Sr. Helen R. Boyd, OP
Today we hear these words: "Fear not Mary for you have found favor with God," and later, "For you shall conceive and bear a son who will be called Son of the Most High." Mary responded, "How can this be since I know not man?"
Others in the Old Testament had been told not to fear including Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and in the New Testament, Joseph, in the Gospel of Matthew. When it comes to Mary, what did this young woman have to fear at so tender an age? Plenty. Given the times in which she lived, the Mosaic Law would condemn a woman for having relations before marriage with stoning, then again, there was her family's reaction to worry about, and of course, her betrothed, Joseph.
Living in a small town would also cause her to be the victim of malicious gossip. And yet, given all these very human concerns the angel's words of 'fear not' inspired her to cast aside these worries and she responded, “Let it be done unto me according to your word.”
There would be many more times in her life when Mary's heart would be struck with fear. To name but a few: the exile into Egypt, the loss of Jesus in Jerusalem, seeing her son continually hounded by the religious authorities, and finally being executed as a common criminal. Yes, fear often hovered over Mary's heart but it did not overcome her strong belief that God would be with her through it all.
Today, we live in an environment of fear and anxiety as our world seems to be spiraling daily into chaos. Unlike Mary, many have chosen to place trust in their own human abilities. We in the West have a great deal of difficulty with the word “trust” since we have become extremely independent with our advances in industry and technology. Such achievements have led us to think that we can solve all human problems by ourselves without depending on God. We have forgotten the real lesson of Mary's Annunciation when she responded with the words, “Let it be done unto me according to your word,” which should resound from our own lips when all appears to be beyond our control.
The Annunciation reminds us that fear and anxiety, although very human reactions to events in our lives, need not become a paralyzing force so that we give in to a sense of hopelessness. We hear God's words “fear not” mentioned throughout Scripture about 365 times—one for each day of the year. Let us remember always and in every circumstance that the God of the Impossible is always at our side.
Finally, our Holy Father, Pope Francis has designated the year 2025 as a jubilee year of hope reminding us that we also celebrate the 2025 anniversary of the arrival of the Son of God in human flesh, the source of all our hopes. May we be mindful every day this year to “fear not” so that we, like Mary, become messengers of hope to a despairing world through our actions for justice and peace.