{"id":7310,"date":"2023-12-01T08:00:38","date_gmt":"2023-12-01T00:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=7310"},"modified":"2023-12-21T04:44:08","modified_gmt":"2023-12-20T20:44:08","slug":"320-marys-fiat-importance-beyond-measure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=7310","title":{"rendered":"320. Mary\u2019s Fiat &#8211; Importance Beyond Measure"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"color: #008080;\"><strong><sup>26<\/sup> In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,\u00a0<sup>27<\/sup> to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin&#8217;s name was Mary.\u00a0<sup><a style=\"color: #008080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.biblesociety.org.uk\/explore-the-bible\/read\/eng\/NRSV\/Luke\/1\/#LUK.1.28!f.1\">28<\/a><\/sup> And he came to her and said, \u2018Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.\u2019\u00a0<sup>29<\/sup> But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.\u00a0<sup>30<\/sup> The angel said to her, \u2018Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God.\u00a0<sup>31<\/sup>And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.\u00a0<sup>32<\/sup> He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.\u00a0<sup>33<\/sup> He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.\u2019\u00a0<sup><a style=\"color: #008080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.biblesociety.org.uk\/explore-the-bible\/read\/eng\/NRSV\/Luke\/1\/#LUK.1.34!f.1\">34<\/a><\/sup> Mary said to the angel, \u2018How can this be, since I am a virgin?\u2019\u00a0<sup><a style=\"color: #008080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.biblesociety.org.uk\/explore-the-bible\/read\/eng\/NRSV\/Luke\/1\/#LUK.1.35!f.1\">35<\/a><\/sup> The angel said to her, \u2018The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born\u00a0will be holy; he will be called Son of God.\u00a0<sup>36<\/sup> And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren.\u00a0<sup>37<\/sup> For nothing will be impossible with God.\u2019\u00a0<sup>38<\/sup> Then Mary said, \u2018Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.\u2019 Then the angel departed from her.<\/strong><\/span> [<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Luke 1:26-38<\/span>, <em>NRSV<\/em>]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/The-Annunciation-detail-c.-1660.-Oil-on-canvas.-The-State-Hermitage-Museum-Saint-Petersburg-photographed-by-Lluis-Ribes-Mateu.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-7311\" src=\"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/The-Annunciation-detail-c.-1660.-Oil-on-canvas.-The-State-Hermitage-Museum-Saint-Petersburg-photographed-by-Lluis-Ribes-Mateu.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"358\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>The Annunciation<\/em> (detail), c. 1660, by Bartolom\u00e9 Esteban Perez Murillo.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">There is a world-changing significance in Mary\u2019s Fiat (\u201c<em>Let it be done to me<\/em>\u201d) at the Annunciation. Yet, it is also commonly neglected, and often unacknowledged. It is the theological significance of the proper exercise of human freedom.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Luke in chapter one of his Gospel stresses the reality that in the Incarnation, God seeks human collaboration. The purpose of the Incarnation is human salvation \u2013 to show sinning humanity a better way to live that is close to the heart and vision of God. The seed of salvation is immersed in the Incarnation. In salvation, therefore, God takes the initiative. Sinning humanity cannot save itself. God sees, God has compassion, God helps \u2013 that is how, in broad picture, Jesus describes God\u2019s activities in human salvation in the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). In love and mercy, and at great sacrifice, God steps in definitively to interrupt the death-bound trajectory of a sinning humanity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">That having been said, while God takes the initiative in both the Incarnation and human salvation, it is <em>not<\/em> all up to God. God does <em>not<\/em> do everything. Humanity always has a meaningful role to play in positive response to God\u2019s love and vision for kingdom-living. And so, just as this theological concept is of immeasurable importance for the Incarnation of the Son of God, it is likewise of tremendous significance in the Christian study of soteriology (the theology of salvation effected by Jesus Christ). Any soteriology would be found wanting without a decisive inclusion of the exercise, in true human freedom, by Jesus of Nazareth of his human freewill in perfect and definitive obedience to God\u2019s love and vision for humanity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">This is a matter on which we have written an academic paper published as \u201cFrom Mountain to Mountain: The Tremendous Significance of Jesus\u2019 True Humanity for Salvation\u201d. Those with access may refer to the huge volume titled <em>Answerable for Our Beliefs: Reflections on Theology and Contemporary Culture<\/em>, Louvain Theological &amp; Pastoral Monographs 48, eds. Peter De Mey et al., (Leuven: Peeters, Sep 2022), pp.135-153. With a three-year publishers\u2019 prohibition against private publication of individual papers in that volume, we shall have to wait till September 2025 before we can post our article in the \u201cSlightly More Theological\u201d category on this website.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In the present post, what we shall do is to highlight the significance beyond measure of Mary\u2019s exercise of her human freedom to enable the Incarnation of the Son of God to take place. On this very subject, Pope Benedict XVI sees it clearly and expresses it with stunning clarity. He draws from an Advent sermon of St. Bernard of Clairvaux and writes:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cAfter the error of our first parents, the whole world was shrouded in darkness, under the dominion of death. Now God seeks to enter the world anew. He knocks at Mary\u2019s door. <strong><em>He needs human freedom<\/em><\/strong>. The only way he can redeem man, who was created free, is by means of a free \u2018yes\u2019 to his will. In creating freedom, he made himself in a certain sense dependent upon man. His power is tied to the undeniable \u2018yes\u2019 of a human being.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">However, the angel\u2019s greeting unsettled Mary. Human puzzle, fear (Pope Benedict argues against the idea that Mary was in \u2018fear\u2019), incomprehension and perhaps a mixture of emotions was troubling Mary. She was a simple village girl. Confronting her was nothing short of a head-spinning, colossally \u201ccrazy\u201d proposition that she, a virgin and unmarried, would or could bear a child, let alone the Son of God. Her mind simply could not take in and process such big ideas as the Incarnation of the Son of God and all that; it could not compute!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">So, naturally, she would hesitate and ask questions. We appreciate realistic paintings portraying her recoiling in fear. (See, for examples, <em>Ecce Ancilla Domini<\/em>,\u00a0by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1850; <em>The Annunciation and the Two Saints,<\/em>\u00a0by Simone Martini,\u00a01333.) We feel for Mary as Scripture recounts the story with the remark that she \u201cwas greatly troubled\u201d (Luke 1:29). Who wouldn\u2019t be?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">And so, she hesitates and she asks questions. Citing St Bernard, Pope Benedict underscores that God\u2019s plan of salvation hangs in the balance, while \u201c<strong>heaven and earth holds its breath<\/strong>\u201d. In meditation, even St. Bernard became proactive and urged Mary that, just this once, do not be humble but be daring. Give us your \u201cyes\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cThis is the crucial moment when, from her lips, from her heart, the answer comes: \u2018<em>Let it be to me according to your word.<\/em>\u2019 <strong><em>It is the moment of free, humble yet magnanimous obedience in which the loftiest choice of human freedom is made<\/em><\/strong>.\u201d (Pope Benedict XVI, <em>Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narrative<\/em>, 36.)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Mary\u2019s fiat set in motion the Jesus event in history and the world has never been the same since. Her assent to God\u2019s will represents her unflagging devotion and becomes a model for Christians. Because Jesus Christ is \u2018the power of God and the <em>wisdom of God<\/em>,\u2019 Mary became the <em>Sedes Sapientiae<\/em>, the seat of wisdom.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Mary, who bore Jesus Christ in her womb, became <em>the Ark of the New Covenant<\/em> (<em>CCC<\/em>, 2676).\u00a0 For spirituality and Christian living, we note that Mary could carry Jesus the Word of God in her womb <em>because<\/em> she first accepted the Word of God in her heart. She was the first Christian and she shows us that to be a Christian means to have Jesus in our heart<em>!<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">She thus points to a basic truth in Christian living: to give birth to \u201cChrist the Word\u201d in our lives, and to be the heart of God for the world, <strong><em>we need first to accept the Word of God into our heart<\/em><\/strong>, just as Mary did.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In this regard, Pope Benedict is comprehensive as a great theologian. In his book cited above, he goes on to demand our attention on the final sentence in Luke\u2019s annunciation narrative: \u201c<strong><em>And the angel departed from her<\/em><\/strong>\u201d (Luke 1:38). Real work always awaits humanity after divine revelation. Like Peter, James and John, we would be grossly mistaken if we thought we could just stay forever to enjoy the mountain \u201chigh\u201d after the glorious Transfiguration, for Jesus would sooner terminate their dream by leading them down to the foot of the mountain where human miseries await redress in Christian service.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">And so, after the departure of the angel, Mary remains alone, her life completely changed, and \u201cthe task that truly surpasses all human capacity\u201d awaits her. There are no angels around to help. She has to continue on her own on a path \u201cthat leads through many dark moments \u2026 right up to the night of the Cross.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Mary remained faithful throughout her life. It is hugely important, as biblical scholars have noted that, at the foot of the Cross, Mary as a model of perfect faith was given to the beloved disciple who represents all of us \u2013 the beloved followers of Christ. On the cross, Jesus inaugurated the new era of the <em>community<\/em> <em>of believers <\/em>right at the foot of the cross &#8211; where his mother was given to the Church and vice versa (John 19:26-27). Mary thus became Mother <em>par excellence<\/em> of the Church Jesus left behind for she is the model of belief and discipleship. (See <em>Mary in the New Testament<\/em>, eds. Raymond E. Brown et al., pp. 288-89.)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">A blessed Christmas to you all.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Copyright \u00a9 Dr. Jeffrey &amp; Angie Goh, December 2023. All rights reserved.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">To comment, email\u00a0<u><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"mailto:jeffangiegoh@gmail.com\">jeffangiegoh@gmail.com<\/a><\/u><u>.<\/u><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,\u00a027 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin&#8217;s name was Mary.\u00a028 And he came to her and said, \u2018Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.\u2019\u00a029 <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=7310\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sfsi_plus_gutenberg_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_show_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_type":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_alignemt":"","sfsi_plus_gutenburg_max_per_row":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Dr. Jeffrey &amp; Angie Goh","author_link":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?author=1"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?cat=1\" rel=\"category\">From Our Perspective<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,\u00a027 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin&#8217;s name was Mary.\u00a028 And he came to her and said, \u2018Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.\u2019\u00a029&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7310"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7310"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7310\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7329,"href":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7310\/revisions\/7329"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}