God is with us as he was with the Blessed Mother. But are we with God?

Fr. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara CSsR

Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year B

St. Gerard Majella Church

December 18, 2011

Dearest beloved, Christmas is almost here. People are getting busy preparing for it. All shopping malls and supermarkets are crowded now by shoppers trying to make a last minute shopping. The streets are decorated with beautiful Christmas flowers, trees and Christmas lights. Many homes are looking more beautiful now and smelling good as well. Christmas songs are being played on radios stations and TV channels. People are happy. Children are excited. Families are getting together for special meals. The whole environment is somewhat charged. Even atheists know that something is happening. They know that his period is quite different. Everybody is happy and excited. And only Jesus could bring forth such outpouring of joy, happiness and excitement. 

In today’s gospel taken from Luke 1:26-38, we are presented with the dialogue between angel Gabriel and Mary. In the dialogue, the angel announced to Mary that she has found favor with God and the favor is, “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a Son, and you shall name his Jesus.” But the angel’s first address to Mary was “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” 

To those whom God has called and chosen, he always promise to be with them. To Isaac in Genesis 28:15, he says, “Be sure that I am with you; I will keep you safe wherever you go...” To Jacob God says “Go back to the land of your forefathers and to your kindred; and I will be with you.” To Joshua God promised, “As long as you live, no one shall be able to stand in your way; I will be with you as I was with Moses; I will not leave you or desert you.” To Gideon, God promised “I will be with you and you...” God made the same promise to Solomon, Moses, David, Jeremiah, Jonah, Daniel etc. God’s promise has always been, “Don’t be afraid! I will be with you.” 

In today’s gospel, God through angel Gabriel reechoed this same promise to the Blessed Mother, “The Lord is with you.” As God is with our Blessed Mother, so he is with us. The joy of Christmas is that God is coming to be with his people. The prophesy of Isaiah says, “...the virgin shall conceive and hear a Son, and shall be named Immanuel, a name which means: God is with us.” And during the earthly ministry of Jesus, he promised us, “I will be with you until the end of time.” 

God is with us in the morning. God is with us in the noon. God is with us in the night. Just as he said to the Blessed Mother today, “The Lord is with you,” he also says to us.  So, what is at stake now is not whether God is with us. What is doubtful now is not whether God is here with us. What is crucial now is not whether God is with us. God is always with us. But are we always with God? On hearing the message of the angel Gabriel, our Blessed Mother said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” That’s total surrender! The Blessed Virgin Mary gave her entire self to God. Today, let’s resolve to do the same if we haven’t done that yet. Surrender yourself totally to the Lord and the Lord will take care of you. He has promised to be with you always. When he makes a promise, he does not fail!