"The angel Gabriel from heaven came,
His wings as drifted snow, his eyes as flame;
'All hail,' said he, 'thou lowly maiden Mary,
Most highly favored lady,' Gloria!
'For know a blessed Mother thou shalt be,
All generations laud and honor thee,
Thy Son shall be Emmanuel, by seers foretold,
Most highly favored lady,' Gloria!
Then gentle Mary meekly bowed her head,
'To me be as it pleaseth God,' she said,
'My soul shall laud and magnify his holy Name.'
Most highly favored lady, Gloria!"
In accepting, in holy obedience, the role God called her to, Mary said "Yes" to a complete reversal of her life. To savage persecution: she, Joseph, and the infant had to flee Herod's soldiers putting to death all boy babies. The holy family probably fled in the night, crossing unknown countrysides to become refugees in Egypt; the painting above perfectly captures the darkness, the upheaval, of that journey.
Later Mary had to say "Yes" to her grown son Jesus wandering the countryside, dangerously pitting himself against the religious leaders of his people, even breaking the Judaic Law by healing on the Sabbath, saving an adulterous woman from stoning, talking alone with an enemy of the Jews who was also a woman: a Samaritan woman. The worried mother had to say "Yes" in trust to God when the crowd which had adored her son turned against him, a weeping "Yes" as he was shamed by arrest, torture, and eventually died a criminal's death on the cross. Think of her tender mother's heart pierced with the flames of sorrow as she watched his bloody body heave in agony, listened to his groans. Watched him die. Held his lifeless body in her arms, and mourned.
No wonder the angel came with eyes of burning flame. Saying "Yes" to God, "Yes" to an unknown future, requires all the courage we have. Because that "Yes," that choice, will mean being burned and pierced by both the flame of Love and the flame of sorrow and suffering down the years - loving commitment always brings both joy and suffering. How many of us have pondered this when we say "Yes" to marriage, "Yes" to children, "Yes" to a vocation to religious life, diaconate or priesthood, or to some form of ministry.
Zechariah, father of John the Baptist, prophesied about the Messiah that he would save his people from their enemies, set his people free from those who hate them, set his people free to worship him without fear. Zechariah undoubtedly pictured a political Savior, One who would lead a revolt against the Romans and establish his country as a free nation once more where people could worship the One God in safety.
But the freedom Jesus the Messiah promised - and gives - is the freedom that he practiced - a precious inner freedom, given by the Spirit - freedom from being enslaved to either fear or public opinion. Jesus was completely free in Spirit, free from worrying about what others thought of him, free from enslaving fear, so that He could listen to what God asked of him moment by moment. Jesus' inner freedom allowed him to recognize the Divine Indwelling in every person he met: sinners, prostitutes, thieves, Samaritans, Roman centurions.
This is the inner freedom that Jesus promises and gives so that Christians can say "Yes" in holy obedience to the Angel with the Burning eyes. In and with Jesus, we can say "Yes" to both Love and Suffering as we commit themselves to vocations and ministry, as we commit themselves to God and choose to speak God's Truth, as we choose to act for God's Love, Mercy, Truth, Justice, and Right, in ways both great and small.
Love always hurts. And "holy obedience" can take many forms. The majestic, terrifying Angel of God sometimes calls men and women - including us - to a "holy disobedience" to the prevailing Laws and prejudices of society, - the Holy Disobedience which Jesus practiced - which is, in reality, a higher form of Holy Obedience to the God Who IS Love, Mercy, Truth, Justice, and Right.
Holy Obedience to the Gospel means Obedience to the Truth which the Gospel proclaims, which is the Truth that Jesus lived and died for - that God is Father to all people, that all people have divinely-given dignity - including all whom the current Laws and rules of society dehumanize. Often to say "Yes" to God and to stand up for those whom society dehumanizes requires great courage and an ability to endure public ridicule and humiliation. Fr. Richard Rohr says,
"If you can’t honor the Divine Indwelling—the presence of the Holy Spirit—within yourself, how could you see it in anybody else? You can’t. Like knows like. All awareness, enlightenment, aliveness, and transformation begins with recognizing that your own eternal DNA is both divine and unearned; only then are you ready to see it everywhere else too. Soul recognizes soul.
"( St.) Paul offers a theological...foundation for human dignity and flourishing that is inherent, universal, and indestructible by any evaluation of race, religion, gender, sexuality, nationality, class, education, physical ability, or IQ. Luke’s story of Pentecost emphasizes that people from all over the world heard the preaching in their own languages (Acts 2). The Spirit of God is clearly democratic, unmerited, and inclusive.
"(St.)Paul restored human dignity at a time when perhaps four out of five people were slaves, women were considered the property of men, prostitution was a form of temple worship, and oppression and injustice toward the poor and the outsider were the norm. Against all of this, Paul proclaims, 'One and the same Spirit was given to us all to drink!' (1 Corinthians 12:13). 'You, all of you, are sons and daughters of God, now clothed in Christ, where there is no distinction between male or female, Greek or Jew, slave or free, but all of you are one in Christ Jesus' (Galatians 3:26-28)....
"In (St.) Paul’s estimation, the old world was forever gone and a new world of universal human dignity was grounded in our objective and universal Christ identity. This was surely threatening to those with various forms of power (whose feeling of importance lies in being 'higher' than others). Yet this Gospel was utterly attractive and hopeful to the 95% who were' 'lower' in status. It assured universal and equal dignity, made present through the Eucharist in the early church where all were equals. Sociologists think this was why Christianity spread so quickly.
"Perhaps the present #MeToo movement is encouraging a similar revolution. Today we are witnessing a fear-based reaction in the United States from people who need their white (often male) privilege and superiority, who do not want to be told that people who are poor, any who cannot afford health insurance, refugees and immigrants, people of color, and individuals with bodily or developmental limitations have equal dignity. Power systems like to preserve a hierarchy in which some people are higher and some are lower. The Gospel has no use for it."
THE GOSPEL HAS NO USE FOR PREJUDICE, NO USE FOR POWER SYSTEMS WHICH RULE BY ENSLAVING PEOPLE TO FEAR THROUGH PREACHING STEREOTYPES ABOUT OTHER HUMAN BEINGS! FOR ALL ARE EQUAL IN THE EYES, MIND, AND HEART OF GOD!
Science backs up this Gospel Truth. In the April, 2018 issue of "National Geographic," there is an article by Elizabeth Kolbert, "Skin Deep, " in which she says "...when scientists set out to assemble the first human genome, which was a composite of several individuals, they deliberately gathered samples from people who self-identified as members of different races. In June 2000, when the results were announced at a White House ceremony, Craig Venter, a pioneer of DNA sequencing, observed, 'The concept of race has no genetic or scientific basis.'
"Across the world today, skin color is highly variable. Much of the difference correlates with latitude. Near the Equator, lots of sunlight makes dark skin a useful shield against ultraviolet radiation; towards the poles, where the problem is too little sun, paler skin promotes the production of vitamin D. Several genes work together to promote skin tone...."
In other words, human beings have made the concept of race up. "Of course, just because race is 'made up' doesn't make it any less powerful. To a disturbing extent, race still determines people's perceptions, their opportunities, and their experiences. It is enshrined in the U. S. Census, which, last time it was taken, in 2010, asked Americans to choose their race from a list that reflects the history of the concept; choices included 'White,' 'Black,' 'American Indian,' 'Asian Indian,' 'Chinese,' 'Japanese,' and 'Samoan.' Racial distinctions were written into the Jim Crow laws of the post-Reconstruction South and are now written into statutes like the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race or color. To the victims of racism, it's small consolation to say that the category has no scientific basis."
Jesus practiced Holy Obedience to God through Holy Disobedience to the unjust, unmerciful Laws of his time. So have his followers. Archbishop Oscar Romero defied the unjust political system in El Salvador by speaking out against the inhumane treatment of the poor, who were arrested, tortured, and often gunned down when they protested their treatment. Romero himself was gunned down by a political operative as he celebrated Mass. His words ring out today for all priests, deacons, and ministers, who are called to the ministry of preaching, as well as to lay people like Dorothy Day, who led non-violent protests against war and nuclear proliferation, and who said that to write is to act:
Oscar Romero
"To be a Christian now means
to have the courage
to preach the true teaching of Christ
and not be afraid of it, not be silent out of fear
and preach something easy
that won’t cause problems.
To be a Christian in this hour means
to have the courage that the Holy Spirit gives...
to be valiant soldiers of Christ the King,
to make his teaching prevail,
to reach hearts and proclaim to them
the courage
that one must have to defend God’s law."
Source: The Violence of Love
Shane Claiborne, in "Why We Go To Jail," ("Sojourners" magazine, April 2018,) says
"Civil disobedience is holy work. Gandhi called nonviolent civil disobedience 'our sacred duty.' There are many ways to nonviolently resist injustice: Boycotts. Divestment. Writing op-eds. Petitions. Lobbying. Prayer vigils. Groundswell campaigns. Picket lines. Strikes. Die-ins. Sit-ins. Lock-downs. Distributing flyers on street corners....These events are...about countering hatred with nonviolent love....
"When we 'submit' to authority, we remember that the authorities of this world are in turn to submit and be accountable to God. I suggest two ways to submit to worldly authority: First, obey the good laws. Second, disobey the bad laws, and be willing to suffer the consequences....
"Our times demand courageous action."
Yes, our times demand courageous action. "Yeses" to the Angel of God with the flaming eyes. "Yes" to Holy Obedience to God, through surrender and abandonment to His Holy Will. To His Justice, Mercy, Truth, and Love. "Yes" to following the example of Mary, the girl who said "Yes" to being the mother of God, to an unknown, frightening future which led inevitably to the foot of the cross. "Yes" to the One Whose Holy Obedience led to Holy Disobedience and a nonviolent death for love upon the Cross.
Do we have the courage to say it? Will we say "Yes" in Spirit-driven inner freedom, in Holy Obedience and Holy Disobedience, every day?