Mary, Theotokos
Scripture:
Luke 2:16-21,
Numbers 6:22-27,
Galatians 4:4-7.
Reflection
My dear sisters and brothers,
Wish you all A Happy and Peaceful New Year - 2021!
Today, we celebrate the solemnity of Mary, Theotokos and we have a text from the Gospel of Saint Luke (2:16-21):
“The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph,
and the infant lying in the manger.
When they saw this,
they made known the message
that had been told them about this child.
All who heard it were amazed
by what had been told them by the shepherds.
And Mary kept all these things,
reflecting on them in her heart.
Then the shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God
for all they had heard and seen,
just as it had been told to them.
When eight days were completed for his circumcision,
he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel
before he was conceived in the womb.”
There was a Christmas mass for the first time in a village church in India.
The priest started the mass.
Now, it was time to sing the Gloria…
The village head went to the priest and requested the priest to wait for 10 minutes.
You know, why?
Because, the little village people wanted Jesus to be born at 12 am.
After hearing this story, we may laugh.
But, there is memory which the village people wanted to create on that night.
We have heard hundreds of sermons on the new year celebration about the motherhood of Mary, new year resolutions and God’s promise for the new year and so on…
But,
I try to present this sermon with a little twist in the old story.
We hear in the Gospel that there are five characters:
1. The Angels,
2. The Shepherds,
3. The Infant,
4. Mary, and
5. Joseph.
Today, on this new year day, Mary is our focus and Mary is given more importance on this special day.
Why?
To explain this, I would like to connect the dots.
The dots are unnamed characters: the angels, the shepherd, and the infant with Mary, the only woman character.
So, I am going to reflect on a woman, who became the Theotokos.
Let us reflect taking every unnamed character with Mary…of course with our lives too.
1. The Angels:
Who is the angel?
The angel is created by God for a purpose to serve God.
The Angels are messengers, who carry the message of God to the other.
The Angels have a mission to accomplish.
With Mary…
Mary was created for a purpose by God.
Mary was a messenger throughout her life.
Mary had a mission to bring forth the Son of God on this earth.
With our lives…
We too are created by God for a purpose.
We are the messengers who carry the message not in our wombs but through our words and actions.
We are called by our names for a mission... may be a preacher, a pastor, a missionary, a teacher, a nurse or a social worker…and so on…
2. The Shepherds:
Who are the shepherds?
The shepherds were outcaste in the Jewish society.
They lived among the sheep.
They were rejected by religious groups and society and were treated as a dirt.
With Mary…
Mary became an outcaste as soon as people heard that she was pregnant before her marriage.
Even Joseph wanted to leave her.
It might be possible that she must have been rejected by religious groups and society.
She might have been treated as a dirt.
With our lives…
Sometimes, we too feel that we are outcaste in our lives because of our own inferiority complex, relationship problems…
It may be physical, psychological, material and so on…
We are rejected and treated as a dirt by the others because of various reasons.
Was it bad for Mary when she was rejected or treated negatively?
No.
For us too, the answer is no.
Our time has not yet come as it was for Mary.
Secondly, with the Shepherds…
The shepherds went in haste looking out for the witness as it was told by the angel to them.
They did not know the exact place.
Even they did not ask any questions.
They did not know how the place might look and how to reach the place exactly.
There was no guide to show the way.
There was no GPS too (just for humour).
But, there was an eagerness to find the message…they left their sheepfold.
It was a call for them to witness the King of the universe in the Manger.
How did they believe after seeing the King in the manger as infant?
They did not lose their hope…
There was a strong faith in them that the little King would bring the salvation for all.
They believed in spite of limitations.
They believed in spite of unfavourable situation at that time.
With Mary…
Mary did not know what to do after hearing the message from the angel, ‘Gabriel’.
Is this message true?
How do I believe in it?
Mary was given an assurance… and a witness.
She too looked out in haste to witness the same like the shepherds.
She was confused…
She went in haste to meet Elizabeth so that she could confirm what the angel announced her, is true.
She was consoled.
She believed in spite of limitations.
She believed in spite of unfavourable situation at that time.
With our lives…
The voice of God comes to us at all times and in all situations through various means of communication.
Sometimes, we too, like Mary and the shepherds, are in the same boat in our lives.
We are confused.
We do not see any possible way to go ahead in our lives when the problems roar like a hungry lion.
What we need is haste in approaching God in prayer for His direction and guidance.
Look at Mary or the shepherd, they did not hesitate to leap into the darkness.
The shepherds never asked the angels how the King could be born in the manger.
Mary never asked the angel how the old couple could conceive.
They just did it with faith.
We also need the strong faith in God’s word.
Thirdly, with the shepherds…
The shepherds praised and glorified God for what they had heard and seen.
With Mary...
Mary praised and glorified God by singing the song of Magnificat, what she had heard and seen.
With our lives...
We too need to praise and glorify God at all times and in all situations, what we hear and see in our lives every moment.
We have to make it as a habit in our lives.
Once, it becomes a habit…we experience miracles…
We think and celebrate that the New Year will change everything in our lives and in the world.
Nothing is going to change other than the year from 2020 to 2021.
What can bring change is our attitude of gratitude…
The attitude of gratitude will give us a peace of mind and happiness whatever may happen, it happens for God’s glory…
Let us continue to praise God like Mary and the shepherds.
3. The Infant:
What do we learn from the Infant?
The infant or the child is the one who depends on the other for everything.
The infant is fragile and vulnerable too.
That is the reason, the child holds tightly the parents’ hand for safety.
Even when we throw the child in the air, the child smiles knowing that it is safe…nothing will happen.
With Mary…
Mary a teenager became pregnant outside wedlock.
She did not get a safe place for delivery.
She ran to Egypt to guard her new born son without post-pregnancy care.
Son was lost for two days.
She lost her husband.
She brought up her child without father’s presence.
Her son was called mad.
She looked at her 30 years old unmarried son at the wedding at Cana.
Her own blood and flesh suffered in front of her own presence at Calvary.
Her son died on the cross.
She witnessed the first breath and the last breath of her son with unbearable pain in her heart.
She bore the dead son’s body on her lap.
She stood with the apostles when they were fearful and depressed after Jesus’ death.
She went through all these struggles with courage trusting God like an infant.
She was not childish…discouraged and depressed, in spite of all that happened in her life, sitting in a corner crying.
With our lives…
We are in the last hour of the year 2020 and we will enter into the new year - 2021.
And the Church gives us a model in the beginning of the year...Mary: Mother of God for our lives to live a peaceful life hoping and trusting in God like an infant.
She is the perfect model for our lives, to lead our lives in the New Year – 2021, like her trusting in the Lord pondering his Word every moment in our hearts so that our life will be joyful and peaceful.
Mary lived her life peacefully not because there was absence of problems in her life but there was the presence of God throughout her life.
Problems will be there…but the presence of God will be with us…
May the Heart of Jesus live in the hearts of all. Amen…
