The season of surprises

Here is the reflection I prepared and shared with those who came to pray with us this weekend: some thoughts about the surprises that await us when the plans change.

When the plans change

Is it just my imagination, or does the month of December seem to fly by?  Aside from the regular routines of daily work, there are the added social dimensions of office parties and various gatherings with colleagues and friends.  Even those who are no longer part of the workforce may have noticed that there’s been a bit more shopping happening, or a bit more baking than normal and plans for visits with families have no doubt been made and unmade at least a few times.  If you’ve found these past couple of weeks a bit stressful, I wonder if it might help to consider that this is just part of the way things are, the way they always have been.  In fact, I’ve discovered this year that Advent is more than a time of waiting, it's also a time for realizing how often plans change.

We all know the story of Christmas, the story of Jesus’ birth in the stable.  This story will be retold again in the coming week, but there are other parts to this story which are also known, but which we may not have considered as part of the larger story:  Do you remember the story of Samson?  His mother had never borne children, and an angel appeared to her to tell her that this was about to change (cf Judges 13:2-7).  Then there’s the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth.  Elizabeth too had never borne children, yet God had other plans for this couple too (cf Lk 1: 5-25).  In both these cases, women and men had reached the point where they may have thought that their work was done, but God had other plans for them.

The Book of Samuel, from which we read today, also recounts another time when King David may have thought that his work was complete.  The passage begins by telling us that David, the King, was settled in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from his enemies (2 Sam 7:1).  David’s fighting days were over, so he thought.  He had everything he could want ... but God doesn’t think like we do.  There is always something more: the plans are always changing.

Today’s gospel passage (Lk 1:26-38) is a prime example of the way God’s plans can change.  Mary may have thought that her life plans had already been made:  she was engaged to a man whose name was Joseph. They lived in the same village, so they probably had known each other all their lives; their families knew one another too.  Perhaps Mary’s parents Joachim and Anne thought of this marriage as a kind of promotion.  After all, Joseph was a well-respected man of the house of David, and everyone knew the important place in Jewish history that David held.

Then the angel Gabriel appeared, to invite her to participate in the plan of God, a mystery that was kept secret for long ages, but was now to be revealed (Rom 16:25-26) and the plans changed.  Instead of Mary greeting this visitor to her home, she was the one who would be greeted, and with such perplexing words: Hail, full of grace … you have found favour with God … you will conceive … and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.

The more we live life, the more we tend to discover that even the best-laid plans are subject to change, and sometimes they change often.  Such changes can be disappointing at times, but they can also bring surprises if we are open to the possibilities that lie before us.  The scriptures don’t tell us all the details about Mary’s conversation with the angel, but we do hear the essential part: her response to God’s invitation.  I wonder if we too have the courage to answer as she did: Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word, and to marvel at the gift that awaits when the plans change.