Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Luke (1, 26-38)

"Now in the six month The Angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town in Galilea, named Nazareth, to a virgin, to be married to a man named Joseph, of the family of David; and the name of the virgin was Marie. The angel came into her said, "Peace be with you." to whom special grace has been given. The Lord is with you" . But, she was greatly troubled at his words and said to herself  «What maybe the purpose of these words »?. (1,26-29)

And The angel then said to her "Have no fear Marie" you have God's approval.And see you will give birth to a son and his name will be  Jesus. He will be great and  he will be named the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give him the kingdom of David his father; he will have rule over the house of Jakob for ever and his kingdom will be no end. And Marie said to the angel, "How may this be because I have had no knowledge of a man ? And  The angel in answer said to her," The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will come to rest on you, and so that which will come to birth will be named holy, Son of God.,Even now Elizabeth,with her who was without children. For there is nothing which God is not able to do.

And Marie said, "I am the servant of the Lord; may it be me as you say and the angel went away" (1,30-38),

I – Evangelical commentary: The Annunciation to The Virgin Marie

We join Marie a few days before the birth of the Messiah. Her baby is growing alive in her; but she does not know his face yet. She is looking forward to  find herself face-to-face with the baby for the first time, to see him, distinct from her and now autonomous, to call him "Jesus" for the first time and see him smiling when he hears his name. But above all, she is in a hurry to give the world this Son of God, as God entrusted her. And for legitimate her expectation, Marie remembers her already long history with the Son of God : nine months when she was all for him and already he was all for her; nine months during which she kept in her heart the mysterious words of the Envoy. And every day she has relived in her prayer the dialogue of this special day.

The day that Gabriel came to Nazareth, God took an entreprise  in Marie's life that was totally beyond her; and at the same time that He made - in her and through her - all things new, all things "Noël (Christmas)", he asked her a young but  adult consent, fresh and  strong :  as for the Creation. Trough this initiative, by sending a envoy, God proposed to Marie a mission, but this unexpected mission seemed to her paradoxical because it was an immense gift and -in the same time- a real difficulty. She must answer « yes » to God, receive a motherhood from the same God And the "yes" she was about to say, had to inevitably tortured Joseph, who trusted her.

But the Angel, told her  "Have no fear Marie". Never God  entrust mission  without providing an assurance, that means a certainty coming from himself and his fidelity. The Angel even told to Marie what should reassure her and strengthen her, that day and throughout her life: "Peace be with you, to whom special grace has been given". ( Cf.Supra). The point of support of her confidence, is that she exists in the remembrance of God, that she dwells in the mind of God, and that The God's creative design irradiates whole of her.

Finally, to seal the irruption of God in her life, Marie receives a sign; and this sign that comes straight from the heart of God is to be read at the fraternal level. Elizabeth, her cousin, also conceived a child of the impossible. Nothing is impossible to God in his love for the world; nothing remains sterile when the Spirit of God makes the desert bloom.

A few hours from the Nativity, we also celebrate the initiative that the Lord has taken in our private life, and how we are living together. For us too the call of God hids some mystery. He arrived in line with of his first gifts  but in such a strange way: the gift of novelty in the hollow of a great trial, a charisma of freedom to cash in an exodus! How will it be done? What concrete face will this mission take ? Which paths to take to join the way of God? These quieries have inhabited us and still tap us, personally and togeither. Every day these questions ask us a fresh and ardent answer,as in the past, from Marie, in which the faith of youth comes to irrigate the mature age.

Moreover, at each time of prayer, at each Eucharist, at each hour of praise, an announcement of our call is brought to us again by the Lord and assurance is given to us that we are not alone, that that we will never be alone, because we have given ourselves to the One who unceasingly "opens his hand" and and is our enjoyment for life.

Moreover,it is enough, to open our eyes to spot around us, an see -sometimes very close to us, in a brotherhood day, signs of the very gentle power of God, the Master of the Impossible. All we have to do is set out on visit "the cousin", the brother or sister of every day, and to discover with thanksgiving that the God of love is doing for all of us; and it is often during those fraternal visits that the Holy Spirit comes.

II – Meditation : To put in practice the Word as Joseph did

As Marie, Joseph received his own announcement. In fact, it is to all the great moments of Joseph's life that God speaks. Usually, it is to initiate a dialogue; for Joseph, it is a question of dialogue with his God, but his answer is dumb: he expresses himself with deeds. His life is punctuated by The word of God. He is used to it, and he always begins by listening to. It is his way of worshiping the Lord and belonging to Him; by this he instinctively takes his attitude of servant, and he says in advance, without a word, his submission. He knows, however, from experience, that -It -the Word of God more and more leads him into the mystery. He is surprised at what is happening to him, but immediately hides in his silence heart. The mystery enters his life, just as in ours,but he welcomes it, without seeking to deny it, waiting only for God to give a way to this mystery by a new word. Without letting anything lose the mystery that God makes him live. He says "yes" in advance to the Saving  Word which will always come.

And now when this Word comes, requiers more faith : "Have no fear" says the Lord; but there it was enough for humanly be afraid, for example during the threat of Herod ! : "Get up and take the young child and his mother, and go into Egypt, and do not go from there till I give you word; for Herod will be searching for the young child to put him to death. « Matthew 2,13); And Joseph gets up, because the Word of God, despite the night of faith, is stronger than all the evidences otherwise. At night, he takes the child and his mother, the sleeping child, and his shivering mother, and they move. 

Everything rests in the hand of God and every initiative is his responsibility. At the same time, Joseph remains totally free, but his listening already reflects his acquiescence. "Here I am", say the men of the Bible : Joseph, him, stands before God; he listens and everything is said. Not only because his "yes" is immediate, but already he marks his listening. All his life is punctuated by  The Word of God and help him to cross gently the dangers and dead ends. He is available to welcome everything from the hand of his God. That's the attitude we need for a few hours before Christmas!

Jean Lévêque, 

ocd, Province of Paris

III - Prayer before Christmas

Joseph, listening to the Word of the Lord,

teach us to walk "into the way of peace" (Lk 1,79),

help us to choose the way of God,

even when it surprises us, disturbs us or takes us by surprise;

to put in God all our hope,

to love this servanthood

which has made your greatness and your joy.

When we have to leave for the unknown,

when the will of God indicates another way,

when we have to change course or light

and follow His desire that rises in our heart,

intercede for us and be brotherly ;

get us to imitate your delicacy in the answer to God,

so that we remain ready and poor in His hand.

IV- Practice tracks for this week

• As for Joseph, the ways of God remained for Marie a mystery; she "kept everything in her heart", waiting for God to show her, the meaning of what she had to live. Marie found the way to God because she allowed herself to be moulded by her Word. Let's imitate her to welcome the baby Jesus !

• To take Marie home is to open ourselves to her mystery, to adopt her destiny as a servant. Marie took care of God and God took care of her. What if she came to take us to her house in Nazareth ? Which school could it be !