Behold…I am a handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.
The First Sunday of Advent - Embracing our own Fiat
“Behold - To perceive or gaze upon” Merriam-Websters Dictionary
We are living in a time where most people are beginning to recognize and I would even say internalize the fact that their decisions affect not only themselves but those around them, people they know and also people they may never meet. This is why so many are increasingly concerned with large scale social matters and conscious consumption and its impact on the world and greater social populations. More people are realizing the impact of their intentionality and the power a committed ‘yes’ can bring to the world. Our ‘yes’ matters. Our yes affects others. Now what if we realized the power our ‘yes’ has in our faith life? How much more so does our decision to give our ‘yes’ to God affect lives? To say yes to God and his will for our lives has resounding effects for not only our lives but for those around us. When we build our lives on God, they become fruitful and meaningful. Our lives become generous and full of life and that will undoubtedly affect others. Life begets life.
Reflecting on Mary and her fiat we see the reverberating effects that her ‘yes’ made in the world. Her yes changed the world. Her yes brought love incarnate into the world. Our yes, our fiat, has the ability to bring love incarnate to the world. I believe that each advent is a two-fold invitation of welcoming Jesus into our world and current stage of life and simultaneously becoming a handmaid like Mary, voicing our own fiat into the places of our lives that need her son. It’s opening ourselves to carry love Himself to the areas that need Him most.
As we begin this advent season may we reflect on our own fiat and recognize the ways the Lord may be calling us to be his handmaid. How is the Lord asking you to carry Jesus into the world this advent season? What area of your life does he want to breathe new life into? I challenge each one of you to pray with that as we begin this new liturgical year. Behold, gaze upon, Jesus as an infant and listen for the places he wants you to take Him into your life. Often, these places are not clean and perfectly put together, just as a stable and manger aren’t either but don’t be afraid to stand like Mary and receive Jesus with your unique fiat this advent season. Recognize the power of your ‘yes’ this advent and look for the ways the Lord wants to bless your yes. Your ‘yes’ matters. Let’s pray this advent for a greater uncovering of those places in our lives that need Jesus and let us stand with Mary and boldly make our own fiat, and watch the ways he uncovers the effects of that yes.
This blog post was written by Hilary Sanchez, promotion committee member.