In the previous post I started out by discussing the Annunciation, and the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary that relates to it. Now, I’ll conclude with a bit on what actually was announced.
An angel appeared to Mary and told her that she was to bear a child and that He will be the Messiah, the Son of God. OK, now here we get into the whole thing about humility.
We are basically saying that God, the creator of the Universe, from the largest galactic super cluster and all the trillions of stars, down to the smallest subatomic particle, and everything in between, was going to be born into humanity. As a baby.
Think about that.
Why? Not about the thinking part, but why as a baby?
Because God wanted to teach us about humility. He became born into humanity so that He can eventually die for us, thus paying the price for our Original Sin. The only other way for its price to be paid would be our extinction as a species. The Original Sin was the Fall of Adam and Eve as told in Genesis, Chapter 3. What exactly happened is unknown, it probably wasn’t literally Satan posing as a talking snake conning some naked lady into the idea that if she and her husband ate an apple then they would be like God and possess His wisdom. But something occurred that convinced our Original Parents that they could find fulfillment outside of God’s will. That they could be like God and determine for themselves what is right and what is wrong. That is Pride, the opposite of humility. And such an evil thing was this expession of pride that we almost died as a species.
For God to teach us this lesson on humility, along with redeeming us for our sin of pride, He bacame a little baby.
He could have come down from Heaven as a mighty force laying waste to enemies of His will, but that would serve no teaching purpose. Humility is learned.
You learn humility by being humbled. By accepting little humiliations and getting stronger as a result.
By these ways we learn that humility is accepting reality for what it is, adjusting your life to that reality, and being content with the result.
We can accept all that more easily by thinking about the result of the Annunciation (the birth of Jesus nine months later). If the God of the Universe can incarnate (become flesh, as opposed to remaining a Spirit) Himself as a baby, and suffer all sorts of indignities as a part of His human-ness, then who are we to complain about the ordinaries of daily living? Of course, He was God, and knew it, and therefore probably had superior coping mechanisms, but He was fully human, and still suffered the ordinaries of being human. Exactly how this is so is a puzzle not comprehended by 20 centuries of Christians, but it was so.
Meditate on this next time you have a lousy day. Like I said at the end of Part 1, stuff like this keeps you sober. It also brings you closer to God.
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