The handmaid of the Lord

Put aside what you have heard.

Put aside the paintings, the Sunday school plays, the movies.

Put aside any controversies.

Just sit and listen.

Sit there in a small place with a young girl - barely a woman - whom no one had ever heard of.

Suddenly she hears news that will change her life forever, literally forever, in ways extending far beyond the limits of human imagination.

Listen to what she says:

Behold the handmaid of the Lord;
be it unto me according to thy word.

So we hear in one of the Gospel readings provided for today's celebration (Luke 1:26-38).

So we ourselves should say to the Lord in our own hearts: simple words that place us totally and unreservedly in the Lord's hands, humble words that make us absolutely vulnerable to his will, fearless words that risk all our plans and all our desires for the sake of his love.

May these be our words to God as we begin every day of our lives.

May these be our words to God when all seems well with the world.

May these be our words to God in the face of our greatest terrors.

Behold the handmaid of the Lord;
be it unto me according to thy word.