Favor With God

This Gospel reading is the same as the one for last Thursday.    It reads: “…But Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?’ And the angel said to her in reply, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God” (Luke 1:26-38).

The word “overshadowed” is rare in the Bible.  One place we find it is in the Book of Exodus where we read of a strange cloud that overshadowed the tent when Israel placed the ark of the covenant in it – the ark containing the tablets of the commandments.  As soon as the cloud overshadowed the tent, “the Lord’s presence filled it” (Exodus 40:34).  Luke’s choice of the rare word “overshadowed” is deeply symbolic.

Mary’s body (new tent) houses her womb (new ark).  When the Holy Spirit overshadows Mary, she is filled with the Lord’s new presence, Jesus.  God now lives among his people, not just in the symbol of the tablets in the ark, but in the person of Jesus in Mary’s womb.

Most of us likely think we are overshadowed when we are kept in the shadows, unnoticed.  Others take the stage and we’re left behind the curtain with no acknowledgement of whom we are and what we are capable of accomplishing.   That overshadowing can lead to a sense of failure, jealousy, and resentment especially in the workplace.  For those of us with siblings, being overshadowed by that brother or sister has them in the family limelight with us in the basement – often out of sight and out of mind, so we may think.

In Mary’s case we have a different interpretation.   She found favor with God.

Will the Holy Spirit overshadow us this Advent?   Will we be filled with the Lord’s presence?  Will we be favored?  We suspect that will be likely if we act as faithful servants carrying out God’s will.

Mary said: “Behold, I am the handmaid [servant] of the Lord.  May it be done to me according to your word…”  Will we let it be done to us?   We cannot see God while we live, but perhaps we can see God’s shadow that is really our shadow when we stand in the light to do God’s will.

Deacon David Pierce