The Gospel of Yes Daily Reflection for Dec. 21, 2023
DECEMBER 21, 2023
THURSDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF ADVENT
A YES OF OBEDIENCE
OPENING PRAYER:
COME, HOLY SPIRIT. I welcome you into my heart as Mary did. Come with power. Help me to offer my own yes to God the Father, saying with trust: “May it be done unto me according to your word.”
TODAY’S THOUGHT:
It is wonderful when our yes to the Lord is one of attraction and sweetness, when it seems we hardly even have to say yes. But there are times when our yes is much more one of obedience. "To say 'yes, Father' here means putting one's hand to the plow, being God's obedient servant."(1)
This divine obedience becomes visible in Jesus. "My food is to do the will of him who sent me," he says, "and to accomplish his work" (Jn 4:34). "I can do nothing on my own authority ... because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me" (In 5:30). "I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me" (Jn 6:38). "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever he does, that the Son does likewise" (Jn 5:19). In his farewell discourse at the end of his life, Jesus can testify: "I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work which you gave me to do" (Jn 17:4). Even after his death Jesus is obedient. The Father raises him to life, and he lets himself be raised. His Ascension into heaven is a final act of obedience. In no way does he turn off his course. He goes the shortest and quickest way to the Father, and he takes up with him all whom the Father has given him. That includes us! "[He] raised us up with [Christ], and made us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Eph 2:6).
Jesus invites us to follow this path of obedience with him and in the same way he did. If we ask a mature Christian to speak about his journey to God, it will always be a story of obedience, though the word itself may not be mentioned. He has said Yes to God, and at certain times a more conscious, decisive, and perhaps dramatic Yes, which has borne fruit and led him to say Yes again and again. Without a Yes to God, nothing can mature in a person's life. If one's life is barren, the reason behind it is always the frequent repetition of the word No. (2)
TODAY’S PRAYER:
Our Lady shares in the obedience of her Son, which Jesus praises in his mother:
"While Jesus was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, 'Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.' He replied, 'Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.'" (Luke 11:27-28)
Mary's trusting obedience leads her to tell others to do the same, like the wedding at Cana: "Do whatever he tells you." (John 2:5)
Offer the Angelus for your prayer today, asking Our Lady to intercede and pray for you for the grace to offer an obedient yes to the Lord as she did:
The Angelus
℣. The Angel of the LORD declared unto Mary.
℟. And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.
Hail Mary, full of grace; the LORD is with thee: blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus.* Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.
℣. Behold the handmaid of the LORD.
℟. Be it done unto me according to thy word.
Hail Mary, full of grace; the LORD is with thee: blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus.* Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.
℣. And the Word was made flesh.
℟. And dwelt among us. (Bowing slightly.)
Hail Mary, full of grace; the LORD is with thee: blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus.* Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.
℣. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God.
℟. That we might be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray:
Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O LORD, Thy grace into our hearts; that, we, to whom the Incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection. Through the same Christ our Lord.
℟. Amen.
FOR YOUR REFLECTION:
Juan de Flandes, The Marriage Feast at Cana. ca. 1497
Mary's yes at the Annunciation continued to echo at the marriage feast at Cana when she told the servers, "Do whatever he tells you." In this painting by Juan de Flandes, we see the hand of Jesus raised in blessing as the server fills the jars with water that will become wine. Notice Mary's attention and gaze are completely fixed on Jesus.
Mary's face, with eyes raised in love and trust, makes visible her yes to the Lord. Her loving obedience to the Father spills over into the first miracle her son performs. Obedience to the Lord is not a fruitless, dry act, but a life-giving yes that gives room for the Lord to work miracles.
Pray today for the grace to look upon the Lord Jesus as Mary does here with trust and love, doing whatever He tells you. Offer your yes using one of the Prayers of Surrender and Abandonment.
Stinissen, 45.
Stinissen, 46-47.