Dec 20: He will be Called Son of God

Phillipe de Champaigne: The Annunciation

Monday of the Fourth Week of Advent

Gospel: Lk 1:26-38

The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God (NRSV, Lk 1:15).”

Father in heaven, every person who has ever existed is born of your Holy Spirit. It is in the power of your Spirit that each of us from the womb, without benefit of language or logic, has said “yes” to your call and become a human being, sharing your divine life.

One among us, however, stands apart, the Lord Jesus Christ. The union between you and him, Lord, is perfect and complete. Even as you, Lord, are One, so you and he are One. Although all of us are born of your Holy Spirit, we acknowledge him as your only begotten Son. In Jesus, Father, your Word who speaks and he who hears are the same. Jesus, in Mary’s womb, not only responded in the Spirit to your Word, he is your Word become one of us, your Word incarnate, your Word made flesh.

We, who are your created sons and daughters, honor Mary as the virgin mother of God, because Jesus is your uncreated Son. He is one of us, fully human, yet he is begotten of you and not made. He is God from God and Light from Light, true God from true God.

We read in your evangelist Luke that, as a human being, Jesus grew in wisdom. To be truly human he had to grow in awareness of who he was, as well as face all of life’s challenges, including his passion and death, with the same foreboding as the rest of us. It was only in his resurrection that Jesus’ divinity became manifest. It was then we realized, Lord, that your one act that is your being, your one act that both creates and sanctifies throughout all of history, had in Jesus become incarnate. We recognized at last that divinity and humanity are inseparably joined. From the beginning you share your life with all of us; now, Lord, out of such great love, without sacrificing your divinity, you take upon yourself a human body.

We thank you, Father, for the gift of your Son who, as Word made flesh, enlightens us as to who we are and the destiny to which we are called. He is the Light of the world. May that Light continue to shine upon us and guide us so that we may increase our understanding and be more ready in every moment to grow in response to you and the commitment of service to our sisters and brothers.

Through Christ our Lord. Amen