The Annunciation

Such a marvelous miracle! that God the Eternal Son and Creator should bind himself to the flesh of the human race, and become man! This wonder, however, is hidden from Mary's sight and from ours, in the tiny space of her womb. Yet she believes, and so must we believe: that faith is the conviction of things not seen. Her evidence was soon to come, but she believed first, in the face of all physical evidence to the contrary, that in her virgin womb she carried  the Christ-child. And thus we, seeing sometimes what appears opposite to the promise, must believe. Behold even the horror of Jesus' crucifixion, the dreadful sight; yet it was this that reconciled the world to God. And so in our own lives, what sometimes appears dreadful nevertheless works out for our good, for God chastens whom he loves. Believe in the darkness, and joy cometh in the morning. Sermon for the Annunciation.