Today, had my grandfather lived, he would have been 100. He was born in the wilds of the rural, east coast of New Zealand, far from the comforts of hospitals, sealed roads and bustling city life. He lived an extraordinary, if in the end tragic, life, and was buried a stone’s throw away from the place of his birth. He wrote an extensive autobiography that was published posthumously after 27 years. Remembered mostly as a soldier and war hero, and a very learned man, his record as a husband and father are less praiseworthy. Indeed he was to be feared. And while it took 488 pages to record his own life’s journey, it would be far too difficult to sum up his life in a few brief paragraphs. I spent several of my younger years living with my grandparents.
Jesus’ birth is estimated to have been no earlier than 6 BCE, but some 9 months prior to his birth, Luke (1:26 – 38) tells us that a young woman, recently engaged to be married, perhaps no older than 13 or 14, is visited by a messenger. The messenger brings news that would shock a family as much today as it did then. She was to be a mother. What challenges us is this young woman’s response to this news: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”
We recall this story as The Annunciation. In this day and age we would call it The Announcement. This announcement inaugurates a new age. For in this announcement God’s relationship with his creatures is changed forever. The relationship which had thus far been between a God who revealed himself in word and action is now enfleshed in the womb of this young woman. God has become man.
The intended birth of every human being is a resounding affirmation of our relationship with the Divine. Every new life opens up possibilities and dreams. Every birth announces an expectation of a life lived fully, of a hope to be fulfilled for the present, for that unknown future, for eternity.
The world in which my children live and breathe is separated from that of my grandfather by a century, and yet when each of my children was in utero our desire for a healthy pregnancy and delivery was accompanied by anxiety of parenthood and the dreams we held for them. What impact will they make upon the world in which they live, what legacy will they provide for their descendents, how will the stories of their great-grandfather be carried forward?
Mary. Mary was the young woman. A most ordinary, a most extraordinary human being. The response that echoes from her heart and which reaches through the ages is, “Here I am Lord, I come to do your will.”
Today is the Feast of the Annunciation, but also my eldest brother’s birthday. A reminder that this Sunday is Passion or Palm Sunday.
Jesus’ birth is estimated to have been no earlier than 6 BCE, but some 9 months prior to his birth, Luke (1:26 – 38) tells us that a young woman, recently engaged to be married, perhaps no older than 13 or 14, is visited by a messenger. The messenger brings news that would shock a family as much today as it did then. She was to be a mother. What challenges us is this young woman’s response to this news: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”
We recall this story as The Annunciation. In this day and age we would call it The Announcement. This announcement inaugurates a new age. For in this announcement God’s relationship with his creatures is changed forever. The relationship which had thus far been between a God who revealed himself in word and action is now enfleshed in the womb of this young woman. God has become man.
The intended birth of every human being is a resounding affirmation of our relationship with the Divine. Every new life opens up possibilities and dreams. Every birth announces an expectation of a life lived fully, of a hope to be fulfilled for the present, for that unknown future, for eternity.
The world in which my children live and breathe is separated from that of my grandfather by a century, and yet when each of my children was in utero our desire for a healthy pregnancy and delivery was accompanied by anxiety of parenthood and the dreams we held for them. What impact will they make upon the world in which they live, what legacy will they provide for their descendents, how will the stories of their great-grandfather be carried forward?
Mary. Mary was the young woman. A most ordinary, a most extraordinary human being. The response that echoes from her heart and which reaches through the ages is, “Here I am Lord, I come to do your will.”
Today is the Feast of the Annunciation, but also my eldest brother’s birthday. A reminder that this Sunday is Passion or Palm Sunday.
No comments:
Post a Comment