Touched by an Angel

Gospel: John 1: 47-51

A person need not be fully open to the promptings of God in order to be visited by an angel in our lives.  The opening of Luke's Gospel recounts two instances in which the angel Gabriel comes to visit people in order to do what angels are commissioned to do: provide a message from God about what they are called to be and do.  

First, Gabriel visits Zechariah in the holy of holies in the Temple in order to announce to him that he and Elizabeth will bear a son called to a great mission.  Zechariah doubted the angel and was made mute; the mission was going to take place regardless.  By contrast, Gabriel next visits Mary to announce to her that she would be the mother of Jesus, a mission she accepts with great humility.  In this acceptance Mary becomes a great cooperator in the work of God on earth.

In our own lives God visits us each day to provide us with a message about our mission of mercy on earth.  We have the choice to be like Zechariah, to doubt and question God's will for our lives, or we can be like Mary, open and accepting of God's message for her and a great cooperator in God's work in the world.