Yes is the Answer

The mercy of God is a scandal – Christ offers His infinite mercy to every worst kind of sinner, excluding no one. This eternal upwelling of mercy overflows, cascading upon the whole of the human race.

It extends to murderers. It extends to rapists. It extends to thieves, and liars, and stalkers, and vandals. It extends to tax collectors and prostitutes. It extends to me, and it extends to you.

Only one thing is required. You must accept this mercy. You must freely accept the love of God and all the responsibilities that implies – including forgiveness of those who sin against you in these ways. You must say yes.

Our model for yes is a woman who freely chose the deepest yes to God ever recorded. Today we celebrate the Annunciation of the Archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary (cf. Luke 1:26-38).

The Archangel Gabriel appears to a nice Jewish girl and tells her she is “blessed among women”.

Naturally, she’s a wee bit confused. Terrified even.

Here is the messenger of God, the angel who instructed the Prophet Daniel, and he’s not only greeting her (which would be terrifying enough, I think), but he has given her a title “Full of Grace”, for indeed the eternal Saviour who would become her son had transcended mere time to grace her immaculate conception.

Now some modern Bible translations try to make light of this phrase, translating it as “highly favoured one” or something similar, but the translators are being a trifle disingenuous when they do that.

The fact is that this sort of greeting is unprecedented in Biblical tradition.

Here the angel of God is telling the young Mary that she is without sin.

But there’s more.

He tells her that she is the prophesied virgin who will bear a child. She will bear a son, the son of God, who will sit upon David’s throne.

She is understandably confused. Is she not a virgin? How can she bear a child?

The angel says that the Holy Spirit will “overshadow” her, using the same word that the scriptures used for God’s presence upon the Mercy Seat of the Ark of the Covenant.

Essentially, the angel is telling her that she is the New Ark of the New Covenant. As the first Ark bore the Law, so she will bear the Saviour.

This was probably not the answer she was looking for.

Now we come to the moment of truth. What would be her response?

Would she refuse?

Would she react in fear and disbelief as indeed Zechariah had done when the angel had announced the conception of Saint John the Baptist?

There’s a great Jewish tradition of arguing or bargaining with God that goes clear back Abraham. Moses arguably perfected it.

But Mary does not argue, does not bargain, and that changes everything.

Mary replies, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38)

Yes.

In today’s Solemnity of the Annunciation, we celebrate that event, that yes. And as we contemplate that pivotal moment in our salvation history, we would do well to ponder our own yes to a constant conversion of heart, a constant turning towards the Lord and His Divine Mercy.

Mary in her yes becomes in that moment the perfect model of love and obedience to God, the perfect disciple, and the the worthy mother to her Son.

This is why even to this day, Catholics pray the words of the Angel – the “Hail Mary” – not only to honour the Mother of God, whom the Eastern Christians call Theotokos, or “God bearer”, but also to remind ourselves continually of the promises God makes to those who love Him.

To remind ourselves that the Word became flesh.

That the Son of God became the son of Mary.

That He who transcends time was born into time.

Do we always remember this when we pray? Well, I don’t. Some days I’m tired or cranky or rushed. But the reminders are there, if we can allow the Grace of God to do its work.

Today is also the reason we have Christmas in December. Seriously.

There’s an ancient tradition that says that you will know the day of your death by the day of your conception, and vice versa. Christ was crucified on the 14th of Nisan – the only date we can fix with certainty in his life. When translated from the Jewish lunar calendar that day becomes the 25th of March on the Roman solar calendar.

So the second century Christians assumed that Christ was conceived on 25 March. Nine months later, we have Christmas.

I’d like to close these ramblings with a beautiful Byzantine hymn for this day that sums it all up, far better than me:

Today is the beginning of our salvation,
And the revelation of the eternal mystery!
The Son of God becomes the Son of the Virgin
As Gabriel announces the coming of Grace.
Together with him let us cry to the Theotokos:
“Rejoice, O Full of Grace, the Lord is with you!”