THE MAIDEN WILL CALL HER CHILD IMMANUEL

THE ANNUNCIATION OF THE LORD

Reflection from Friar Nicholas Okeke,OP

Isa 7:10-14,8:10; Ps 40:7-11; Heb 10:4-10; Lk 1:26-38

Theme: The Maiden will call her Child Emmanuel

We celebrate the solemnity of the Annunciation, which marks the human conception of our Lord Jesus Christ. The incarnation of the Eternal Word was never an afterthought in the mind of God, but from the very beginning, creation was made through him and for him. God announced it first after the fall of Adam and Eve in Genesis. The fall prompted God to unveil his plan of Salvation for man to the dismay of the evil one. He created enmity between the Woman and the evil one, between her Offspring and his. The divine mercy of God showed forth in the promise of salvation to man in his fall into the bondage of sin and evil. God's love for man was never wanting in any way. But the fall weakened human nature, for it became difficult for our nature to perceive and understand the divine love and his salvation plan for us. The call and blessing of Abraham commenced an objective and historical intervention of God in the life of men to fulfil his divine plan of salvation. The blessings given in the covenant passed down Abraham’s progenies. These blessings were graded and fulfilled in stages; the adoption of the people of Israel and the adoption of their kingship through the promise made to David were part fulfilment of his promises to Abraham and part realisation of his salvation plan. The first reading from Isaiah gives an instant of God's renewal of his promise of Salvation through his Son born of a maiden. “The Lord himself, therefore, will give you a sign. It is this: the maiden is with child and will soon give birth to a son whom she will call Immanuel, a name which means “God-is-with-us.”” The gift of the Son and his Mother would solve the immediate problems of Israel and the original problem of humanity.

The Letter to the Hebrews gives us specifications on how the Son born of the Maiden will solve our problems as designed by God. The Son and the Mother are given to humanity by God to be a Sacrifice in the sense of consecration to the divine Will of the Father. The consecration would solve the human problem initiated by man’s departure from the divine Will, which desecrated our nature. “You who wanted no sacrifice or oblation, prepared a body for me. You took no pleasure in holocausts or sacrifices for sins; then I said, just as I was commanded in the scroll of the book, ‘God, here I am! I am coming to obey your will.’”  The acceptable sacrifice of the Son equally applies to the Mother, for the two, ‘the Maiden and the Son’, constitute the ancient sign of salvation. Thus, God initiated the sacrifice by his gift of the Woman, from whom the body for the sacrifice would be taken or fashioned. The Woman's body was the preparation for the sacrifice that commenced at the incarnation of the Word through the Annunciation. St. Luke recorded that after the formalities of greetings and introduction of the subject of the angelic visitation, Mary conceived with her assent of faith to the divine plan. “‘I am the handmaid of the Lord,’ said Mary ‘let what you have said be done to me.’” Let us not be surprised to hear that the Mother and her Son constitute the Sacrifice, for all the saved are joined to Jesus and Mary in the profession of faith in God and acceptance of the divine Will. Hence, we are all part of the Sacrifice Jesus offers to his Father. The second reading ended by saying: “and this will was for us to be made holy by the offering of his body made once and for all by Jesus Christ.”

Let us pray: Grant us, Lord, that we, who confess our Redeemer to be God and man, may merit to become partakers even in his divine nature.