Here Am I...

 

ADVENT REFLECTION

Dec. 14, 2025

“Here am I, the servant of the Lord:

let it be with me according to your word.”

Over the past two years, I have participated in many Zoom meetings with the Archbishop of Jerusalem and the diocesan clergy who serve churches in Ramallah and Nablus on the West Bank. The meetings, organized by the Episcopal Church’s Office of Government Relations were and will continue to be important windows into the work of that Diocese and the massive challenges its archbishop and his clergy face as their communities struggle to regain a life that was abruptly put on hold on October 7, 2023.

These Zoom calls have been heart wrenching. Fr. Fadi, rector of St. Andrew’s in Ramallah, reported that the terror and profound grief experienced throughout the West Bank left all of its citizens “in shock” and in the midst of a deep economic and spiritual crisis. Fr. Fadi’s parishioners wondered aloud in the midst of their prayers for peace, “Why is God silent.” Tears and terror are ongoing, unceasing throughout both day and night.

Fr. Jameel in Nablus reported that his congregation members and indeed the entire community of Nablus proclaimed, “We all need hope”, but then quickly added, “Is there really any hope?”

By the end of each of these Zoom calls we on the U.S. side experience a sense of helplessness as we desperately seek ways in which to journey with these brothers and sisters, all members of the Anglican Communion. All God’s beloved children. These calls have been, and I am certain, will continue to be, profoundly tragic yet unexpectedly spiritually enlightening experiences.

Enlightening because despite the grim reality of their war-torn world Frs. Fadi and Jameel along with their parishioners continue to express a fundamentally deep faith and commitment to Jesus Christ. They display, even in the face of their shockingly grim circumstances, a commitment to Christ that is most incredibly moving.

This deep faith and commitment to Christ was emotionally expressed by Fr. Jameel when he responded to one interviewer’s question, “Will you all want to relocate when it is possible?” saying “No, we will never move. We cannot desert this Holy Land. We cannot abandon Jesus. God is asking us to stay here.”

“We cannot abandon Jesus. God is asking us to stay here.” Very, very powerful words that can only stem from the courage, resilience, commitment, and hope that is based on an extraordinary faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Today we hear the incredibly beautiful and quite wondrous story of a young teenager’s life changed forever by the appearance of the Angel Gabriel. Can you imagine how frightened this innocent unmarried young woman must have been? In a flash her simple and settled life was filled with the unknown. Luke tells us that initially Mary was perplexed. She was stunned and bewildered. Who is this apparition? What is happening to me?

The apparition is the angel Gabriel, a messenger sent by God. The angel sees Mary’s distress and offers calming words, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.” The angel then announces that Mary will now become pregnant. That her child will be a son. That he is to be named Jesus and that he is to be called the Son of the Most High. That he will reign over a kingdom. A kingdom that will have no end.

Mary, still perplexed, wonders aloud, “How can this be for I am still a virgin.” The angel responds, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy.”

Can you imagine how frightened and confused this young girl must have been? How terrifying for an apparition to appear from nowhere and to inform you that God will send the Holy Spirit to come you and that as a result you will become pregnant. No marriage. No father. Just a baby who is destined to be, according to the apparition, the Son of God; the Lord of a kingdom that will know no end.

What if an ancient interviewer had asked Mary, “Will you leave this place? Would you prefer to escape from this terrifying new reality that has become your life?” Mary, overwhelmed, terrified, and confused would have answered, “No. Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be according to his word. 

“Here am I, the servant of the Lord.” Mary’s commitment to God in this one brief sentence echoes the words of so many others tested by God throughout biblical history; Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, Moses, Hannah, Samuel, Ruth, David, Esther, and the Prophets to name just a few, and now most certainly the clergy in the Diocese of Jerusalem.  Men and women chosen by God to ensure that his Holy Word, will be a continual presence throughout creation. Men and women who face perplexing, confusing, and terrifying situations with courageous faith saying, God is asking us to stay here; to offer hope to all. God is asking us to ensure that his kingdom will know no end.

Mary’s obedience to God’s call should act as a hallmark for all Christians, the present-day stewards of Christ’s good news, the present-day heralds of God’s desire for us all to live a life filled with peace, hope, and love of self and neighbor, now and to the end of time.

As we encounter frightening and chaotic moments will we flee or will we as Mary say, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be according to his word?” Will we have the courage to act on God’s call for us as we enter a new year which promises to be filled with many unidentified challenges? Both at home, and throughout our global community.

Today we are in the midst of Advent. Four weeks of prayer and reflection during which we anticipate the arrival, once more, of the Christ child, the Son of the Holy One. In just a few short days as Advent comes to a close, we will joyfully celebrate the incarnation of God’s Word, the birth of Jesus Christ, who will walk with and among us as we journey with him to Jerusalem, to the cross, and beyond.

In celebration we will sing many beautiful hymns filled with words of wonder and praise. The service will end, as always, with the 205-year-old hymn Silent Night. As we sing this final hymn, we will light our individual candles in a darkened nave. The candles, of course, represent the Light of Christ. By lighting them we are committing to bring the Light of Christ into the world.

Silent Night, holy night, Son of God, loves pure light radiant beams from thy holy face with the dawn of redeeming grace, Jesus, Lord at thy birth, Jesus, Lord at thy birth.

Today, as our Advent candles shine brilliantly amidst their bed of evergreens let us pray that we will continue, as God’s community - as Christopher’s, to seek God’s command of how best to be radiant beams of Christ’s holy face, the Light of Christ in the world. How we will face the challenges of the unknown, of the terrifying and take our candles, our little stars of light, out of these four walls and into our community? To shine the light of hope for all those who live in the dark. To ensure that God’s kingdom knows no end.

 

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you
does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that, if I do this,
You will lead me by the right road,
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore I will trust you always
though I may seem to be lost
and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.   Thomas Merton