Jesus Is Here. Will That Fact Change Your Life?

Sermon given Friday, December 22, 2023
 

(Readings: 1 Samuel 1:24-28;
1 Samuel 1:1-8; and Luke 1:46-56)
 

In a recent gospel reading at Mass, we observed the Blessed Mother traveling to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who was pregnant with John the Baptist.

When Mary's arrived, Elizabeth, upon hearing her voice, felt the child leap in her womb. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth cried out in a loud voice, "Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb."

Soon after, we hear our Blessed Mother’s response, a prayer known as the Magnificat or the Canticle of Mary. It begins with Mary saying, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior, for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.”

All throughout the daily Mass readings in Advent, God reveals more about how special our Blessed Mother truly is.

She is the one Jesus chose to be his mother—the one person in all human history that God the Father chose to bring His son into the world. She was conceived immaculately, without original sin, and, unlike Eve in the garden, never sinned against God.

She became the Mother of God, and God incarnate—Jesus Christ—was formed and came forth from her womb. She fed, cared for, and loved Jesus as his true Mother. She was the first believer and follower of Christ.

At the foot of the cross, the Lord gave her to St. John the Apostle as his mother, and to all of us as our mother in the order of grace. She truly is unique, exclusive, and non-repeatable. There never has been, and never will be, another human who is, as the angel Gabriel addressed her, "Full of grace."

In and through the Blessed Mother, we see similarities to others whom God chose and set apart throughout time to draw His people to Him. In our first reading, we heard about Samuel, whose mother Hannah, like Mary’s mother, St. Anne, was barren. Both prayed for a child, and God answered their prayers by blessing them with a baby when it was thought impossible for them to conceive.

In appreciation of these miracles, both Samuel and Mary were dedicated to the Lord by their mothers as young children and were raised in the temple of the Lord. Both were also called by God in a special way—Samuel to be a prophet and Mary to bring the Son of God into the world.

Both gave God their "Yes" and spent their lives in service to Him and His people, often in very difficult and trying circumstances. In both Samuel and the Blessed Mother, we have great examples of how to follow and serve God, and live according to His will, not our own.

Now at the close of Advent, we enter the joyful season of Christmas. We should take time daily to reflect on our own "Yes" to God and examine how we are living it.

We should ask ourselves questions like: Am I truly living my faith each day, or am I just going through the motions or checking the boxes?

Am I aware of the weaknesses or cracks in my spiritual armor, and am I participating in the things God freely offers me in the sacraments, the scriptures, and traditions of His Church to repair, strengthen, and grow in my spiritual life and my relationship to the Lord?

Am I seeking to live God’s will for my life every day, or am I so distracted by the busyness, noise, and confusion of daily life or the world that I’m not properly discerning what His will for my life truly is?

Am I thinking and praying deeply about how I would respond if God called me to serve Him in a way that was difficult or out of my comfort zone? We know how Samuel and the Blessed Mother responded, but how will we respond?

In truth, the real question we all should ask ourselves is one we should sincerely seek God’s guidance and strength to give us the courage and confidence to honestly answer. The question that, when answered with either a resounding and joyful "Yes" or a disappointing and saddening "No," changes everything both in our earthly life and in eternity.

The question is: "Am I willing to make Jesus the most important person in my life?"

Are you willing to make Jesus the most important person in your life?

Amen.