Blessed Are You Who Give Yourselves Over To God

I always find it interesting when the scriptures of the day have some relevance to current events.

Of course the focus today is on the total solar eclipse that will pass over North America. If you’re in Rochester or Upstate NY, we’re in the ‘path of totality’ meaning that we are in the path where the moon will block the face of the sun (which is reportedly the only time you can look safely at the sun). The last time the Rochester area was in this path was about 100 years ago.

Almost every spiritual tradition that I did some brief research on talks about the spiritual significance of this kind of celestial event. In some traditions it is seen as a ‘sign.’ What that sign might mean differs greatly according to the one interpreting it! I saw a bit of chatter this week as well, that with the earthquake in NJ, global conflicts breaking out, red cows being born in Texas and the total eclipse, we are in end times. For the record, I am not quitting my day job…

Maybe you have some thoughts on the spiritual significance of the eclipse for you or maybe you’re taking it as a sign somehow.

Our readings today focus on people being ‘given a sign.’ In this case it’s about the Annunciation – where God sends the angel Gabriel to Mary inviting her to be the Mother of God. This is intended to be a sign from God that God has made good on God’s promise to bring justice and peace to this world and redemption to Israel (“the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel, which means ‘God is with us!’ (Is 7).”

There’s obviously a lot to this story that might stretch the limits of our belief as we read about an angel coming to a 14 year old young woman in what is modern northern Israel and asking her to be the unwed, mother of child that is the product of a divine union between her and God. As I often say about so many of our scripture readings, “I know that they are true. I just don’t know if they are historically accurate.” So instead of trying to use this passage to “prove” something, I prefer to use it as a story of faith that is inviting us to reflect on our own stories.

I would imagine that many of us have had “invitations from God” to take on something that we felt was far beyond the scope of what we could know at the time. This could have been related to a relationship, work, a move to a new place, having a child, caring for someone, etc. Maybe we took on a commitment that we knew would be a difficult one (or might even break our heart) hoping that it would be OK. The bottom line is we said yes to something that we did not fully understand.

At its heart, that is what we reflect on today – saying, “Yes,” to God without knowing all the details or getting certainties about the path ahead.

I would point out that the person that we hold at the center of our story today is a teen, and I do not think it is coincidental that a young person offers us a model for our faith response. One thing that is often so amazing about young people is their willingness and ability to jump fully into things without considering all the consequences! I have always loved the t-shirt that says, “That sounds like a bad idea. Let’s do it!”

Mary jumps right in. The fisherman turned disciples do it too. And likely we, too, are trying to do the same these days – trying to say yes to something that is emerging in our life without full assurance that everything will work out as we hope.

The psalm refrain from today’s readings is, “Here I am God, I come to do your will (Ps 40).”  While that is a beautiful refrain in itself, I went back and read a bit more from Psalm 40 (from the translation The Message) and found even more moving passages. Parts of Psalm 40 tell us, “I waited and waited and waited for God. At last God looked and listened. God stood me up on a solid rock to make sure I wouldn’t slip. More and more people are seeing this: they enter the mystery, abandoning themselves to God. Blessed are you who give yourselves over to God, turning your backs on the world’s “sure thing,” ignoring what the world worships..Being religious, acting pious— that’s not what God’s asking for. You’ve opened my ears, God,  so I can listen…So I answered, “I’m coming…I’m coming to the party you’re throwing for me.”

Adapting it slightly, I put it into a shorter prayer we might pray today:

I know that you have heard me God

Stand me on solid ground so I won’t slip

Help me enter into your mystery

WIth abandonment

Giving myself over to you

Knowing it’s not a sure thing

As the world defines it

You have opened my ears

Help me to listen

So today as we engage the cosmic mystery of the total eclipse, we might let those few moments of darkness be our guide. Of course we know that the moon is just passing across the sun for a few moments, but in other areas of our life, we don’t have that reassurance that we will see the sun again. Maybe for today, we offer up whatever God may be inviting us to these days – and try to give ourselves to it “with abandonment” trusting that God will help us to find solid ground so that we will not slip.