Word for the day by Christian Education Forum
Annunciation of Mary
Rev. George Cherian
Youth Chaplain,
Midwest Region
38 Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be
with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
We live in a world where we feel
happy making our little contributions to church and society by our
participation in the various activities associated with them. We at times boast
about what we offer as our financial contributions to maintain the church and
sustain its mission works in the world. We are excited by the fact that we are
involved. But is just being involved all that is expected from us even as we
prepare to celebrate the birth of our savior?
Annunciation is the good news that
comes to Mary through the angel Gabriel. The Good news is that she has found
favor in the eyes of God. Mary finds favor in the eyes of God to go through the
most unfavorable situations of life, to conceive even when she’s a virgin and
go through the pain and embarrassment that accompanies it.
Mary’s response to the annunciation
is an act of complete surrender. She agrees to whole heartedly co-operate with
God .She participates in the salvific act of God through her obedience. The
incarnation was God’s act, but it also depended on the obedience of Mary.
Mary, through her surrender, was not just involved in the whole process
but was totally committed for the salvation of the world.
There is a great difference between
being involved and being committed. To be involved is easy but to be totally
committed demands risking one’s life.
A chicken and a pig lived on a
farm. The farmer was very good to them and they both wanted to do something
good for him.
One day the chicken approached the
pig and said, “ I have a great idea for something we can do for the farmer!
Would you like to help?”
The pig, quite intrigued by this
,said “of course! What is it that you propose?”
The chicken knew how much the
farmer enjoyed a good healthy breakfast. He also knew how little time the
farmer had to make a good breakfast. “ I think the farmer would be very happy
if we made him breakfast.”
The pig thought about this. “ I
would be happy to help you make breakfast for the farmer. What do you suggest we
make.?”
The chicken understanding that he
had little else to offer suggested” I could provide some eggs.”
The pig knew the farmer might want
more, “ That’s a fine start. What else should we make?”
The chicken looked around….scrathed
his head….then said , “ham ? The farmer loves ham and eggs !”
The pig, very mindful of what this
implied, said, ”that’s easy for you to say. For you it’s just an involvement,
but for me it’s a total commitment.
Mary was willing to offer herself,
her body, her womb to bring forth God’s son into the world. This total
commitment of Mary brings great pain to her as she has to flee with her
son to Egypt to protect the child from Herod and later on see her son been
stripped , beaten and hung on to the cross even while being in the prime of his
life. She receives God’s favor to experience the unfavorable. But she knew
God’s purposes for the world was being realized through her.
Christian life demands a total
commitment on our part and not just an involvement. The apostle Paul said”
Offer your bodies” (Rom.12.1) which is one’s complete self to God for realizing
God’s purpose in the world.
Can we make that total commitment as we prepare ourselves to celebrate our
savior’s birth? We become a blessing when we give ourselves completely.
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