25 March 2022
Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord
Today, nine months before Christmas, the birth of the savior is announced to a young woman in Nazareth. This child to be born is given two names in today’s readings: one, Emmanuel, through Isaiah the prophet, and the second, Jesus, through the angel Gabriel. Both are worth meditating on in our prayer today.
First, Emmanuel, “God is with us.” In the context of Isaiah’s prophecy to Ahaz, this name signifies the way that the Lord will be with the people of Judah to protect them against the armies of Syria and Israel. God’s presence and protection in this case is a great gift, but it is wholly surpassed by the way that God himself is “with us” in Jesus. The Lord is with us personally in Christ, and he walked among us as a human being. When we face the powers of sin and temptation, we only need remember that “God is with us” in Jesus and through his Holy Spirit. Do we call on the Lord and rely on him? When faced with temptation, do we remember that “God is with us”?
Second, Jesus, “God saves.” If we think that we can solve the world’s problems or even simply our own by adopting a particular solution—political, intellectual, cultural, scientific, etc.—then we are gravely mistaken. The name of Jesus reminds us that God alone saves, not any particular ideology or methodology. When going about our work, or when we are confronted with the evils of our time—as many as they are—do we turn first to God in prayer, and then act knowing that his love and grace are what is truly essential?