The gospel says, “hold your heads high” (Luke 21:28). The Lord wants us to look to the future with hope. There are certainly problems and situations that create fear; but as Christians, we who believe in Jesus Christ who is to come, hold our heads high.
Holding your head high means being able to talk to God. Lifting your head is a gesture of humility in the gospel. It means standing up to meet the Lord and listen to him, being available to walk wherever he sends us, and being available to listen to his voice, speaking with him like the Virgin Mary did: she held her head high as a servant of the Lord welcoming his word.
She lifted up her head—full of grace—to do the will of God in everything, always moved by the Spirit that had descended upon her most holy womb. Mary teaches us to hold our heads high; that isn’t the same as the haughty who lift their heads or the head-raising of the proud, who look at others from above and are so sure of themselves that they think they don’t need other people.
To “hold your heads high” in the gospel means raising your head to meet God, abandoning yourself into his hands; it means looking at him with love and welcoming his love like the Virgin.
Bishop Silvio José Báez, ocd
Auxiliary Bishop of Managua
Homily, First Sunday of Advent, 2015 (excerpt)
Nicolas Poussin, (French, 1594 – 1665)
Oil on canvas, 1657
The National Gallery, London
Translation from the Spanish text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.
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