Nov 29.pub

Isaiah 7:10-14

Psalm 24:1-2, 3-4AB, 5-6

Luke 1:26-38

Summary

The readings today are electric. There is a lot of buzz and astonishing surges

of power. They all point to a God of unbelievable, imaginative capacity.

However high we might want to conceive God’s capacity, our vision always

falls short. We have to come to grips with the unfathomable reality that

there are no limits on limitlessness.

Reason, as marvelous as it is, fails to be able to grasp the paradox of infinity,

a word that we use to describe something we can’t define, because to be

able to define something, it must have boundaries—it must be “definite.”

Better than mere reason, we have a way to bathe in and be caressed by the

wonder of what we can’t and shouldn’t care to nail down with brass tacks.

For this we have the rich history of Our Shared Stories—true way beyond an

inventory of logically verifiable facts. Facts are crucial to the daily life of the

body, but are incidental and easily vanish to the mysteries and splendor of

the spirit.

Reflection

The Annunciation. The strange man at the door talking to the adolescent.

She’s understandably uncomfortable at his forwardness, but isn’t afraid of

him as much as she is of his message. The miracle he's there to report hasn’t

happened yet, but it’s gonna happen soon. The sky’s are in motion and the

fires across the land will be quenched in a downpour of living water. It’ll be

terrific. Even better than all the other stuff that we’ve been told is gonna

be ,”Terrific!” No, wait! This is the real deal—all that other stuff will seem

silly—even things as fundamental as genetics

are not the obstacles they seem. Passport?

Marriage license? 401K plan? They’re good,

but they are not the baseline we make of

them. You have Grace, and there is no ele-

mental condition more essential. Everything