Dear People of God,
The rich prince in the fairy tale who
goes into serious training to win the heart of the princess. He tries every
charm in his book, but she has her eyes fixed elsewhere and marries a penniless
woodcutter who did not do anything to win her favour. The woodcutter was chosen
because of the mysterious preference of the princess’s love. The prince was
left to wonder why he could not earn the love of the princess. After all, he
had done all the right things. What made the princess’s choice to choose the
woodcutter? The difference is very clear that the prince lives at the mercy of
someone’s labour, but the woodcutter can work hard and earn money to look after
his life. In all this, we forget the freedom of the one who chose them in the
first place.
Today, we celebrate the extravagant
love of God who freely chose Mary to be the mother of his beloved son. The
selection takes place through the annunciation. There were a number of such
annunciations in the old testament. The annunciation came towards the birth of
Isaac, Samson, Samuel, and John the Baptist. What is the purpose of this
annunciation? The purpose of an annunciation is to acquaint the readers with
the role, which the person about to be born is to play in salvation history.
There are elements in the story of Jesus’ annunciation which surpasses all the
other annunciation stories. The usual situation is that of a miraculous birth
granted to a barren couple, in the case of Isaac to parents who were even past
the age of begetting and bearing children. In the case of Jesus, it is an
annunciation to a young women without a husband. The emphasis rests on the
creative act of the Holy Spirit. God’s choice of Mary made her full of grace.
If grace is God’s gift, Mary was full of the God’s gifts. There is no point in asking
what Mary did to deserve that: She did not do anything to deserve it, because
it was sheer gift. Gifts and favours reflect the generosity of the giver, not
the worthiness of the receiver. What gift do you expect from the generosity of
the giver, the Almighty God? How do we all get ready to receive the expected
gift in our lives? Let us prepare for the worthy cause.
God bless.
Fr. S. Susai Raj.
