Wait And See

Solemnity of the Annunciation                                                                      March 25, 2020
Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette

Wait and see. When you trust someone, this is often what you have to do; wait and see if your trust was misplaced. We have the dramatic decree of medical experts and political experts, the call to stay home. We have to choose to trust them, to wait and see if it really helps, if it is as serious as they say. With human beings, this exercise always carries a level risk, yet here we are.

Perhaps it brings anxiety, this time of wait and see. So, I implore you, turn to Mary on this special feast of trust, of faith. Sure, Mary has this dramatic moment with the angel, who announces her role in the salvation of the world, but then he “departed from her.” A flash of light, a mystical voice, a powerful presence to say, “you are with child” and then… silence. Waiting.

God’s greatest work often occurs in the hiddenness of silence and waiting. We know very little of what Mary did in this time of waiting. But she was not idle. Though the growth of God in her was not yet visible, her waiting was not merely passive. She waited with expectation and acted accordingly. Knowing it would take time to see the fruit of God’s work in her life, she looked to see the fruit of God’s work in another’s, her cousin Elizabeth. It’s a feast we celebrate at another time, but it inextricably connected to the mystery of the Annunciation. Mary’s response of faith was not passive but flowed immediately into recognizing and serving the work of God in another.

God’s word to you must find the same response. With every breath you draw, God announces to you the gift of life and the offer of salvation. Your own personal annunciation in Baptism, Confirmation, or the Eucharist is an ongoing reality, a process of continual growth, though it is often hidden. In this time of extraordinary waiting, you must learn from Mary how to let that waiting bear fruit.

The first step is to accept it. Mary had no choice as to whether the angel would visit her or not, though she did have the choice to accept or reject what was offered once he did appear. You cannot choose the circumstances we’re in now. You can, however, choose to accept God’s designs within those circumstances. Holy resignation is still a virtue, the graced ability to accept what cannot be changed so that you can also accept the grace and growth God means to bring about through such circumstances.

Then there is the patience, the waiting. Resignation is often not a single choice, but a process. In your frustrations and anxiety, come back to the this most worthy answer of our dear mother “let it be done to me according to your word.” Make it a refrain, a mental prayer you utter with every breath you draw in. Patience will come as a fruit of repeating and internalizing this.

Third and finally, do not confuse receptivity with passivity. Mary received God’s word, but she was not passive. You have the chance trust that God will bring some good out of these unusual times, so you must wait and see. But do not give room to the devil who perverts the waiting of faith into the lethargy of indifference. Perhaps you cannot see God’s work in yourself at this moment. Look then to the work he’s already done in others. The lives of the saints are always a valuable resource, what better way to use your time than to read some of these accounts?

And grace is at work in your family, the Church. Reach out to fellow parishioners, listen to their stories, identify a grace there and seek to serve it, to reinforce it, to praise God for it. A friend who is recovering, a family member who is learning to pray, a co-worker who is open to deeper conversations in light of recent events. Look for God and serve him in them. This, in turn, will bolster your own faith that God is doing work in you that you may not see, but is probably visible to someone else.

I, like Gabriel, am but a messenger of God. I announce to you that God truly is building a kingdom that will last forever and that he wants you to be in it. Perhaps I cannot prove it to you just yet, but I ask you to trust me… to trust God. All things will work for the good of those who love the Lord. Just wait and see.