as a sacrifice to God, and God not only took pleasure in his self-offering, but God made that self-offering the means whereby sins were removed once for all.
All who follow Jesus walk in his footsteps of faithfulness; they do God’s will, which must be discerned through reading Scripture, through dialogue with others, through the help of a spiritual director. It is much easier to do our own wills. We decide our lifestyle, we choose our career, what place we live, what house we buy, etc. Faithfulness to God, however, often calls us to renounce our desires and offer ourselves in obedience to doing God’s will. In a culture saturated with ego, it is often hard to hear God’s announcements to us.
Meditation: What is God’s will for you? Have you been obediently faithful?
Prayer: O God, sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for us so that we might do your will. Guide our discernment through the power of the Holy Spirit, and keep us faithful to the example of your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
Announcement
Luke 1:26–38
Scripture: “The angel [Gabriel] said to [Mary], ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus’” (Luke 1:30–31).
Reflection: This gospel passage is read multiple times during the liturgical year. It is most appropriate, however, on the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord—which is never celebrated on a Sunday—because it contains the angel Gabriel’s announcement of the conception and birth of Jesus, who is often referred to as “Lord” by the author of Luke’s Gospel.
“In the sixth month” of Elizabeth’s pregnancy “the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David. The Virgin’s name was Mary” (1:26–27). Luke understands Isaiah’s words to King Ahaz about the LORD giving Ahaz a sign—namely, that the young woman or virgin is with child and shall bear a son—to be fulfilled by Gabriel’s words to Mary: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus” (1:30–31).
Mary is God’s favored one, chosen for a special role. Gabriel explains that the child she will conceive “will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David” (1:32). Luke makes several important points with Gabriel’s words to Mary. First, Isaiah’s “Immanuel”—God with us—will occur in Mary’s womb. Second, the everlasting covenant promised to David and his descendants becomes a kingdom having no end.
Echoing the “Immanuel” name, Luke narrates Gabriel’s answer to Mary’s question about how a virgin can conceive: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God” (1:35). In other words, Luke introduces one of his favorite themes here. That theme is that Jesus is a Spirit child. As such, he is filled with the Holy Spirit from his conception, and he will be “led by the Spirit” (4:1) throughout the rest of the gospel.
Luke imagines Mary as a new ark of the covenant. In the first ark, the tablets of the Law represented the presence of God with his people. That ark was often overshadowed by a cloud, which protected the Israelites from harm and from the brightness of God’s holiness. With her divine conception of God’s Son, Mary is a new ark, protected by God from harm and given the overwhelming grace of the Holy One’s favor.
Mary is given the sign that the reader already knows: “. . . Elizabeth in her old age has . . . conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren” (1:36). Luke, following in the footsteps of Isaiah, likes to give signs that verify the angel’s words. Isaiah, Luke’s favorite prophet, often gives signs that indicate that God will fulfill the words he inspires his prophet to speak to his people.
Once she understands the sign that indicates that “nothing will be impossible with God” (1:37), Mary accepts Gabriel’s annunciation, declaring, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word” (1:38). Luke quickly brings to an end this annunciation that parallels the one of Gabriel announcing to Zechariah that his wife Elizabeth will conceive in her old age and give birth to John the Baptist (1:5–25). Gabriel leaves the gospel never to reappear.
We receive announcements all the time. Most of our wedding announcements, graduation announcements, birth announcements, etc. come through ground mail or e-mail. Modern angels visit us in modern ways and deliver God’s words to us. A few words from a homily may spark our thoughts about something we need to do for our spiritual lives. A newspaper article may get us to write that check as a donation to a worthy cause that we have been putting off for a few weeks. An Internet story may urge us to seek more information about a religious topic about which we have always wondered. God sends announcements to us in many ways; we, like Mary, must be ready to receive them.
Meditation: What recent announcement have you received from God? What action did it spark you to take?
Prayer: Most High God, you sent your angel Gabriel to Mary of Nazareth to announce the conception and birth of your Son. Help us to hear your word in the Scriptures, in preachers and teachers, and in each other. Grant us the favor to respond through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
April 25: Feast of St. Mark, Evangelist
Love
1 Peter 5:5b–14
Scripture: “Your sister church in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings; and so does my son Mark” (1 Pet 5:13).
Reflection: The first biblical passage assigned for the Feast of St. Mark is the last ten verses of the first letter of Peter, written at the end of the first century or early in the second century AD to those Christians, “brothers and sisters in all the world . . . undergoing . . . suffering” (5:9), that is, undergoing persecution in Roman provinces. The letter is written “to encourage” the readers and “to testify that this [suffering] is the true grace of God” (5:12) in which they should stand fast. Believing in an imminent return of Christ, the author exhorts his readers to endure their suffering for a short time because “the God of all grace, who has called [them] to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish [them]” (5:10).
Biblical scholars do not think that the historical Peter—who was martyred between 64 and 68 AD—wrote this letter, but a high ranking church official, possibly living in Rome—identified as the “sister church in Babylon” (5:13)—wrote it in Peter’s name to establish his authority to address Christians on certain issues. The writer’s secretary is named Silvanus, a faithful brother or fellow believer.
Today’s passage contains the last verses of the household duties of elders, more specifically, the humility they need in dealing with one another, especially in time of anxiety. The author tells them to discipline themselves, to keep alert. “Like a roaring lion [the] adversary, the devil, prowls around, looking for someone to devour” (5:8). A bit of irony may be present in this verse for those who know that Mark’s Gospel is represented in popular iconography by a winged lion. Of course this is not the only irony contained in this feast; see the entry on Mark 16:15–20 below.
The major reason this passage is chosen for the Feast of St. Mark is because it mentions the name “Mark” (5:13). According
