There are many things in life that confuse me. For example, why does lemonade have imitation flavoring, but furniture polish contains real lemon juice? Why does “fat chance” and “slim chance” mean the same thing? If something “goes without saying,” why do people still say it? Why is it that if someone tells you that there are four billion stars in the universe you believe them; but if there’s a sign that says wet paint, you have to touch it to be sure? Some things just don’t make any sense.Something else that often confuses me comes right out of today’s Gospel. How is it that Mary appears to say “yes” to God so easily? Think about it: Mary was barely a teenage girl, some estimate between 12 – 14 years old. When I think of my nieces at that age, I cannot imagine any of them making that kind of commitment. Their biggest decision at that age is, “What should I wear?” But Mary was all in – and that completely blows my mind.
To better understand this, we need to take a closer look at the text. St. Luke stated that Mary was “greatly troubled at what was said.” This refers to when the angel Gabriel greeted her with “Hail, full of grace!” I doubt that Mary or any of us would assume that we were full of grace, so this greeting could have come as a complete surprise to Mary. Luke also stated that she “pondered what sort of greeting this might be.” To ponder means to think about something carefully before making a decision or reaching a conclusion.
Mary’s ‘ponder’ becomes her prayer, and this prayer leads to her question: “How can this be?” She’s never had relations with a man, she’s just a poor, small-town girl, and she didn’t consider herself to be special or unique; so, how can this be?
This prayer must have led to Mary feeling immense fear and confusion. Fear for what the future might hold, her reputation, and her relationship with Joseph. She may have been afraid for her safety since she could be stoned as punishment for being ‘with child’ before married. This angelic message would radically change her life and it must have felt like she was about to lose everything.
Oftentimes this is how we feel as well. We go through these same emotions when life suddenly takes an unexpected turn. It could be a lay-off at work, a scary medical diagnosis, a global pandemic, or an unexpected change in a relationship like a break-up, divorce or even death. When we experience these tragedies or crisis events, we feel like we’ve lost control. Mary must have felt the same way. She experienced it all: shock confusion, fear, and things out of her control.
But what was her response? “May it be done to me according to your word.” When God asked Mary to do something, she completely submitted herself in humble obedience and faith. We are called to do the same. Even when we don’t understand what God is doing with us, we must surrender ourselves fully to God by trusting him. We must allow ourselves to be led by God in all that we do.
When we trust and believe that God is in charge, we are ultimately saying what Mary said: “Yes God, whatever happens, I’m all in!” But we first must say “yes” and surrender ourselves completely over to God’s plan for us.
But God’s plans can be confusing and even scary at first. Yet God reminds us to not be afraid because he is always with us, guiding us in all that we do. Sometimes, God’s plans may even seem impossible or confusing, just like it was for Mary. But his plans always have a greater purpose.
Here’s the key: Mary trusted God even when it didn’t make any sense. She believed that God is faithful, and His plan would be fulfilled in her life. She may not have always known where God was taking her, but she trusted and followed God anyway. And we must do the same.
During these past three weeks of Advent, we have been hopeful for what is to come. This required an immense amount of waiting and a whole lot of patience. But while waiting, we may have forgotten one important ‘Advent’ thing: Emmanuel – God is with us – and that ever-present God will meet us in our suffering, our struggles, our confusion, our divisions, our darkness, and our joy. We want to be ready to celebrate Christmas; but more importantly, we want to be ready to greet Jesus every day and in every situation because God is waiting for us there.
One final story…
Once in a faraway place lived a man who had faith in God. One night as he was sleeping, a huge sound woke him up. When he opened his eyes, he saw that his room was filled with light. Just then God appeared before him, showed him a large rock outside his house and told him to push that rock with all his might. Next morning when the man woke up, he remembered what he saw that night. He went outside and pushed that rock with all his might but wasn’t able to move it. But the man didn’t give up and made his daily routine to push that rock with all his might. For many years he toiled from sun-up to sundown, his shoulders set squarely against that large rock, pushing with all his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain as that rock never moved a bit even after many years.
Not seeing any progress, the man started to get discouraged and just then the devil appeared in his dream and said, “You have been pushing that rock for a long time, but it hasn’t moved. Why go through all that pain? It’s impossible to move that rock, that’s why it’s better to leave it as is and live the easy life.” Saying this, the devil disappeared.
The man was disheartened but still decided to pray to God and tell him about his troubled thoughts. He said, “Lord, I have labored long and hard in your service, putting up all my strength for what you have asked me to do and yet after all this time, I have not even budged that rock by one millimeter. What am I doing wrong? Why am I failing?”
God answered him, “My child, I asked you to serve me and you accepted it. I told you to push that rock, but I never said that I expected you to move it! Your task was to push, but do you think that you really failed? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back is rugged, your hands are calloused and tough, your legs have become powerful. Facing opposition, you have grown, and your abilities now surpass what you used to have. You haven’t moved the rock, but your calling was to be obedient and to push, to exercise your faith and trust in my wisdom. This you have done.”
My sisters and brothers, when we face difficulties, challenges and the unknown, we must trust in the Lord. God doesn’t always show us every aspect of His plan, but He does shows us enough to take the next step. All we have to do is push – even when it doesn’t make sense. Eventually, we will end up where God wants us to be.
As we await the birth of Christ, may we ponder God’s word in our hearts and completely surrender to God’s will. With faith and trust, may we always follow the example of Mary and cry out with our all heart: “Lord, whatever happens, I’m all in! May it be done to me according to your word.”
