WEDNESDAY HOMILY – 3RD WEEK IN ADVENT (YEAR B)
THEME: Ready Or Not
BY: Deacon Bill Frere
Greek Orthodox Church of Annunciation, Nazareth
So are you ready? Christmas is 5 days away! 5 days! Shopping all done? (nope) Tree set up and decorated? (not even close) House filled with Christmas spirit? (getting there) Batches of cookies baked and Christmas cards all sent out? (nope) Christmas dinner all planned and prepped? (not a clue) All ready? Really? I have to admit we are so far behind that we will never catch up. Well, time will tell!
ALSO RECOMMENDED: WEDNESDAY: HOMILY FOR 3RD WEEK IN ADVENT (YEAR B)
Are you also prepared for all the last minute glitches? All those things we never expected? The dinner that burned? Buying the wrong gift or one that doesn’t fit? Completely forgetting your best friend? Can we really ever be ready?? Forgetting where you hid that one special present? Really?
Big secret – sshh! Christmas is coming whether you (we) are ready or not! Whether we get the whole house decorated or not! Whether the Christmas cookies are baked or not! Whether we are in the mood or not! So don’t worry and don’t be afraid! Trust that things will work out and that God will be right beside you! And it will be a day of joy and celebration!
Isn’t that what Mary does in today’s Gospel, in the story of the Annunciation? Do you think she was ready? Do you think she was even the most remotely prepared for the message that Angel Gabriel brings her. She’s barely a teenager, living in this little town of Nazareth! And she hears this message that God has chosen her to be the mother of our Saviour! She’s not even married!
And yet she says YES! Yes Lord, I am your handmaid; let it be down according to Your will. She doesn’t know how things will turn out but she places her trust, her faith, in God and says YES! Consider how deep her faith! And it certainly wasn’t a blind faith – she doubted! She questioned! But in the end, she trusted that God knew best!
We have always looked at the Annunciation as a clear example of Mary’s faith in God. But I wonder whether it is also a measure of how much God believed in her, trusted in her saying YES! And if that is true, then how much does God believe in each and every one of us. He trusts that we will make the right decision. Even if we stumble and fall, even when we make the wrong choice, He trusts that in the long run we will return to Him in faith and love.
God does not abandon us. In our worst moments, in times of crisis and pain and doubt, He is there! And just as Gabriel tells Mary, just as Gabriel told Zechariah, just as the angel told Joseph – do not be afraid!
Mary’s YES was a statement of faith, complete trust in God! By that YES, she welcomed God into her life, into her very self! As unprepared as we are, as doubtful as we tend to be, as human as we are – God calls us, He trusts us, to welcome Him into our hearts! So whether we’re ready or not, Christmas is ready for us! So may our faith welcome Jesus’ birth into our lives and make us eager to share the newborn Christ Child with the world!
We have spent the last three weeks lighting the candles of our Advent wreath. As we move closer to Christmas Day, I ask you to light one more candle – to light a candle inside your heart and be a light to someone else who is struggling in the darkness. Be a light to someone fighting against sadness and depression, against isolation and fear. Be a light that kindles a flame in their heart!
FOR SIMILAR HOMILY, CLCIK HERE >>>>