The Unauthorized Homily

By Bill Dunn

A commentary on the Scripture readings from the Sunday Lectionary

(Scripture readings for Sunday, December 21st: 2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8-12, 14, 16; Romans 16:25-27; Luke 1:26-38)

PERFECT SUBMISSION TO GOD’S WILL

Christians talk a lot about God’s will. We seek to know God’s will, we try to do God’s will, and many of our prayers, including the Our Father, include the phrase, “Thy will be done.”

(Obviously, for those who believe the concept of “God” is an outdated, pre-scientific superstition that weak-minded people refuse to discard, the notion of submitting to God’s will is the height of folly. If God does not exist, then trying to do His will makes about as much sense as trying to have an intelligent conversation with a doorknob. But today I’m addressing those who truly believe that God is real.)

Intellectually, Christians accept the idea that our own personal will is flawed. Our innate desires and motivations do not always coincide with God’s will for our lives. We understand that since we were born sinful, if we let our urges and impulses run wild, it will inevitably lead to heartache and misery—and in extreme cases, it might even prompt us to agree with the A.C.L.U. From a detached, impersonal perspective, all Christians would agree that, generally speaking, God’s will for our lives is much better than our own will for our lives.

But when we shift from the theoretical to the personal, when we stop talking about God’s will vs. Mankind’s will in the broad, generic sense, it gets much more difficult. When we honestly confront the question, “What is God’s will for ME—right here, right now?” we find that major conflicts arise.

The reason is simple: God’s will is almost always much tougher to do than our own will. It requires more effort, more discipline, and it yields much less instant gratification. Most unpleasant of all, doing God’s will requires us to abdicate our position as the center of the universe (at least in our own minds). We have to put God at the center of the universe and direct our attention toward Him, rather than sit on our little imaginary thrones and expect others to direct their attention toward us.

This is why so many otherwise sincere Christians go to such lengths to rationalize, justify, and convince themselves that they are really doing God’s will, even though to the most casual observer it is glaringly obvious they are not. (And as I’ve mentioned frequently, these essays are often designed more to admonish and encourage myself rather than the readers out in cyberspace. I don’t need to study other people to comment on Christian hypocrisy and weakness. I just look in the mirror.)

In this week’s gospel reading, we see what is arguably the most courageous, selfless act of submitting to God’s will in the whole Bible—except, of course, for Jesus’ submitting to the Father’s will and offering up His life to pay the price for mankind’s sin.

This week we hear the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she had been chosen to be the mother of the incarnate Son of God.

Gabe said a lot of nice things to Mary. He told her that she was full of grace, that the Lord was with her, and that she had found favor with God. This was certainly better than having him say something like, “Wow, are you in trouble!” or “I’ve never seen God so upset,” or “Do you have any last words before the Lord zaps you with a lightning bolt?” (Which is what I’d probably hear if an angel ever appeared to me.)

The angel also told Mary that her offspring would be a holy and powerful leader who would rule over all Israel. Not bad. But there was one slight problem. Mary was not married, and she was a virgin. She asked the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?”

Naturally Mary was somewhat confused about the “how” of it. How could she become pregnant if she was a virgin? I suspect she was well aware that God could do miracles. After all, she was in the middle of a conversation with an angel! Under the circumstances, a miraculous pregnancy was not that much of a stretch.

She was probably much more confused about the “why” of it. Why her? And of a more immediate concern, what was going to happen to her when the rest of the community found out that an unmarried girl was pregnant? Her family would be scandalized, her fiancé Joseph would never believe her explanation, and the villagers would be more than happy to gather up stones and mete out a little bone-crushing Old Testament style justice.

No doubt about it, Mary was in a bind. But she never once hesitated or requested that God find someone else for the job. She didn’t say, “Well, that’s an interesting offer, but here’s my counter-offer: first, let’s forget about the pregnant virgin thing. We’ll do this AFTER I’m married, OK?”

Nope, Mary didn’t hesitate or negotiate or even respectfully decline the offer. She immediately said, “I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”

Wow, what amazing courage. What perfect submission. Mary was focused totally on doing God’s will rather than her own will.

Regardless of your view of Mary—some Catholics go overboard as if the Holy Trinity should become a quartet, while many Protestants ignore her completely out of fear of appearing “too Catholic”—her submission to God’s will should be a shining example for us all. Submitting to God’s will is difficult, but in the grand scheme of things, it is by far the best course of action.

©2008