ANNUNCIATION OF THE LORD

THE ANNUNCIATION OF THE LORD

25th March 2020

SCRIPTURE READINGS: 

ISaiah 7:10-14, 8-10; 

Psalm 40:7-11; 

Hebrew 10:4-10; 

Luke 1:26-38

HOMILY: Behold Lord, I come to do your will.

Dear friends in the Lord Jesus Christ. Today we are privileged to embrace and celebrate together with the whole Church, the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord.

The Solemnity of the Annunciation is not just a Marian feast in honour of our Blessed Mother.  It is also a Christological feast in honour of Christ.  This is because the “yes” of Mary is intrinsically linked with the “yes” of Christ.  The redemption of the world requires both the “yes” of Mary and Jesus. 

Dear friends, the Solemnity of the Annunciation normally falls on Lent and sometimes on Easter.  This is because in His incarnation, our Lord was destined for His passion, death and resurrection.  

Without the paschal mystery, the incarnation would have lost its meaning.   It is the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord that saved the world from sins.  Christmas would not have been celebrated if not for the paschal mystery.  Indeed, the Incarnation and Christmas anticipate the paschal mystery of our Lord.  Without their common “yes” to God’s will, there will be no incarnation and no paschal mystery.

The incarnation is the fulfillment of the Old Testament promise.  Jesus is the Messiah foretold in Isaiah as noted in the first reading when the Lord said, I “will give you a sign...we note the difficulty Joseph endured when he informally planned to divorce Mary, but the Angel of God convinced him to say "yes" and thus protecting the Lord.

But the greatest “Yes” came from Mary.  And this “yes” came at an enormous price. Whilst being chosen to be the mother of Jesus, the Messiah, is a great honour, more importantly, it is living out the vocation of being the mother of the savior that is the higher calling.   

Indeed, it is not so difficult to be a mother.  Most women can conceive and be a mother.  However, not every mother is a good parent.  Being a parent requires us to look after and nurse the child, to help him or her grow in wisdom, maturity and grace, fulfilling his or her vocation in life. 

This maternal call entails a life-long sacrifice until death.  No matter how old the child is, a mother will care for the child, love the child until death do them part.

Mary’s decision was more than just a “yes” to being the mother of the Messiah. It entailed all the sacrifices involved in that decision.   This decision was to affect not just the lives of others but her own life as well.  

From the moment, she said “yes’ she had to worry about how to explain her pregnancy to Joseph and her family.  Would she be accused of adultery, be stoned to death and bring shame to the family?  Soon after the birth of our Lord, they were persecuted and had to take refuge in Egypt.  When Jesus was old enough to begin His mission, Mary had to bear the pain of Jesus leaving her. 

Furthermore, in spite of all the good works that her Son did, she had to bear hearing him being accused of madness, possessed by Satan, a drunkard, an imposter, a religious fraud and a political criminal. Most of all, she had to see her Son tortured and scourged, stripped naked and nailed on the cross like a criminal to die.  Which mother can tolerate and bear the pain of seeing her only Son die in such a horrifying and scandalous manner?

Loving Brethren, saying “Yes” is not merely just an assent to the Lord’s calling.  It entails fidelity to the call for the rest of our lives. I equate this decision to the married couples, saying yes to your partner entails accepting the ups and downs in that union. 

This solemnity has come at time when our "yes" to the Lord and our faith is shaken by the menace of covid-19. There is tension all over the world, there's no more social life...just like Mary- Mother of our Lord, she faced the situation with her eyes fixed to the Lord. It's our time to fix our eyes to God, our help and our shield.

In two weeks time, all of us will renew our baptism promises, where we shall say "yes" on the Easter vigil. Those in Holy Orders will remind themselves of their Ordination promises during the Chrism Mass. This YES comes with an expense. As a young Deacon, I have come to realise that this vocation lies solely on the mercies of God. We ought to remain with Christ and let our YES be YES...it should come from within us.

Doing the will of God requires more than just giving up our body but our will for God’s will.  This is what the letter to the Hebrews said, "...God here I am! I am coming to obey your will..."

Today, dear faithful I invite you that together we may share in the redemptive plan of God for humanity and for ourselves.  Like Jesus and Mary, we have a part to play in the salvation of humanity.  We need to be docile to the will of God as Jesus and Mary were.

Thanks all and God bless you abundantly. May He enlighten and protect your family, protect you and provide for your needs.

Rev. Deacon. Samuel Muhanji Nyonje 

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