December 9, 2024 at Saint William Catholic Church in Naples, FLS
Genesis 3: 9-15 + Psalm + Ephesians 1: 3-6, 11-12 + Luke 1: 26-38
Those of us who have gathered in this church tonight come out of duty and respect for God’s Word. It is our privilege to hear this Gospel, to hear the Word of God begin once more this creation spoiled by sin. At the beginning, as told in the Book of Genesis God’s Word brought life from nothing. Now, once more, God’s Word brings life where there is nothing – out of virgin’s empty womb.
In the first chapter of Luke’s Gospel, we are given two Annunciation stories.
First comes Zechariah’s experience with that angel, Gabriel. Luke tells us that he sees the angel, and then he resists the message claiming old age not quite sure that anything is possible with God.
In the second Annunciation, Gabriel comes to that young girl in Nazareth. Unlike Zechariah, and contrary to what many artists would have us think, Luke never tells us that she saw Gabriel. She heard and she listened. She did not see no matter how countless artists have imagined the scene. They missed something. My favorite painting the Annunciation has a young Palestinian girl sitting with a look of puzzlement on her face. At the side of the canvas there is simply a great shaft of light illuminating the whole scene. That artist, named Tanner, got it right. There no feathers, regal cushions, elegant robes, or kneelers. She heard what God asked of her without seeing anything. Her response springs out of sense of duty because she knows she is a handmaid, a servant of the Lord. She is ready to serve. That is her duty.
Here we are tonight. Like her, we see nothing, but we can hear and we have listened to the Word of God. The promise of salvation, healing forgiveness and everlasting life is renewed in every one of us who never forget that we are servants of the Lord, who never forget that the Holy Spirit has come upon us too. There can be no excuses. We can only hope that the same sense of duty that brought us here tonight will lead us to accept our own call to give flesh to Word of God, to make real the hope of God’s joyful and peaceful Kingdom, and believe with all our heart and soul that no matter what as long as we are truly servants of the Lord, this new creation begun in Nazareth will find fulfillment here among us.