Feast of Annunciation: 25th March, 2015
Is 7: 10-14, 8:10; Heb 10: 4-10; Lk 1: 26-36
Even as a boy, I was always taken up by that subtitle in the prayer of the Angelus: God Begins! Our God is not merely a God who responds...Our God begins, God initiates, intervenes at the right time even without an asking. That is why St. John proclaimed, we love God because God first loved us (1 Jn 4:19). The feast of Annunciation is a splendid manifestation of this nature of God, the nature of intervening at the appointed time.
We see three people involved here, who in unison give the humanity a holistic life giving message.
The Angel: stands for Faith - a concrete sign of God's relationship with us. Angels are God's spokespersons, God's messengers and God's extensions which make present God to us. Our Faith is that God continues to live with us, even amidst all the worldliness that we are surrounded by.
Mary: stands for Hope - a concrete sign of Our relationship with God. Mary shines as a counter witness to the hopeless humanity today. Indifference and Individualism marks the humanity of today and Mary's 'yes' is a revolution that spells hope to the world and to the entire humanity.
The Child: stands for Love - a concrete sign that God still loves the World. God has not given up on us and God will never do! A love that is ready to give totally of Itself (Rom 8:32). The Child that is promised is a sign of God's everlasting and unconditional love that gives life and light to the otherwise darkness filled world today.