We Can’t Always Say Perhaps (4th Sunday Advent B)

Why does it take a lot of courage to say yes? 

Women, unsure of their feelings for their avid suitors who press them to give their answer, have a very convenient reply: “Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps!” (This is with or without a smile).  A variation in Filipino language is “ewan...” which means “Sorry. I don’t know. I’m not sure.”  Songs have been composed along this theme. They sure are amusing and cute.

While this reply is convenient when we find ourselves not ready to commit, a persisting non-committal attitude to life, however, can be disastrous or tragic.  We may lose our opportunity to make our choices and decide what ought we to do in life or what kind of person we want to become.  We may live life, taking our time, as if we’re not going to die and we die as if we have not lived.  Tragic indeed.

Life is a commitment.  So we can’t always say “Perhaps.”  In some life-defining moments, we need to say “Yes!”  Today’s gospel reading (Lk. 1:26-38), we witness once more the courageous fiat (latin for let it be done) of Mary.  This is Mary’s “Yes!” to God’s invitation for her to become the mother of Jesus, the awaited Messiah and Savior of Israel and of the whole creation. Let us allow Mary’s fiat to invite us, as part of our preparation for Christmas, to examine our own attitude to commitments to life and, ultimately, to God. 

Why does it take a lot of courage to say yes? Three ways to show why in the light of Mary’s yes:  Saying yes is a leap of faith.  Saying yes is realizing our destiny.  Saying yes is a commitment to serve humbly.

Leap of Faith. After hearing the angel Gabriel’s greetings and message, Mary “pondered” what this meant.  “How can this be?” She asked. Mary was in the face of something which, in her human reckoning, is impossible.  Yet, she said yes.  She said yes despite the clear danger that her having a child out of wedlock might bring her.

Saying yes to God’s invitation is a leap of faith.  One has to place everything in the hand of God believing that nothing is impossible with him.  To say yes is to trust in a faithful God—a God who fulfils his promise like his promise of a throne for David’s descendants that will last forever.

Like Mary, we say yes to God’s calling not because we are sure that we can deliver and succeed but because we are certain that God always delivers and succeeds through us. We only have to say, “Yes. Let it be done to me.” As the angel reminded Mary, we are reassured too:  Do not be afraid.  Take the leap of faith.

Realization of Destiny.  When God has promised, it is destined to happen in His own time.  Mary was placed at the threshold of the realization of what God has destined to happen and that is the coming of the long-awaited Messiah who will establish God’s Kingdom forever.  For this destiny to be fulfilled, Mary needed to say yes out of her freedom. Her fiat allowed her to participate actively in the fulfilment of God’s design.

We are not puppets.  We are not programmed to mechanically execute a design.  We decide whether to say no or yes.  Hence, we are responsible for the choices we make and their consequences.  Our decisions may thwart what is set by God for us.  To be able to fulfil our own destiny, to be able to become the kind of person we are called to be, we need to be decisive.  We cannot persist in our non-committal attitude to life like a shrivelled leaf adrift the river.  Destiny is not fulfilled this way.  God’s design calls for our active participation as it did for Mary’s fiat.

We say yes to God and allow the realization of God’s design in our lives.  We say yes and we fulfil our destiny.

Commitment to Humble Service.  Mary’s fiat came from a humble posture of a handmaid: “I am the handmaid of the Lord.  May it be done to me according to your word” (v. 38).  This is a decision to place oneself at the disposal of the Lord. This requires humility and readiness to be of service to God.

In this dog-eat-dog society, competition is the name of the game. When you’re into it, you want to show who’s the boss, who calls the shots, who’s the man.  It’s no mean feat to be committed to humble service in such an egoistic milieu.  

Christians who are in leadership positions in society are called to say yes to the ideals of humble service as Mary did.  We can make a difference.  Let us not allow the narcissistic style of this world to shape our way of being.  It’s our commitment to humble service that ought to teach the world.  Let our humble posture of service everyday convert the proud and self-serving inclinations of the world.

When our response to life’s opportunities and God’s invitations is always “perhaps” for wanting to be on safe grounds, we sure end up losing everything instead.  We ought to have the courage to say “Yes!” to life and to God.  In our preparations for Christmas, this last week of advent showcases to us the courage of Mary’s fiat.  With her brave and trusting yes to God, she made all the difference.  She made us all see that indeed nothing is impossible with God.

In this joyful season of Christmas, can we allow our contemplation of the mystery of God’s incarnation to evoke our own fiat?