2 Sm. 7:1-5,8b-12, 14a, 16; Ps. 89:2-5, 27, 29; Rom. 16:25-27; Lk. 1:26-38
The “forever song” reaches to the heavens, the sweetest melody we can sing to the Lord. “Forever I will sing the goodness of the Lord! What song do we sing to the Lord this day? It is the song that springs from the heart, mind and soul of our daily journey of faith. What we do sings louder than what we say. We sign the goodness of the Lord by our good deeds that proclaim his goodness. The forever song implies in good times and in bad we recall the Lord’s goodness that it may serve a greater purpose in God’s time.
The goodness of the Lord in king David’s time was a foundation for the greater kingdom to come. The throne of king David would become the kingdom of Christ the king. King David wanted to “build a house” for the ark of the covenant but the Lord’s response was to ask “should you build me a house to dwell in? It was I who took you from the pasture…” Lesson learned for king David and for us is that it is the Lord who grants us not only what we have but our very breath.
What can we do for the Lord cannot come out from the “I” of our pride, vanity, or egocentric vision. What we can do for the Lord must come from his calling, our obedience, and our self-giving. It is not about our song for him but his song for us. He is giving us a song to sing for him to the world. It is the “forever song”.
Advent is the revelation of the coming of the “mystery kept secret for long ages” but becoming present to us in our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ. This mystery was revealed not only in prophetic writings but through the life of God’s people. Centuries have added their own chorus to the forever song becoming incarnated into his own people in obedience to his calling. Their chorus foretold the coming of the Lord and while our lives continue to announce his coming, we also have the gift to announce his presence in our lives. Rather than write an obituary of our life what if we wrote our chorus contributing to the forever song coming from Christ. That chorus is being already written as we dedicate ourselves to the goodness of the Lord.
The gospel is the beginning of Mary’s forever song to Christ. It is about to be revealed to the world in her “Magnificat” as she begins with the words “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” There is no obituary for Mary but there is her forever song we continue to sing for her. The gospel today reveals the announcement of the angel Gabriel to Mary where we get to see and understand not only the revelation from God but what is about to be his incarnation in Mary. We see Mary’s humanity and her dedication to God’s divinity. How is the Lord becoming incarnated in us, in our forever song this day?
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