4th Sunday of Advent - Fr. Leo
“Behold, I come to do your will.” (Heb)
Mary and Elizabeth are center stage in today’s Gospel. Both women have conceived by the grace of God. Mary with the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit and Elizabeth by her faith in the God who can do all things.
What allows God to fill their beings, is their willingness to say yes to God. The phrase from our second reading is ensconced in their hearts, “Behold, I come to do your will.” For us to be full to God we need to do the same, to give up our will and find our only true joy in living God’s will.
To do so we follow the one God has given us, Jesus Christ. He is our way, our truth and our life. Jesus came at the Father’s will to live the Father's will. We are called to do the same, to live by Jesus’ example of loving God with our whole being and our neighbor as ourself.
The only cross we experience is that of surrendering our will to God. This is not easy! Doing so we come to a new understanding of who God really is and who we really are. Jesus shows us an utterly loving Father. Is our God loving, or is our subconscious operating image of God as a stern judge? Do we live like Christ and find joy in sacrificing our agenda to love like Christ, or are we still trying to find happiness only for and in ourselves?
As we seek Christ to live in his way, truth and life, we do well to contemplate Mary and Elizabeth. Let us image their yes to God’s will and the joyful experience of the Spirit that came from that surrender in the birth of their children. Let us also ask them to intercede for us that our yes to God may grow, and that God’s joy may be birthed in our faithfulness and love. Amen.