This passage is also used in celebrating the Solemnity of Immaculate Conception, but since the Annunciation is considered a feast of the Lord rather than of Mary, we will concentrate on what this Gospel event says about Jesus.

The overshadowing of the Holy Spirit recalls both the Spirit of God (= the mighty wind) hovering over the waters to bring forth life in Genesis (1:1-2) and the cloud as the manifestation of God’s presence in Exodus (40:34-35). This affirms God as the source of this new life, and that the child will bring a new life-filled and spirit-giving presence into the world.

The messianic expectation in the Jewish Scriptures is the source of the titles the angel uses to announce who the child will be. "Great dignity" and "Son of the Most High" were titles of kings (see 2 Sam 7:8-16; Ps 2:7; 29:1; 82:6; 89:7), and looked forward to the Messiah as the perfect king. David’s throne as extending to the house of Jacob promises unity between the northern tribes (Jacob = Israel) and southern tribe of Judah, which had been divided since the death of Solomon (930 B.C.E.). This is an image of unity of all peoples of the earth. (See also the commentary on the Gospel for Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception and the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year B.)

King Ahaz, a descendant of David, found his throne threatened because of his infidelity to the Lord (see 2 Kgs 16), and capped this infidelity with unbelief in refusing to ask for a sign from God. The Immanuel (= God-with-us) referred to by Isaiah is probably Ahaz’s own son, Hezekiah, who reigned as a good king and sought to return the nation to the ways of the Lord (see 2 Kgs 18-20). The remembrance of the good kings in the line of David became the image in which the messianic hopes were built — hopes that were fulfilled in Jesus, the true Immanuel. (See also the commentary on the first reading for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year A.)

God has turned the psalmist’s song from lamentation to gratitude, and the psalmist in turn pledges obedience to the Lord. Response: "Here am I, Lord, I come to do your will."

This passage quotes psalm 40 concerning the type of sacrifice that is truly pleasing to God. When reduced to its essentials, sacrifice is an attitude of the heart, not merely the giving up of a material thing. The one complete sacrifice is unwavering obedience, of which Jesus Christ is the perfect model. (See also the commentary on the second reading for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year C.)

1. How do you fulfill obedience to God in your life? How can you grow more perfect in obedience to God?

2. What sort of hope do you have in the Lord? What do you mean when you call him Savior?