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When Mary said "yes" to the angel, she wasn’t sure what would be the consequences of her answer. A woman who was betrothed – a little more formal arrangement than our engagement – and found pregnant by someone other than her spouse, could have been stoned to death for adultery. What would Joseph say about her pregnancy? How would her friends and family react? What kind of risk was she taking? And what did the angel mean when she said that this child would be the "Son of God?" Mary still said "yes."Most of us will never be asked to risk our lives by saying "yes" to God, but we may be asked to risk being made fun of by friends and sometimes, family members, who consider us foolish or old fashioned because we do our best to live up to God’s standards and not the standards set by society or the media. Advent is a season that calls from us a spirit of generosity that is often not seen in our actions during the rest of the year. In fact, there is a song written about this that repeats in the refrain how nice it would be to have Christmas all year long. What else should be present in our lives throughout the year?Perhaps we need a spirit of forgiveness, a spirit of compassion, a refraining from judging others, a willingness to speak our truth without fear. I once heard someone say that dying for faith was difficult, but that living it each day was harder. As we welcome Christ into our hearts again this year, let us reflect on how our lives might be different if we said "yes" to God each day.Prayer: Loving God, help us to say "yes" to you every day. Most of the time, we do not face a risk as Mary did, but sometimes we can be mocked by people who think being faithful to Christ is old fashioned or weak. Satan is alive and well in our world. Help us to say "no" to him and "yes" to you. Amen.