By chhotebhai
Kanpur: Readers would want to pack me off to the loony bin. Here we are in the middle of Holy Week and I am dreaming of Christmas! Am I nuts?
There is a famous book, “Nine days to Christmas” by Aurora Labastida and Marie Hall Ets, published in 1960. It is also the subject of a popular Christmas carol.
But why nine months? I am writing this on March 25, exactly 9 months before Christmas. Going by the common perception that the gestation period of a child in the womb is 9 months, it works backwards to put March 25 as the day that Jesus was conceived in his mother’s womb. It is commonly known as the Feast of the Annunciation.
Let’s get things straight. Had there been no Annunciation, there would have been no incarnation, no Christmas, no Holy Week, and thereby no redemption. I believe that the Annunciation is a far greater event than Christmas, the latter being the natural progression of the former. We therefore need to spend a little more time to reflect on the significance of this day and its relevance in our daily lives.
The events of the Annunciation are encapsulated in the Angelus, which Catholics earlier recited three times a day, whenever the church bells chimed. The bells may have stopped chiming but nobody has stopped us from reciting this beautiful prayer, if we want to. I’ll be frank. It is my favourite prayer, even more meaningful than the Our Father.
I say this because it is an interactive prayer, a dialogue between God and (Wo)man, while the Our Father is a monologue. If this shocks you, so be it. I do my best to pray (not recite) the Angelus every morning, precisely because of this dialogue, of God coming to me time and again, and seeking my voluntary response.
When I became a major in 1969 I was initiated into the Legion of Mary, an experience that I cherish to this day. (Incidentally, my father was the first Indian Legion Envoy, appointed at Madras in 1944). The Legion always celebrated the Annunciation with great fervour, which is why I probably still have that devotion.
Of the four Gospels, it is only Luke’s that records the Annunciation (Lk1:26-38). I find the text of The New Jerusalem Bible a faithful translation, devoid of paraphrase, hence will be quoting from it. Most of us would be guilty of being dismissive of the Annunciation. Even in popular Catholic piety we find far more importance given to other Marian feasts like the Immaculate Conception (December 8), the Nativity of Mary (September 8) and the Assumption (August 15). Perhaps we take the Annunciation for granted, which is to our spiritual detriment. Some reflection is called for.
The angel Gabriel begins the dialogue with these words “Rejoice, you who enjoy God’s favour, the Lord is with you” (Lk 1:28). So this is a joyous occasion (a feast). It was also God’s favor (gift), not something earned. Even the gift required a response. Mary being human (not super human as we would like to believe) is deeply disturbed (v29), and “asked herself what this greeting could mean” (v30). Notice that her response was an internal reflection, and not an external query.
Sensing her confusion the angel tells her not to be afraid as she has “won God’s favor” (v31). This now indicates that she has earned the gift, obviously because of her virtuousness. It is indicative of the depth of her spirituality. God did not choose any woman. He chose the one whom he found capable of shouldering the great responsibility being thrust upon her at a tender age.
The angel then explains the message telling her that her son “will be called Son of the Most High” (v 32). He would have “the throne of his ancestor David, he will rule over the House of Jacob forever and his reign will have no end” (v 33). “Your child will be holy and will be called Son of God” (v 35).
Imagine, for a moment, if one of us were told that our offspring would be a king, president or prime minister. Would not our heads swell with pride? We would be strutting all over the stage, safe in the knowledge of what was to come. Look at some of our bishops, school principals and parish priests who believe that they are the chosen ones. Humility seems to be at a premium.
But God’s chosen can never be proud. That is why when visiting her cousin Elizabeth, Mary says that “he has looked upon the humiliation of his servant” (v 47). These words are pregnant with meaning (pun intended). Later, in his public ministry, Jesus would also say “Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart” (Mat 11:29). If there is one big take away from the Annunciation it is humility; imperative in an ego driven world.
If we carefully observe Jesus’ behavior we find that the one thing he could not tolerate was religious self-righteousness or hypocrisy. And the great virtue that runs its course though the New Testament is humility. Some quotes would suffice.
“The one who makes himself as little as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven” (Mat 18:4). “Anyone who humbles himself will be raised up” (Mat 23:12). Of Jesus St Paul writes, “He was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross” (Phi 2:8). St James says “God opposes the proud but he accords his favour to the humble” (Jas 4:7).
And again “Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will lift you up” (Jas 4:10). St Peter adds, “Humility towards one another must be the garment you all wear constantly, because God opposes…” (1 Pet 5:5). “Bow down, then, before the power of God now, so that he may raise you up in due time” (1 Pet 5:6).
Coming back to the Annunciation, it did not render Mary wonderstruck or withdrawn. We read that she “went quickly as she could into the hill country to a town in Judah” (v 39). Her humility spurred her into action. And proclamation. Her cousin Elizabeth testified “Look, the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy” (v 44) The significance of this event should not be lost on us.
The sequence is – the Word came to Mary – it was incarnated in her – she took the incarnated word to Elizabeth – and in turn it was incarnated in John the Baptist. This is why Mary is called the Queen of the Apostles. She was the first evangelist; she proclaimed the word incarnated in her.
Today missiologists tell us that our mission is not so much of proclaiming the Word, than conveying to others the Word of God incarnated in me. I cannot give to others what I do not have. So on this day and time of the Annunciation let us celebrate it as the greatest Marian feast, the greatest interaction between God and (Wo)man since the Garden of Eden. May Jesus and his Mother Mary give us the grace of humility this Holy Week.