Humility Leads To Receptivity
- Deacon Dan DeLuca
- Dec 13, 2022
- 8 min read
Guadalupe, Lourdes, Fátima: these three villages are the sights for three of the most famous and venerated Marian apparitions. In each case, Mary appeared to simple, humble people: Juan Diego, Bernadette Soubirous, and the three children, Lúcia Santos, Jacinta Marto, and Francisco Marto. Why did our blessed mother choose these people to appear to? They were receptive to her, they would receive her message. Humility leads to receptivity. On the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe let us ask the Lord to increase our humility and simplicity so that, as we get close to his coming, we may also increase our receptivity to him.
The Birth of Jesus Foretold
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end.” And Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no husband?” And the angel said to her, “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. And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. Luke 1 : 26-38
Scriptural Analysis
The announcement of the birth of Jesus follows the pattern of birth announcement found in the Old Testament as well as the narrative of the call of Gideon, “And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, ‘The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor.’” (Judges 6:12) As a birth announcement, this passage is about the birth of Jesus. As a call narrative, it is about the mission of Mary. The reference to the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy is intended to link Mary’s mission, with the previous activity of the announcement of John the Baptist, which is all part of God’s one plan.
The town of Nazareth is in the lower part of Galilee. It was a small village with a few hundred inhabitants. It is not mentioned at all in the Old Testament, however, the town name comes from the Hebrew, netser, which means branch or shoot. This recalls the passage from Isaiah, “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.” (Isaiah 11:1)
Joseph is introduced as being from the house of David. He is betrothed to Mary which is the first stage of a Jewish marriage. A written document is presented by the groom to his bride, but the bride remains in her parent’s home until the ceremony, about a year later. Mary is the same name as Miriam who was the sister of Aaron and Moses. She is presented as a virgin, a detail mentioned twice noting the importance of that detail.
The greeting of the angel shows a deep understanding of the Greek Old Testament by Luke. The word used here, chaire, means rejoice but in the Greek Old Testament it is a summoning of the people of Israel to rejoice, “Rejoice and exult with all your heart.” (Zephaniah 3:14) The reason for this joy is the presence of the Lord, “The Lord, is in your midst.” (Zephaniah 3:15) Therefore, one should not be afraid, “Do not fear, O Zion.” (Zephaniah 3:16) Mary represents Israel as the faithful daughter of Zion.
Mary is the favored one, literally, one who has been graced: in the Latin gratia plena or full of grace. The Greek makes it clear that this bestowing of grace is not something that is about to happen as a result of the visit by the angel. Rather it is something that has already taken place and whose effects continue to the present.
Mary is troubled by the angel’s visit and tries to understand the meaning of the greeting. The angel reassures Mary telling her to not be afraid. Mary is told that she has found favor with God. The word favor, charis, can also be translated as grace relating this back to the angel’s initial greeting.
The instruction that she will conceive in her womb and bear a son with a specified name recalls the pronouncement of John’s birth, “Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.” (Luke 1:13) Both of these pronouncements mirror the pronouncement to Abraham with regards to the birth of his son Isaac, “Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac.” (Genesis 17:19) Additionally, the focus on Mary’s virginity ties this pronouncement to the prophecy from Isaiah, “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son and you shall name him Emmanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)
Whereas John the Baptist was great in the sight of God, Jesus with be great in an absolute sense. Jesus will also possess the throne of his father David and his kingdom will never end. This recalls what the Prophet Nathan spoke to David, “And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.” (2 Samuel 7:16) Recall that after Solomon, the Davidic kingdom was split into two with the Northern Kingdom eventually falling to the Assyrians. There was a long expectation of a Messiah who would reunite and restore that kingdom.
Mary questions how it is possible for her to give birth. On the surface this looks similar to the question Zechariah asked the angel when John’s birth was announced, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” (Luke 1:18) The difference is that Zechariah asked out of a sense of unbelief. Mary believes the angel but wanted instructions. Is there something she needed to do to make this happen?
Of course, the reason for the question is that Mary had not yet had relations with a man. Now, this is a curious question from Mary. She was already betrothed so within a year the wedding would be complete at which time she would move in with her husband and normal marital relations would ensue. So, after this delay, the angel’s words would be fulfilled. That leaves two options. Either one, Mary interpreted the timing of the events foretold of in the angel’s message to be immediate and without delay. The other option, which some Church Fathers have argued in favor of, is that Mary planned to have no relations with Joseph at all: that she already dedicated herself to God as a virgin. While this appears on the surface to be a Christina ideal being imposed onto a Jewish context (since the Pharisees emphasized marriage) there were some Jewish sects such as the Essenes that practiced celibacy.
The angel explains that a virginal conception will occur through the power of the Holy Spirit. This child will be called the son of God. The Davidic king was considered to be an adopted son of God upon his coronation, “I will be his father, and he shall be my son.” (2 Samuel 7:14) The angel’s explanation points to the divinity however as this is different.
The verb used here, overshadow, comes from the Greek episkiazō, and the only other place it is found in the Gospel is at the transfiguration. It also recalls how for Moses, a cloud settled down over the tent of meeting, “The cloud abode upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.” (Exodus 40:35) This implies that Mary, about to become pregnant with Jesus, is the new living tent of meeting filled with God’s presence.
Mary is given a sign, the pregnancy of her cousin Elizabeth who was considered barren. The announcement ends with an act of faith by Mary. She states that she is the handmaid of the Lord, a female servant, or a slave of the Lord. She humbly expresses her consent to God’s plan, “Let it be to me according to your word.”
Daily Application
Saint Juan Diego was born in 1474 as Cuauhtlatoatzin, a native of Mexico. From the age of three, he was raised to follow the Aztec pagan religion. However, he always showed signs of a mystical sense and was recognized for his religious fervor as well as his respectful and gracious attitude toward the Virgin Mary.
In 1524, he and his wife, Maria Lucia, converted to Catholicism and were among the first to be baptized in the region. Juan Diego was very committed to his new life and religion. On December 9, 1531, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Juan Diego was hurrying to make it to Mass. On the way, he was stopped by the beautiful sight of a radiant woman who introduced herself, in his native tongue, as the “ever-perfect holy Mary, who has the honor to be the mother of the true God.”
Mary wanted a chapel to be built in her honor on Tepeyac Hill which has been the location of a pagan temple. Legend has it that when Juan Diego told this story to his bishop, he asked for proof or a sign that the apparition was real. Mary instructed him to gather the flowers growing on the rocky land and arranged the flowers within his cloak and told him this would be the sign he is to present to the bishop. Once Juan Diego found the bishop, he opened his cloak and there was a miraculously imprinted image of the Virgin Mary on the flower-filled cloak.
In Juan Diego, we see a humble and simple man. That combination made him very receptive to the apparition and instruction of the blessed mother. Even after his fame spread, he remained humble. This is what our Lord asks of us and is one of the messages of the aspiration of Our Lady of Guadalupe and really all of the Marian operations. Our Lord desires from us humility. The humility that leads one to obediently say thy will be done.
Humility flows naturally out of simplicity and poverty. When you don’t have much or place much emphasis on possessions or extravagant living, you are far more aware of your limitations: that you are not the one in complete control of your life. It becomes easier for you to recognize not only the existence of God but your need for God. This humbles you and makes you more open to him: more receptive to his working in your life.
In this third week of Advent ask the Lord to help you grow in simplicity and humility. Such growth can be painful at times but seek the grace to endure the suffering as the result is worth it. You become more receptive and more open to the gifts the Lord desire to give you. The Lord is preparing to come into the world but he can only come to those who are humble and receptive to receiving him.
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