(Advent Sunday IV) God Shares His Project With Mary

For the fourth Sunday of Advent, the liturgy highlights the Oath to David, which in His fidelity God fulfills in the birth of Israel’s Messiah. But salvation history is not only about men and their heroics. It is also about women. Luke underscores this with his story of the annunciation to Mary. While Matthew focuses on the figure of Joseph, the just man, Luke underlines the role of Mary, she who will later on be with the apostles as they await the coming of the Holy Spirit (see Acts 1:14).

The selection from Luke 1:26-38 is often repeated in the liturgy whenever Mary is recalled. It is the moment when she said “Yes” to God’s proposal of the Incarnation. It was a “Yes” that she will live up to for the rest of her life.

Relevant Articles

Sunday Thoughts: The Principle of the Incarnation
The Annunciation to Mary
See also this article on the reading from 2 Samuel and the one from Romans

Guide for Reading

The present section from Luke is separated from the surrounding episodes by the sending of the angel to a maid in Nazareth (v. 26) and his departure (v. 38). Within these two “textual boundaries” one can individuate the content of the narrative:

1. Divide the content of Luke 1:26-38 into an outline
   1. Identify the parts that make up the story and give each a one-line descriptive title (note that here the norm for the division into parts is in the dialogue itself: at what point does the conversation lend itself to division? When do the speakers change topics?)
   2. Within each part of the story, identify names, places and ideas that will have a bearing in the further development of Luke’s gospel (e.g. the mention of Elizabeth connects this section to the following one, the Visitation)
2. Note the following
   1. the change in Mary’s name to “O Full of Grace” (what does a change in name means?)
   2. the words of the angel about the birth of Mary’s son: what particular words are used to describe him?
   3. the response of Mary to the announcement of birth: what does her question mean? How does her question compare to that of Zechariah’s when he was told of the birth of a son?
   4. the final response of Mary to the angel (it is that response which unites her closely to Christ)

Comparing the Readings

The reading from Luke suggests to us the following:

1. the attitude of obedience that Mary shows the angel; it is an attitude that has the characteristics of humility and intelligence
2. Mary’s reception of the good news which propels her to go to Elizabeth (see the following section of Luke)
3. the Incarnation as a project proposed to Mary

The selection from Paul’s letter to the Romans speaks of a mystery long hidden but now made manifest in Christ, that is, the inclusion of the Gentiles in the plan of God. Paul is actually referring to prophetic oracles where God explicitly mentions the inclusion of Gentiles among His people when the time comes. These oracles are taken up with the Advent lectionary for the first readings.

Finally, the reading from the second book of Samuel focuses on the oath to David which is fulfilled in the birth of Mary’s son.

Suggestion for the Lesson

The fourth Sunday of Advent is the last Advent-Sunday before Christmas. It function is to prepare the Church for Christmas day, the memorial celebration of the Birth of Our Lord. Mary, the figure of the Church, is the model for the way the Word of God is made Incarnate for any time and place. The Church, then, whether in its universal reality or in its “cell-reality”, the family, is invited to be like her in her readiness to cooperate with God’s project. Paul VI several years ago said that as the Word of God took on the “flesh” of a first century Jew and spoke his language, so now too the Word of God must have its tent (cf. John 1:14) wherever the Church is. In other words, the principle of the Incarnation must continue in lives that have become “Good News”. The fourth Sunday’s gospel message then is not so much about Mary’s obedience but about the Church’s obedience to God’s invitation to share in His project of salvation. The catechist or the homilist would do well to stress this idea.