21.12.2003 4th Sunday of Advent

First Reading: Micah 5, 1-4
Psalm 79
Second Reading: Hebrews 10, 5-10
Gospel Reading: Luke 1, 39-48

Advent began by preparing us for the wait for the Son of man who was to come with might and glory, and ends with a glimpse at the historic setting that Jesus came into. The prophet Micah writes of him as he who comes "from of old, from ancient days", who will "stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord" and with his presence will guarantee "peace to the ends of the earth". The prophet even indicates the place of his birth, Bethlehem of Ephrathah! With these indications we too await the child, who will come from "she who is in travail"! We wait for him full of hope, and with joy we get ready to recognise him and go to meet him.

One can meet him even without seeing him! The episode told in the gospel introduces us to this mystery. Solicited by her own child who is still in her womb, Elisabeth recognises the mother of the Child announced by the prophets. Still a secret, this Child makes the other hidden child and his mother rejoice! Eyes are of no good, just as they are of no good to Thomas in recognising the Risen One, but faith convinces and moves the heart more than the eyes!

We stop on the threshold of Zachariah's house and listen to the two women who greet each other after having experienced an act of faith and love destined to transform the world. Their experience of faith has already changed their lives. Elisabeth, having realised that God had heard her prayer and that she was to bear a child, remained within her house in great wonder. Mary, having been told her own task in being mother of a Son who was, and was to be called the Most High, set out with haste to go and see Elisabeth.

Then they meet, both so different and yet so similar. Both have been inspired by the Holy Spirit and they both declare prayers of praise! Elisabeth praises the greater work of God, blessing the Mother who came to her and the Child that she carries in her womb: she calls her "Mother of my Lord"! They are very important words, an act of faith in the divinity of Jesus and in the divine maternity of Mary! They are important for us, because they help us to formulate our prayers and they strengthen the faith that the Church, faithful to the scriptures, has always been able to transmit. What is more, Elisabeth blesses Mary also for her faith: that she "believed that there would be fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord"! She had understood the experience of her younger relative and saw that she had acted through faith. Mary had indeed taken the words of the angel seriously; she had taken them as the Word of God and had acted as a consequence. She had believed that the Word of God was true which was sufficient reason to act.

At the greeting of her kinswoman, Mary replied with a series of quotations from the Psalms, a sign that she lived immersed in prayer! The first reaction of this mother was joy, a pure joy, calm and deep, arising from the divine initiative. She knows that she is only a handmaiden, but she is happy to be God's servant, the God who loves men, who loves the humble and for that reason will use her to render this love concrete for everyone. Being a servant is her greatness, being humble guarantees that God will find use for her!

This attitude of Mary's will be that of her son's! Did he learn from her? Or did she learn from him in advance the true attitude which is pleasing to God. In the letter to the Hebrews, it is written that coming into the world he offers to do the will of the Father: "I have come to do thy will O God". He wishes, therefore, to be god's servant: to this purpose he intends to use his body, the human body, prepared by God himself for him. This attitude already begins in Mary's womb and his mother shares it! Mary shows us the true way to prepare for the coming of her Son: to be like him, to share in his willingness to do the will of the Father, to offer oneself together with him to share in his work in the world.

Let us try to offer Jesus the setting of our heart for his coming this year: a heart that is ready, docile and without other desires than his. Let us change the words of the prophet Micah and instead of Bethlehem of Ephrathah let us put our name, the name of our family! Let this be the new name of the place of the Presence of he who spreads peace!

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