The Annunciation has captured the imagination of artists throughout the ages. My favorite is Henry Owassa Tanner's .
From today's Office of Readings, Responsory: "The light filled her with fear, but the angel said to her: Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God."
Mary, sinless from her conception, can sit in the Light even though it fills her with fear. She not only sees the angel but believes. And, I must presume that because of her sinless nature, she does not shrink from the Light for she is created from the moment of her Immaculate Conception to live within it. She waits, curious, expectant - she must have lost her fear at the angel's words for not only has she listened well to the angel's proclamation that she is to conceive and bear a son, she finds her voice and asks a perfectly reasonable question: "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?"
Does the Light fill me with fear? How do I respond to the Light? How do I respond to any fear I may feel when my sins and imperfections are exposed by the Light?
And then she says "yes". A full yes: "May it be done to me according to your word." Confidence in her God. Confidence in herself. Trust and love fill her words, as she knows the word spoken to her, the Word to grow inside her womb, is from God, is of God, is God. She knows Him already, for He has been present to Her and with her from the beginning. Full of Grace, she has no need of perfection for her nature is already perfect. Childlike in her knowledge of God, she accepts the power of the Most High, seemingly without question, for her answer comes without pause. It is an immediate yes to the being of Light standing before her.
When I am asked to carry the Word of God to others, is my response so quick? Do I trust enough to say "yes?" Do I cooperate with God, as He perfects my nature, or do I struggle against Him? How childlike am I in my responses and in my trust?
I must believe that she would have run immediately to Joseph, for she would have no reason to hide this, no reason for deception. I wonder what those first few days after this encounter with Light would have been like. She has told her betrothed and her parents. What is she feeling? We know that she plans for and takes a trip to her cousin Elizabeth. Elizabeth would understand. Elizabeth would know what to say. Though loved by her parents and by Joseph, can you imagine their reaction to this news? Knowing Mary to be honest and forthright, they would want to believe her, but how hard was that belief?
When I am presented with a mystery of the faith, or a teaching I do not understand, how willing am I to surrender myself to knowledge which is beyond me? Am I willing to accept the truth of something even if I do not understand it? How do I react?
Mary sits in the Light. She is not blinded by it, but is illuminated in its glow. It overshadows her, she is engulfed within in, yet she emerges whole. She accepts the word, and from her the Word will be born. She has been touched by God and lived, indeed emerges from that touch bearing another Life. Jesus, incarnate, the Word made flesh, begins His life because of Mary's "yes." In what way will my "yes" bring Jesus into a world which hungers for Him?
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