In the Gospel Reading for this Sunday, Luke and the Church are telling not the externals of the Advent narrative but the inside of it. “May it be done unto me according to your word,” Mary says. Why? Her “inside story” is dramatically significant to the whole human race, and her words issue from the center of who she is.

There is a parallel Annunciation account in Luke (Lk 1:18-25), hinted at by the the angel’s annunciation to Mary.*

In other words, Gabriel makes two Annunciations, one right after the other, not just the one. Each is about a child to be born. But, interestingly, as things stood, neither one was feasible. Elizabeth was barren, so she could not have a child. Mary had no husband and she had never had conjugal relations.

But after the Annunciation to him, Zechariah is struck deaf and mute, while Mary, initially fearful, accepts peacefully. Compare the two:

Zechariah: “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.”

Mary: “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?”

Ponder these responses for a moment.

1. Zechariah’s reply, while realistic, is insulting. He is saying to the angel, “give me some reason to believe what you are saying. Just to hear you say it is not enough.”

This kind of doubt should never have occurred to him. God's voice had already spoken love into his heart throughout his whole life (like to David in the First Reading). His trust in God’s promise should have been the deepest meaning of his existence. In this sense, Zechariah was already deaf and mute when the Angel spoke to him! He could not receive the words (so was deaf), and therefore would not be able to tell his wife, Elizabeth (so was mute).

2. Mary on the other hand simply asks for clarification. She seemed to know already that “nothing is impossible to God.” Just tell me how this is going to happen and I will gladly do it.

Looking at both annunciations gives an insight, too often hidden from us. It helps us immensely to understand Mary’s “inside story”: how she listened with her heart.

How much do you and I listen to the voice of God's promise, which is written in our hearts too, if we let it be.

Do our own words just spout out of us without reference to that unwavering love deep within? If so, we may be like Zechariah: hard of hearing when it comes to the needs and beauties of those around us, and speechless when a word of love would make all the difference.

Let us ask humbly in these last few days of Advent for the grace to listen and to hear. The one who promised will not fail.

You are invited to email a note to the author of this reflection:
Fr. John Foley, SJ