The Virgin and the love of God that precedes us
The angel Gabriel flies away from the temple, from the old, speechless priest, to a young lay woman, from the holy city to a village without history, from a man to a woman, from the only temple to a house like many others, where “in “The flame of life burns in seclusion” (L. Borges), which becomes the window of heaven. This is how the Gospel begins: God leaves the boundaries of the sacred and immerses himself in the normality of life; not among incense and candlesticks, but pots and looms.
The wandering angel speaks clearly and new.
Joy is the first word, Xaire, rejoice, rejoice, be happy, Maria, open to joy like a door to the sun.
He does not command them to kneel, obey, pray, go to the temple. Gabriele burns the distances between God and humanity: the first spark strikes between the two poles, that of everyone “at the beginning”, that of happiness. This will also be the first topic of the Master in his first lesson on the mountain (Mt 5). God has the right to introduce himself to man because he knows how to speak the language of joy.
In the second word the reason for joy: You are full of grace, filled, penetrated by God. God's grace is the life of God himself, his love. God is in love with you, Mary, your name is “loved forever,” unrepentantly, tenderly loved.
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Another comment from Fra Ermes
DO NOT BE AFRAID
Maria penetrates the story as she listens. It takes a lot of silence to hear the astonished silence of God.
Even today the angel repeats to us: Do not be afraid, the Lord will come and fulfill your life.
He will come… and fill life with life.
A gospel that goes against the grain: an angel speaks to a woman on a day not marked in the Julian calendar but in the calendar of life (in the sixth month…).
What will happen will turn history, the depths of heaven and the eternal swarm of life upside down.
The angel Gabriel, the same one who “stood at the right hand of the altar of incense” (Luke 1:11), flees the unbelief of Zechariah, away from the vast temple promenade, the size of fifteen football fields, to glide on a poor people's yard.
“Joy” is Gabriel’s first word about Mary. Almost a command, an imperative: “Cheer up, cheer, be happy.” Word in which the scent of bread vibrates, a good and rare taste that we all look for. The girl's first act is to listen to an unexpected and disturbing angel: Mary enters the story as she listens.
It takes a lot of silence to hear the astonished silence of God.
The angel does not suffocate her with warnings or commands, he does not tell her: “Kneel down, you are in the presence of God.” But simply: open yourself to joy and be happy, but still Mary was disturbed by these words. A moment of fleeting confusion when God comes into life and brings new pole stars. Behold, you will give birth to the Son of God, but do not be afraid: people never cease to be ready, but God saves.
Maria's answer is a question: How is this possible? While Zechariah asked the angel for a sign, Mary asked what it meant. To ask questions is to stand before the Lord with truly great human dignity.
Then the angel said to her: Do not be afraid, if God does not choose power, do not be afraid of his humility, so far from lights and palaces; Do not be afraid of this childlike God who will make the poor princes of his kingdom. Do not be afraid of love, for the Most High will cover you with his shadow.
Power becomes a shadow and hides in a girl, in life, which is an amphora of shadows. In the darkness of the womb is the light of life, and to enter there God always clothes himself in poverty, in the humble garments of a servant (see Phil. 2:6-7). And he is only conceived by those who know how to live within themselves the obligation to be a servant like him.
The angel calls them full of grace, the Christian people call them spotless. And they are the same, and with his last word he reveals the true name of us all, which is: “Here I am!” Here I am, I am the servant of the Lord. And the angel left her.
Something new: For the first time in the Bible, a creature of the earth, a woman, has the final say in the dialogue between earth and heaven.
Even today the angel repeats to us the three essential words: Do not be afraid, the Lord will come and fulfill your life.
He will come… and fill life with life.
God is looking for mothers, and we, hospitable fragments of the cosmos, will help him to incarnate in this world, caring for his word, his dreams, his gospel among us.
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