Today we celebrate the feast of the Annunciation. The Lenten season is a special time which draws us towards reflection. The mystery of the Incarnation is a mystery which merits special reflection. We are drawn into the immense mystery of the encounter between divinity and humanity. We cannot shy away since we are part of it too.
God has entered into a dialogue with humanity and has redeemed it. The only way God could really redeem humanity was by becoming human. St Athanasius reminds us that "God became man so that man could become God." God's love could only go to the greatest depths in order to save humanity from the wretchedness of sin and raise it to the highest glory. The notions of descending and ascending are central in spirituality. These is the staircase in Jacob's dream at Bethel (Gen 28, 10-22), with the angels descending and ascending. Later on, this becomes mirrored in the icon of Christ's descent into the underworld after his crucifixion, only to lift humankind towards redemption.
The mystery of God's kenotic love invites humanity to collaborate in the salvation process. It is a dynamic process wherein humanity is empowered.
Mary is chosen to be the bearer of the God-Man and her collaboration brings about the plan of salvation. The passage from Luke's gospel which describes the Annunciation (Lk 1, 26-38) is the revolutionary moment in history. I would like to share a reflection from Pope Francis in December, 2018:
“The passage from Luke’s Gospel that we have heard tells us the decisive moment in history, the most revolutionary. It is a turbulent situation, everything changes, history turns upside down. It is difficult to preach about this passage. And when at Christmas or on the day of the Annunciation we profess the faith to say this mystery we kneel down. It is the moment that everything changes, everything, from the root. Liturgically, today is the day of the root. The Antiphon that marks the meaning today is the root of Jesse, "from which a shoot will be born". God lowers himself, God enters history and does so in his original style: a surprise. The God of surprises surprises us (again).”