4th Sunday of Advent God comes to us in joy and pain
In a painting of the Annunciation by Charles Watt, Mary’s face is flushed with light in the midst of darkness, her hand raised to her mouth in wonder, her eyes filled with concern, even fear. Darkness and light, fear and hope, dread and wonder, pain and glory – all this we hear in this Sunday’s Gospel of the Annunciation. Rightly is Mary afraid when the angel tells her that she is highly favoured and that God is with her – she knew her Jewish history and what happened to those favoured by God: Abraham - who wandered for decades, facing trial after trial, waiting for God to give him a new homeland and a son; Moses – born in slavery, reared as a prince, hunted down as a murderer, defying the might of Pharaoh, leading the Israelites into the sea and around the desert for 40 years; the prophets, vilified and attacked for preaching God’s word, announcing a salvation that was to come years in the future – well after they were dead. Mary was filled with awe. In English ‘awful’ has two opposite meanings – filled with wonder or something that is horrible. Mary’s faith would have been in wonder at the love and kindness that God was showing to her and the human race – but she did also dread how this salvation was to come about. Over this Christmas we will have much joy celebrating with our families. We will also know pain – pain at loss, at breakdowns in relationships, in loneliness and misunderstandings. It is in the mixture of the two – joy and pain - that God comes to us. May we know that God is there with us in our messy lives.
Sr Kym Harris OSB |