NM 6:22-27, GAL 4:4-7, LK 2:16-21
Happy New Year and Peace! Today is the 1st day of the year; and,
today’s celebration is so appropriate for new beginnings, new resolutions, and
hope. It’s a day to recognize our blessings. Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God.
I don’t think you’ll find this
celebration in a lot of other Churches in our area. Celebrating Mary, the Mother of God makes some Christians
anxious. They’ll say - No woman can be Mother
of God.
An infomercial on TV for face
cream promises to make women look younger. One woman says, before using this
cream, I looked in the mirror and saw my mom - All I could think of was Mom what are you doing in my mirror?
She
couldn’t deny that she was her mother’s child.
To deny Mary is the Mother of God denies Jesus. If Mary isn’t
the Mother of God, then God didn’t become
man; his humanity would be separate from his divinity. Jesus would be two different
persons; God and man.
Scriptures
say that Mary is blessed among women as the mother of Jesus. She gave him life and taught him
how to live. Mary gave her body and blood to the child growing in her. By this
act, she gave God humanity. She bore the Divine Word in her womb.
The Word came to dwell among
us, to never be separated from humanity. What God has joined, let no man separate” God didn’t just briefly appear
as man; but, eternally married himself to our nature.
It was by this marriage to
our humanity in Christ that each of us becomes an adopted child of God.
In his letter, Paul says as
children of God, we are heirs to the Father's blessings. These blessings are the same one that the Lord gave through Moses. But
in order to receive God’s blessing, we must be in God’s presence, take his Name
upon us, and remain in the light that issues from his face.
The one they call Emmanuel -
God is with us was born of Mary. God became man in Jesus. And from Jesus all blessings come: the blessings from his
name - Jesus - God saves and blessed
by Christ - we call ourselves Christians.
The
blessings come to us through the human face of Christ that looked upon us. It
was a human face that came from his mother, Mary. It was the human face of God
incarnate.
We
enjoy the blessings the Lord gave Moses;
blessings of protection, blessing of grace, and blessings of peace. We enjoy the many blessings Christ brings: love, forgiveness, and salvation. And,
we should realize that Mary, the Mother of God has a part in bringing all of
these to us.
On this Blessed Day and in this New Year, may we find new
beginnings, new resolutions, and hope.
May the Lord give peace to each of
you, your families, and the whole world.
Happy New Year and Peace!
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