(MI 5:1-4A; PS 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19; HEB 10:5-10; LK 1:39-45)
Life is all about the process. No matter what it is in life, whatever it is you are working towards, growth happens in the journey. Good things come from hard work, patience, and perseverance. Whether your training for a marathon, learning a skill, or improving your spiritual life, we are trusting that the training we are undergoing is preparing us for a day in the future when we are going to need it. Maybe it’s a race day, or a big project at work, or it’s enduring an unforeseen trial in our life. But it’s the process in getting there, the day to day training that is going to make all the difference on whether we succeed or not.
It’s about obedience. And Faith. And Trust. Trust that, what we are building within ourselves – the physical stamina, the knowledge, and the mental focus – will be there when we need it. It’s about being faithful – knowing that the miles we are putting in, or the training classes we are attending, or the daily prayers and scripture we read and recite will prepare us. And it’s through obedience where, while we may not know how we will be able to run 26.2 miles, or pass that exam, or resist those temptations, we are still obedient knowing that these are the measures we need to take if we ever hope to be able to accomplish our goals.
We trust in the process.
This is Israel in today’s first reading. This is Jesus in the second reading. This is Mary in the Gospel. They are all obedient and trust in the process.
Israel was waiting for centuries for the Messiah to come, the One from Bethlehem.
Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time when she who is to give birth has borne, and the rest of his kindred shall return to the children of Israel.
But for centuries, Israel suffered. They constantly had to endure pain, like the pains of a woman in labor. Israel was in labor, enduring pain after pain, contraction after contraction, waiting for the Son, the Savior to be born. Each labor pain was the people of Israel’s inability to uphold God’s Law. But Israel had to go through this process, and they believed that God would send someone to relieve their pain. Nobody in Israel was perfect, but it was through their imperfect obedience that paved the way for the coming of Christ and all the lessons that followed for all of us to read and learn from in the following centuries. It is all about the process.
Then comes Mary. She’s told by an angel that she is to carry and give birth to the Son of God. I can’t imagine what goes through her mind, and then the mind of Joseph. Were they overcome with fear and anxiety? I imagine they were tempted to feel this, but at the same moment, fear and anxiety leads to sin. They didn’t give in to this temptation and they were obedient to God, had complete faith in Him, and trusted His will. I wonder what thoughts went through Mary’s mind throughout these nine months. What questions did she ask? What did she think her Son was going to be like? What future would He have? What role would she play? Did she question her decision? Did she truly understand what was going to happen with Jesus? And then she met with Elizabeth and perhaps things were put in a better perspective. She had nine months to think about all this. It was perfect obedience, and is the model for all of us. It was all about the process.
And then He arrives – Jesus.
Jesus grows and becomes wise, and after staying relatively silent for 30 years, he begins His mission. His Father’s will. He knows what He needs to do. He accepts it, and He accomplishes it. He makes up for the fact that we cannot uphold the Law in our fallen state, and He is obedient to His Father and His plan to fix it. It was perfect obedience. We cannot ever hope to do all that Christ did and the level of obedience and love that He exhibited, but we can learn from the process on how Christ went about it.
And so that’s what we’re talking about today. First, we learn from their process. We cannot be Mary or Jesus, but we can learn from how they lived their lives, how they obeyed God, and we can strive to be like them. And when we fail, we have faith in the Church and in Jesus’ Sacraments and grace to fill in the gaps. We continue to hope and proceed through life, seeking Christ’s guidance, protection and mercy.
But we also trust in our own process. In our own lives, through the good and the bad, we must have faith, be obedient, and trust that everything has purpose. It’s tough sometimes. When you’re going through the darkness, be it anger and resentment, maybe addiction, problems in your marriage, family, or at work. It’s tough to see the purpose. I know this – all too well.
You don’t understand why something is happening to you, over and over, while others don’t have to deal with this. You ask, “Why me? What did I do to deserve this? How am I going to get through this?” I’m sure that Jesus, Mary, and Joseph asked similar questions.
This is where obedience, faith and trust come in to play. You are obedient to God’s will, and accept that everything that happens is all part of God’s plan and for His purpose, which you may never understand. You have faith that His plan in all this will produce something good beyond your understanding at some point down the road. And you trust that He will give you the strength to get through anything.
Be obedient to God’s will. Have faith in His plan. And trust that He will provide you the strength, grace and mercy that you need, no matter where you are in life.
And trust in the process, because it’s the process that defines you.
