If I say I have news for you, then most probably you would want to hear what the news is about.
Regardless of whether it is good news or bad news, we would want to know what it is.
The curiosity in us would also make us almost demand to know what the news is all about.
So whether the news is good or bad, happy or sad, favorable or incredible, we just want to hear it first and then see what to make of it after that.
So, let’s say one day you come back from work and you see a letter addressed to you and it’s from your daughter, you would surely open the letter immediately.
Your curiosity won’t let you wait, no matter how tired or how busy you might be.
Well, a story goes that one day, a mother came home from work and as she passed by her daughter’s room, she was astonished to see the bed nicely made and everything was packed up.
Then, she saw an envelope propped up prominently on the center of the bed. It was simply addressed to “Mom”.
With the worst premonition, she opened the letter with trembling hands and slowly read the letter.
It read like this:
Dear Mom,
It is with great regret and sorrow that I am writing to you. I had to elope with my new boyfriend because I wanted to avoid a scene with you and Dad.
I've been finding real passion with John and he is so nice, even though he is pierced with studs in his ears, nose, lips, tongue, face and he has tattoos all over his body.
But it's not only the passion, Mom. I'm pregnant and John said that he will take care of me and we will be very happy.
He has a trailer somewhere and there is enough food for us and the baby. He wants to have many children with me and I really like that idea too.
John taught me that marijuana doesn't really hurt anyone and we intent to grow it and then trade it with his friends for all the cocaine and ecstasy pills we want.
In the meantime, we hope that science will find a cure for AIDS so John can get better because he surely deserves it.
Don't worry Mom, I'm 15 years old now and I know how to take care of myself. Someday I'm sure we'll be back to visit so that you can get to know your grandchildren.
With love, your daughter,Susan
PS: None of the above is true! I'm actually at the neighbour’s house. I just wanted to remind you that there are worse things in life than my report card which is in my desk drawer. I love you, Mom. Call me when it is safe for me to come home.
Well, I guess there are many ways to break some news so we might as well try to be creative with it!
And talking about breaking news, we heard in the gospel that Mary went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah to see that Elizabeth.
Earlier on, the angel Gabriel told Mary that Elizabeth had conceived and that she was already in the sixth month of her pregnancy.
Mary went to see Elizabeth to share her joy of pregnancy and also to render whatever help she could.
Yet at the back of her mind and circling around in her heart, she was also wondering how she was going to break the news to Elizabeth of her own pregnancy.
Because it all sounded so incredible. There was the angel who told her that she was to be the Mother of God.
She will conceive the Son of God by the power of the Holy Spirit and she consented to it all that.
The next question is: Will anyone believe her incredible story? Would Elizabeth believe her?
Oh yes, we can believe in an incredible pregnancy, like Elizabeth’s which was amazing and certainly something to rejoice over.
But Mary’s pregnancy? And that she has conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit?
Such a thing has never happened before. So could it be true? Is this for real? And how would we know for sure?
Well, to begin with, there are many incredible stories, incredible but nonetheless true.
The following true story was told by a late Reverend Father Stanislaus SS.CC
One day many years ago, in a little town in Luxembourg, a Captain of the Forest Guards was in deep conversation with the butcher when an elderly woman entered the shop.
The butcher broke off the conversation to ask the old woman what she wanted. She had come to beg for a little meat but had no money.
The Captain was amused at the woman and the butcher. 'Only a little meat, but how much are you going to give her?', he wondered.
'I am sorry I have no money but I'll hear Mass for you, ' the woman told the butcher. Both the butcher and the Captain were indifferent about religion, so they at once began to scoff at the old woman's idea.
'All right then,' said the butcher. 'You go and hear Mass for me and when you come back I'll give you as much as the Mass is worth'.
The woman left the shop and returned later. She approached the counter and the butcher said. 'All right then we'll see.'
He took a slip of paper and wrote on it 'I heard a Mass for you.'
He placed the paper on the scales and a tiny bone on the other side, but nothing happened.
Next he placed a piece of meat instead of the bone, but still the paper proved heavier.
Both men were beginning to feel ashamed of their mockery but continued their game. A large piece of meat was placed on the balance, but still the paper held its own. The butcher, exasperated, examined the scales but found they were alright.
'What do you want my good woman? Must I give you a whole leg of mutton?' At this he placed the leg of mutton on the balance, but the paper outweighed the meat. A larger piece of meat was put on, but again the weight remained on the side of the paper.
This so impressed the butcher that he was converted and promised to give the woman her daily ration of meat.
As for the Captain, he left the shop a changed man and became an ardent lover of daily Mass. Two of his sons became priests, one a Jesuit & the other a Father of the Sacred Heart.
Father Stanislaus finished the story by saying, 'I am from the Religious of the Sacred Heart & the Captain was my father.'
From this incident the Captain became a daily Mass attendant & his children were trained to follow his example.
Later, when his sons became priests, he advised them to say Mass well every day and never miss the Sacrifice of the Mass through any fault of their own.
Unlike the daughter’s letter that we heard at the beginning, this is true, incredible, amazing but true.
And what about Mary’s story of that incredible conception by the Holy Spirit?
Who was going to know whether the child in her womb was really indeed the Son of God?
It was not that possible by conventional reasoning. But just as the Holy Mass was an overwhelming mystery, it was the child in Elizabeth’s womb that revealed the identity of God.
While still in his mother’s womb, John the Baptist sensed the presence of the Word made flesh and leapt for joy.
As we came to the last Sunday of Advent and with Christmas just a couple of days away, let us ponder on the mystery of the Incarnation, the Word made flesh, the God who became man.
It sounds incredible and amazing but blessed are we who believe.
Yes, we believe in the Emmanuel – The God who is with us. That is the Good News. That is incredible but that is the truth.