Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
Written by Eric Wilkes
Let’s take a second to acknowledge the musical elephant in the room and before we reflect on the psalm, I invite you to join me in mentally (or physically) singing a few refrains of the classic Catholic hymn whose title lies in the first five words of today's psalm. *Quietly hums chorus of “Here I am Lord” by Dan Schutte* Okay, now that we’ve that covered, let’s dive into the psalm for this Feast of the Annunciation.
Today is all about the biggest baby announcement in the world. The angel Gabriel comes to Mary and lets her know that she has found favor with God and that she will conceive and bear a son and he will be named Jesus. Which is way more epic than the baby announcements on Facebook where the dad holds two bags of ice and the mom points to her stomach and the caption says “Ice, ice, baby.” Sorry, but Gabriel wins in my opinion. But the announcement isn’t even the climax of the gospel. This high point of this gospel message is Mary’s “fiat” or “yes” to God through the angel Gabriel. “Be it done unto me according to your word.” In complete trust and faith, she bravely and simply says “yes.”
The prior readings crescendo to Mary’s courage by laying the foundation marking the scriptures that point to others in the Bible who have made their own “yes” to God. Ahaz, David, Paul, and Christ all came to God seeking to do His will. There’s also a sub-theme that rids us all of the necessity of trivialities. A shedding of the sacrifices that yield no internal change. This sub-theme points to the reality that God doesn’t merely want a transactional exchange, but a life changing covenantal relationship with each one of us.
So we know where Ahaz, David, Paul, Jesus and Mary stand. Where do you and I stand in our everyday life? Are we saying yes to God? I’ll be the first to admit that this can be more challenging than I think it will be on a daily basis. I thought it was interesting that there was a semicolon in the middle of today's psalm. “Here I am Lord; I come to do your will.” As I read it, I thought, “How many times do I change that semicolon into a period and conveniently leave out the second part?” “Here I am Lord.” That’s it. This isn’t bad in and of itself, because going to the Lord in any given scenario is the first step toward living out the Christian life. But so many times I show up and that’s it. Or I show up with my demands, my doubts, my frustrations, my questions, and ultimately my will. And by putting a period there or only focusing on myself, I miss out on the perfect will the God of the universe has for me. I wonder what these incredible saints would’ve missed out on if they never took time to really listen to God and His will for their lives.
So, following in the footsteps of the saints, let’s not miss out on the great adventure God has for each one of us in His perfect will for our lives. Let’s echo Mary’s fiat, turn to God offering our lives, and say to Him, confident in His plan, “Here I am Lord; I come to do your will.”
What are the trivial things in my life that are yielding no internal change that I could trim away to make more space for my relationship with God?
Where are the areas in my life that I’m saying “no” to God and what I need to do to echo Mary’s words and make those a resounding “yes”?
When will I take time to Listen to God today and ask Him what His will and desire is for my life?
Eric Wilkes is a Louisiana-born and Chicago-based artist, musician and producer serving churches, communities, and ministries on an international level. He has been an artist, writer, co-writer, instrumentalist, and producer for several projects through NOVUM RECORDS, and is a part of the indie rock duo NOVUM. When he’s not playing music, he enjoys spending quality time with his wife, Cori, his family, and his close friends relaxing and enjoying good conversations. When Eric needs medicine for his soul he finds it in new places, sunny days, trips to the ocean, chai tea lattes, playing piano in empty churches and late night adoration chapel visits.
Check out our new Mass Setting - Mass of the Annunciation