We are asked to say yes to the challenging and prophetic life that God calls each of us to live
The phrase “This is how” begins the Gospel reading for the Fourth Sunday of Advent. The Gospel continues to describe the individuals who had to respond in the affirmative for the plan and promise of God to be fulfilled in its time. This phrase reminds us that it was not magic that made the coming of the Messiah possible, but the participation of human beings in the great plan and promise of God. As we come to the end of Advent, we might ask ourselves: Are we willing to be the human partners in the ongoing unfolding of the fulfillment of God’s promises?
This is how Mary’s participation made the fulfillment of God’s promise possible. Mary was given an opportunity to embrace an unanticipated way of life. Having lived her life of faith as a Jew, Mary was familiar with the promise of the Messiah and had lived in anticipation of His coming. She probably didn’t expect to play such a crucial role in the Messiah’s coming, however. This is how it happened with Mary. She was a faithful Jew, a member of the community, familiar with the Scriptures and had an active, living relationship with her God. This did not make her “yes” easy, but it did make it possible.
This is how it happened with Joseph. He was also a man of faith, living in accordance with the Scriptures. The future presented to him would mean embracing embarrassment, great responsibility and a willingness to let go of whatever he might have imagined his future to be. Just like Mary, he was asked to let go of whatever perceived control he might’ve had for the future of his life and embrace an invitation to say yes to God’s plan. Being a man of faith, prayer and in relationship with God, he was able to say a difficult yes but with his whole mind, soul, heart and strength.
And how is it with us? We have been making our way through this season of Advent, with invitations to be awake, aware, alive and alert. But has this invitation broken through our status quo? We often want to control the events of our lives and are tempted to believe somehow that we know better than God what the future should look like.
In the same way that Mary and Joseph were invited to put their faith into action and to trust God more than their anticipated future, we are asked to surrender, to say yes to the challenging and prophetic life that God is calling each of us to live. If building the kingdom of God is to continue in our lifetime and through us, we need to figure out our role in the fulfillment of God’s promises. There are no excuses, so we should weed them out and throw them away. It doesn’t matter whether we are old or young. It doesn’t matter whether we think we are powerful or powerless. What matters is that we have a living relationship with God that leads us to trust God more than our perceived sense of the future.
For the poetic images of Advent to become more than just beautiful words, we must choose to embrace a more prophetic and challenging life. If “the lion is to lie down with the lamb and the bear to coexist with the cow,” we must choose to enter into those very difficult relationships. Our lifestyle allows us to believe that we have a right to control, status, possessions and power. To let go of those, to meet the other person who might be very different than we are, we must often be the person to make the first move. Are you ready, alert, awake and aware of the possibility of helping God’s promises to be fulfilled in your time?
Father Donald Wester is retired and serves as lecturer of homiletics at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary.
