Obedience

Mar 25: Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord

Happy Annunciation of the Lord!

As I explained last Christmas, this date isn’t arbitrary—

No, Christmas Wasn't a Pagan Holiday

Zechariah, who was of the class of Abijah, was “serving as priest in his division’s turn before God,” when the Archangel Gabriel appeared to tell him that he would soon be a father.¹ Because these rituals happen on a regular schedule, it’s possible to determine retroactively that the priestly class of Abijah would have been on duty during the second week of the Jewish month Tishri, the week of the Day of Atonement or in our calendar, between Sept. 22 and 30.

In today’s Gospel, Gabriel tells Mary that Elizabeth was six months pregnant, which means Jesus was conceived in late March.

Reading 1

Is 7:10-14; 8:10

The LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying: Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God; let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky!

But Ahaz answered, "I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!"

Then Isaiah said: Listen, O house of David! Is it not enough for you to weary people, must you also weary my God? Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel, which means "God is with us!"

Ahaz’s kingdom of Judah, along with some neighboring countries, were under threat from the Assyrian empire. Ahaz had plans to betray his neighbors to the empire, and spare his own territory.

Then Isaiah comes along and says, “No, no, no, don’t join up with the bad guys. Ask for a sign from God, and He’ll show you what to do.”

But Ahaz will have none of that.

Yeah, well, you’re getting one anyways, pal. And it’s a pretty important sign, too.²

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 40:7-8a, 8b-9, 10, 11

R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
Sacrifice or oblation you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Holocausts or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, "Behold I come."
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
"In the written scroll it is prescribed for me,
To do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!"
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
Your justice I kept not hid within my heart;
your faithfulness and your salvation I have spoken of;
I have made no secret of your kindness and your truth
in the vast assembly.
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.

This Psalm continues the Lenten theme of offering God obedience rather than sacrifice, doing God’s will over following the letter of the law.

Technically, Israelites were forbidden from “tempting” the Lord by asking for a sign, so Ahaz was following the law. But God directly told him to ask for a sign. That’s definitely more significant than an obscure command in the Mosaic law.

Ahaz tried to get out of following God’s will on a technicality; it doesn’t work that way.

Reading 2

Heb 10:4-10

Brothers and sisters: It is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats take away sins. For this reason, when Christ came into the world, he said: "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; in holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight. Then I said, 'As is written of me in the scroll, behold, I come to do your will, O God.'"

First he says, "Sacrifices and offerings, holocausts and sin offerings, you neither desired nor delighted in." These are offered according to the law. Then he says, "Behold, I come to do your will." He takes away the first to establish the second. By this "will," we have been consecrated through the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Jesus united His human will with God’s divine will. He is always and perfectly obedient to God, even up to and including sacrificing Himself. It’s an obedience we can never achieve ourselves, which is why He has to do it for us.

Verse Before the Gospel

Jn 1:14ab

The Word of God became flesh and made his dwelling among us;
and we saw his glory.

This is a significant moment in human history. It’s not like a Greek god pretending to be a human in order to trick some lady into sleeping with him.

God became a man, fully and completely. That’s how much He loves us.

Gospel

Lk 1:26-38

The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, "Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you."

But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end."

But Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?"

And the angel said to her in reply, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God."

Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.

Mary doesn’t refuse Gabriel’s call; she’s just confused. So Gabriel gives her a sign, that her older cousin is pregnant, which Mary apparently hadn’t heard yet. And if it’s possible for Elizabeth to get pregnant, so it is for Mary.

Mary, unlike Ahaz, accepts the sign. She does what God asks her to do, even though she doesn’t understand it. It’s tough, because we usually want a reason before acting.

Sometimes, though, the reason is God asked us to. That’s the kind of perfect obedience we’re called to do.

1. Luke 1:5-25

2. I don’t have to explain what this particular sign points to, do I?