Bearing God's Love

Pour your grace into our hearts, O Lord, that we who have known the incarnation of your Son Jesus Christ, announced by an angel to the Virgin Mary, may by his cross and passion be brought to the glory of his resurrection; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (The Annunciation BCP 240)

Today is the feast of the Annunciation to Mary. This means two things: first, it is nine months until Christmas; and second, we celebrate Gabriel's visit to Mary and her acceptance of bearing the son of God right as we are on the cusp of commemorating the week long story of Holy Week, when that Son of God is seen as king, yet arrested, tried and crucified. The unfolding human drama never fails to be shocking. 

This coming Sunday, we will indeed share the story of Jesus' cross and passion, recognizing that the mess of humanity can never stop the power of God. We will hear and read, share and proclaim a shocking story of violence, well-known, and in many ways, repeated on a regular basis. Perhaps in recognizing the real horror of this story, we can shed light on the stories of violence happening today and make a change.

Life goes by so quickly, as the juxtaposition of the Annunciation and Holy Week shows. At one moment you are preparing for something new, and then, in what seems like the blink of an eye, life has changed irrevocably. May we take each moment given to us as an opportunity, as with Mary and the angel, to accept and bear out into the world the love of God.