as Mary did.
Saying
“Yes” might involve some risk. We may
have to learn a new skill or become proficient at a new ministry in order to be
faithful to our willingness to follow God’s will. People may have to get used to the idea that
we will be different, somehow, from what we had been before.
But when we
say “Yes” to God’s invitation, God’s will comes into being, and others
benefit. After all, God’s main interest
seems to be human beings and human affairs.
Those two realities seem to matter quite a lot to God.
When we say
“Yes”, things will change forever, for the things done in this life serve to
shape us for an eternity we will spend with God.
As we said
a moment ago, this is cosmic stuff, indeed.
May our
prayer be this: “Almighty God, may we –
like your servant Mary – say ‘Yes” to your call when it comes, laying aside all
expectations and plans that conflict with your call on our lives. May we assume the risks involved in following
your will, so that we may be faithful to you and be a benefit to others. May we remember that saying ‘Yes’ changes
things for the better, and for eternity.
We pray these things through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.”
