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	WAKE ME UP

The Gospel

LUKE 1:26-38

In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. Upon arriving, the angel said to her: “Rejoice, O highly favored daughter! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women.” She was deeply troubled by his words, and wondered what his greeting meant. The angel went on to say to her: “Do not fear, Mary, You have found favor with God. You shall conceive and bear a son and give him the name Jesus.”… Mary said to the angel, “How can this be since I do not know man?” The angel answered her: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you; … the holy offspring to be born will be called Son of God.”… Mary said, “I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be done to me as you say.”

The Media

"Bring Me To Life"

Evanescence

"How can you see into my eyes like open doors, leading you down into my core where I’ve become so numb without a soul, my spirit sleeping somewhere cold until you find it there and lead it back home. Wake me up inside, call my name and save me from the dark. Bid my blood to run before I come undone, save me from the nothing I’ve become. I’ve been sleeping a thousand years it seems, got to open my eyes to everything. There must be something more."

In the Christian understanding of things, there are a few sacred moments in history. One of them is the moment in which a virgin by the name of Mary contemplated her answer to a request from God—would she begin the process of redemption? Would she do what was needed to bring life back into the world? Would she say “yes” to the request from God to be the mother of the Savior?

We cannot know Mary’s mind, of course, as this sacred moment unfolded. But we would probably not be far from the mark to say that as a believing Hebrew, she was hoping for someone or something that would wake her world up to a renewed life. She knew that things in the world had not gone well up to that moment—people seemed to have turned away from God, and nothing seemed right, nothing seemed to be as it should have been. Had God given up on the human race? Had the darkness of depression overcome the world she lived in?

Her prayer before what Christians call the Annunciation may very well have been to wake her up, to save her from the dark. There had to be something more to life than what she had experienced. And suddenly her name was called. And she was asked to make a choice. Mary briefly considered how it could be done, and then without hesitation, said, "Let it be done, wake me up to life."

The Christian churches honor Mary because she made the choice to be the mother of the Savior, and thus, bring the world to life. You and I are called to work with the world around us, and as much as possible, bring it to life, that is, to wake it up to the fact that God is truly present in our world, and we must honor that presence with God-like behavior.

THOUGHT

What is the best way to bring about the knowledge of God's presence in our world?

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, we have the example of Mary before us in the Scriptures—a person who said “yes” to your request. Help us say “yes” to the things that can wake us up and help our world a little more. Be with us, we pray.

Questions, comments? Let me know. Email Fr. Mike