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| Gospel | Luke 1:26-38 © |
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| 'I am the handmaid of the Lord' |
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The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. He went in and said to her, ‘Hail Mary, full of grace, The Lord is with you.’ She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, ‘Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God’s favor. Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob forever and his reign will have no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘But how can this come about, since I am a virgin?’ ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you’ the angel answered ‘and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. Know this too: your kinswoman Elizabeth has, in her old age, herself conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God.’ ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord,’ said Mary ‘let what you have said be done to me.’ And the angel left her.
We were lucky today. Before dawn today a great wind came up and one of the things even seasoned desert travelers fear came up a sandstorm! My first thought was of Benjamin, I rose and began to dress quickly so I could do something to help the camel that I was in charge of. I was just getting ready to leave when Uriah, our leader, stopped me and asked where I thought I was going. I told him that I was going to help Benjamin and find a safe place for him to weather the storm. Uriah almost died laughing when he heard this. He said. "You idiot, the camel is happier than you are right now. If we had to we could load up and march on. The camel is perfectly adapted to whatever this cursed desert can throw at him. His hooves are large so he has no trouble walking in the soft sand and his eyes are protected by his eyelashes. If you go out there, you will take the chance of breathing in the sand into your lungs and perhaps somewhere down the line get an infection. No, sit and meditate and enjoy this brief respite. It will be over soon and I will be all over you to get that stinking camel loaded so we can make up the time we are wasting because of this ha-boob, which is a word that means sandstorm." He walked away still laughing over my ignorance. It gave me pause though to think about how the camel received everything he could need from God to live in the space allotted to him. He was perfectly adapted.
Today is the Feast of the Annunciation when God sent the Angel Gabriel to a young girl named Mary and with her consent, the Savior was sent on His way to become a man and to save us from our sins.
May Mary, the Mother of God forgive me, but she like the camel is perfectly adapted to her role in the story of salvation. She, by a favor granted by God, was born without original sin. This was a necessary thing that God did because the mother of God could have no connection with evil, not even the stain of original sin. So, while we were drawn out of the pit of sin by the work of Jesus, God, drawing on the benefits of the sacrificial death of Jesus beforehand, He caused Mary to be carried over the pit of sin that the rest of us all fell into. So God saved Mary and was her needed savior.
While the winds were howling I broke out my Bible and read the account of the Annunciation. I was struck by one phrase and that was "Hail Mary, full of grace." The angel did not bring a supply of grace to Mary, he recognized that her soul was filled with it. When something is filled, you cannot fit in anymore. The angel Gabriel simply was greeting the woman and saying what was in his view.
How do we know that Mary was full of grace? That is simple, she was humble and selfless and immediately took on the work that God had asked her to do. She could have refused without any consequences what-so-ever but she didn't because her whole heart was turned to God and refusing God anything would not be something she would want to do. She was, like the camel, forgive me gentle mother, adapted to her role.
Today, I believe her to be physically in heaven and always beside her Son. I pity those who take little notice of her because they miss the opportunity to receive graces from Jesus through her. Jesus loves His mother so much that He cannot refuse her anything. For her part, her eyes are on the hands of her master, her Son, and the spiritual mother of us all.
The haboob came to an end and Uriah was as good as his word. He was all over us to get the camp struck and us on the move. I could imagine John Wayne playing his part if this were a movie because one of his favorite sayings in the morning was, "Let's get a move on. We're burning daylight." And so I put my back into breaking camp and loading the camels, breakfast will happen at lunchtime today. Another day which would pass like so many others. Funny, isn't it? I now have a greater love for the Blessed Mother because of a camel named Benjamin.
We were lucky today. Before dawn today a great wind came up and one of the things even seasoned desert travelers fear came up a sandstorm! My first thought was of Benjamin, I rose and began to dress quickly so I could do something to help the camel that I was in charge of. I was just getting ready to leave when Uriah, our leader, stopped me and asked where I thought I was going. I told him that I was going to help Benjamin and find a safe place for him to weather the storm. Uriah almost died laughing when he heard this. He said. "You idiot, the camel is happier than you are right now. If we had to we could load up and march on. The camel is perfectly adapted to whatever this cursed desert can throw at him. His hooves are large so he has no trouble walking in the soft sand and his eyes are protected by his eyelashes. If you go out there, you will take the chance of breathing in the sand into your lungs and perhaps somewhere down the line get an infection. No, sit and meditate and enjoy this brief respite. It will be over soon and I will be all over you to get that stinking camel loaded so we can make up the time we are wasting because of this ha-boob, which is a word that means sandstorm." He walked away still laughing over my ignorance. It gave me pause though to think about how the camel received everything he could need from God to live in the space allotted to him. He was perfectly adapted.
Today is the Feast of the Annunciation when God sent the Angel Gabriel to a young girl named Mary and with her consent, the Savior was sent on His way to become a man and to save us from our sins.
May Mary, the Mother of God forgive me, but she like the camel is perfectly adapted to her role in the story of salvation. She, by a favor granted by God, was born without original sin. This was a necessary thing that God did because the mother of God could have no connection with evil, not even the stain of original sin. So, while we were drawn out of the pit of sin by the work of Jesus, God, drawing on the benefits of the sacrificial death of Jesus beforehand, He caused Mary to be carried over the pit of sin that the rest of us all fell into. So God saved Mary and was her needed savior.
While the winds were howling I broke out my Bible and read the account of the Annunciation. I was struck by one phrase and that was "Hail Mary, full of grace." The angel did not bring a supply of grace to Mary, he recognized that her soul was filled with it. When something is filled, you cannot fit in anymore. The angel Gabriel simply was greeting the woman and saying what was in his view.
How do we know that Mary was full of grace? That is simple, she was humble and selfless and immediately took on the work that God had asked her to do. She could have refused without any consequences what-so-ever but she didn't because her whole heart was turned to God and refusing God anything would not be something she would want to do. She was, like the camel, forgive me gentle mother, adapted to her role.
Today, I believe her to be physically in heaven and always beside her Son. I pity those who take little notice of her because they miss the opportunity to receive graces from Jesus through her. Jesus loves His mother so much that He cannot refuse her anything. For her part, her eyes are on the hands of her master, her Son, and the spiritual mother of us all.
The haboob came to an end and Uriah was as good as his word. He was all over us to get the camp struck and us on the move. I could imagine John Wayne playing his part if this were a movie because one of his favorite sayings in the morning was, "Let's get a move on. We're burning daylight." And so I put my back into breaking camp and loading the camels, breakfast will happen at lunchtime today. Another day which would pass like so many others. Funny, isn't it? I now have a greater love for the Blessed Mother because of a camel named Benjamin.
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