(Homily for the Solemnity of Mary Mother
of God)
We are at the threshold of the New
Year (2019), and it is frankly motivating beginning the year by confessing the
Sovereignty of God and the divine Motherhood of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We
celebrate today the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, and a perusal into the
readings of this day suggest two sentences that situate us well into the
context of today’s feast: ●First, in the epistle, “but when the completion of
time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born a subject of the Law” (Gal. 4:4). ●Second, in the gospel,
“Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart” (Lk. 2:19). Though these sentences are not in direct connection with the title:
“Mother of God”, but it presents Mary as a model of faith. The two verses (Gal. 4:4 & Lk. 2:19) emphasize on
Mary not merely as Theotokos, but as
the paradigm of faith. Therefore, the solemnity of Mary Mother of God not only
reminds us of Mary’s divine Maternity, but also it brings to our consideration
the admiration and the imitation of Mary as a model of faith. However, the thrust of today’s readings is the birth
of Christ as the inauguration of the saving act of God. The three readings
of today are closely knit, in the passage of the Gospel; the episode of the
circumcision is linked with the epistle reading: “born under the law”. And again,
the naming of Jesus is linked with the threefold name of the Aaronic blessing
in the first reading.
The first reading (Num. 6:22-27) presents the Aaronic blessing and this is really a particularity of the Old
Testament anticipation of the Church’s faith in the Trinity, the threefold
“Holy” (cf. Is. 6:3). From the time
of creation it has been God’s plan and desire to bless every living thing He
has created, “God blessed them” (Gen.
1:22); and he blesses in a particular way, Adam and Eve as representatives
of the entire humanity, “God blessed them” (Gen.
1:28); after the flood, God blessed Noah and his sons (cf. Gen. 9:1); he also blessed Abraham so that in him all peoples
will be blessed (cf. Gen. 12:2-3; 23:17-18).
Consequently, St Paul writes: “All nations will be blessed in you. So it is
people of faith who receive the same blessing as Abraham, the man of faith” (Gal. 3:8b-9). And before leaving this
world to return to His Father, Jesus blessed His people (cf. Lk. 24:51). In this passage we see the threefold blessing with
which to begin this New Year: ► May the Lord bless you and keep you (v.24). ►May the Lord let his face
shine upon you, and be gracious to you (v.
25). ►May the Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace (v.26). And the three times repetition
of “the Lord” (Yahweh) points to the divine sovereignty. Indeed, this threefold
blessing is crowned with God’s intention to bless his people, for in the last
verse we read, “They will call down my name…and I will bless them” (v.27). A blessing is a divine word that has power to pass on good things, and
indeed, the idea of the passing of good things from generation to generation is
really appropriate for this day (New Year’s Day). And today, the Church
through her priests invokes all these blessings on all the faithful, and I invoke
these blessings on you all, on your families and to our society at large.
As a matter of fact, in biblical terms, “name” is very
important, especially when it has to do with the name of God, which the Jews
considered unpronounceable. The name in general indicates the whole person,
in toto. Thus, with reference to God,
the name of God is associated with his
being. As such, to bless in the name
of God entails invoking upon the people all that God is and all that He has
done and does for his people. Even the responsorial psalm took up again the
theme of God’s blessing on Israel and on us today: “May God show us his
kindness (mercy) and bless us” (Ps.
67:1). Interestingly, the word kindness (mercy) of God, which is “hesedh”
in Hebrew, embraces all that God has done in his mighty acts towards
Israel and for us in Jesus Christ.
The epistle (Gal. 4:4-7) from St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians talks about
the purpose why God sent his Son, that is, “to redeem those who were under the
law”. Here, St. Paul stressed that the purpose of the Incarnation was man’s
liberation from the law to the status of sonship, for we are no longer slaves
but sons. Therein, we notice the latent stress on being “born of a woman”,
which denotes that his origin is not only from “above”, but also from “below”
(He took flesh from the Blessed Virgin Mary). It equally alludes to the divine maternity of this “woman”, the Mother
of God. Thus, situating us well into the context of today’s solemnity.
Furthermore, still on the purpose for
the coming of the Son, we deem it fit to
underscore that it is not merely an event of the past, rather it is an event
with direct existential importance for us today. The liberation of man from
the bondage of the law, made possible by the coming of the Son of God, is a wonderful and wondrous blessing! The most sublime blessing, the summary of
all the blessings of God to humanity is Jesus, the gift of the Incarnate Word.
Little wonder St. Paul affirmed: “Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings of heaven in Christ”
(Eph. 1:3). The Son of God became man so that we may become sons and daughters of
God. And this becoming, is a
process, and not a momentary conquest, for it requires us to live everyday like
sons and daughters of God. Thus, “agitur seguitur esse” (i.e. our
actions have to correspond with our being, our
filial status in God).
The Gospel reading (Lk. 2:16-21) summarily highlights the
two important historical events in the life of Jesus: the circumcision and the naming of Jesus. However, when we go back
to the preceding verse to the Gospel text of toady, where the shepherds say to
one another, “let’s go to Bethlehem and see this event which the Lord has made
known to us” (Lk.2:16), and in verse 20 the evangelist says: “the shepherds
went back glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as
they had been told”. The angel announced to the shepherds “A Savior has been
born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord”. Even though the sovereignty of the
Messiah is not readily seen in the Child, rather all seem to give evidence to
his submission to the law of the people, as in the second reading. Indeed, the truth remains that the Son of God, becoming
a baby in the womb of the Blessed Mother Mary, and being born in Bethlehem of
Judah, manifests his sovereignty in a most humble manner. Once again, there
is the theme of the divine name in the Aaronic blessing and its connection with
the naming of Jesus which means Yahweh saves. Indeed, Jesus’ name is a programmatic description of the whole purpose of the
Incarnation.
Above all else however, in the first
reading the word of God says “so shall they put my name upon the sons of
Israel, and I will bless them” (Num.
6:27) and in the gospel we are presented with the naming of the Child of
Bethlehem, who was named JESUS, a name which means Yahweh saves. Be that as it
may, beginning the New Year with this double invocation of God’s name and the
name of Jesus surely paves way for innumerable blessings and favor. Indeed, the
Lord who has wrought wonders in the history of the chosen people, will continue
to do it even in our own time and in our life.
And may our
Blessed Mother Mary, the Theotokos, the Mother of God
continue to accompany us in our earthly sojourn! May she (Mary) who is an
embodiment of God’s blessings attract God’s blessings to us!! May we all be
assured of her intercession this New Year and beyond!!! Happy New Year to U all!!!
(Fr. Vitus M.C. Unegbu, SC)
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