rejoice

Isaiah 7:10-14; Psalm 24 Let the Lord enter; he is the king of glory; Luke 1:26-38
For today's gospel we read the annunciation scene.  The angel Gabriel comes to the Nazareth to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David, and the virgin's name was Mary.

Thus begins the unfolding of salvation history in real time, as they say.

Yesterday the Pope spoke on the annunciation and i would like to share a few of his remarks with my own scattered in.

"Hail full of grace, the Lord is with you" is the opening salvo that inaugurates Jesus into history.

"Hail" is the greek word Chaire which translates into "rejoice."

4 times is this greek word used in the greek Old Testament and each time it is associated with the coming of the Messiah (Zep 3:14, Joel 2:21, Zech 9:9, Lam 4:21)

This proclamation is as the Pope points out an announcement of the end of sadness associated with the limits of life, suffering, death, wickedness, darkness that obscure the light of divine goodness.

It is the beginning of the goodness.

Rejoice!

Why rejoice?   Because the Lord is with us.  The reality of being full of grace bespeaks of the communion Mary has with God.  This vital connection with him is what sets her apart and opens the world to divine goodness.

MAry is one who is shaped by the action of God.  THus she is full of grace, the Lord is with her, she can rejoice.

In and through herself, Mary has opened the world to her creator, to God himself.  She has placed herself in the hands of her creator without reserve.

Without reserve...Think about this reality, this bold commitment, this engaging relationship.

It is without reservation that "yes" is pressed upon her lips, "Behold the handmaid of the lord, be it done to me according to your word."

How different would our world be is more of us entered into that kind of relationship with God, without reservation!

Surely, rejoicing would be a more fundamental reality of our world rather than something contrived.

Where do we hold back?  What have kept in reserve?
Advent is about entrusting ourselves more completely to him who desires to shape us according to his action.