Good evening. Happy New Year!
To the men present
this evening - gentlemen, I don’t know if you’ve ever thought or felt this, and
maybe it’s just me, maybe I’m a just a little bit weird, but I’ve always felt a
tinge of jealousy toward pregnant women.
I mean, what a great gift, a wondrous gift, I dare say a miracle, to be
able to experience the growth of another tiny human being within one’s own
body! To feel the stirring movements,
the gentle flutters, and eventually the strong little kicks of the developing
baby within! What an amazing gift, and
something that I can never experience. And
I’ve always felt a bit jealous about that.
For God in His wisdom, in His plan, simply didn’t give me that
gift. And this is not to minimize the
fact that pregnancy can be difficult and painful for many women, or to downplay
the very real pain felt by those women unable to bear children. But it seems to me that despite hardships and
difficulties, carrying a child within must be one of the greatest joys of life.
The closest I’ve
been able to experience it was when we were expecting our oldest child, Lauren,
and as her due date approached, I can remember pretty much each night as I lay
next to my wife I would drape my arm across her growing belly and the baby
would, pretty much without fail, give my arm a good swift kick. That would blow me away. It
would bring a smile to my face and joy to my heart, then, just as it does now
recalling it. And it would bring a
profound “thank you” to my lips. But to
all our moms – blessed are you indeed to be able to experience that wonderful
and amazing gift – the miracle of new life growing within you.
How much more the
joy and amazement that Our Blessed Mother must have felt, knowing that it was
no ordinary baby that was growing in her womb.
No, the Angel had announced to her (and since she had not known man, she
knew the Angel’s words must have been true) the Angel had announced to her that
she had been chosen, favored among all women, to give birth to the very Son of
the Most High, One who would reign on the throne of David His ancestor and rule
over the house of Jacob forever. A Son
whom she would name Jesus. Imagine the
feelings of joy, and wonder, and perhaps unworthiness and probably even
trepidation that Mary must have felt.
And now in this
evening’s Gospel, Mary has now given birth and the shepherds make known to her
the message they had heard from the Angel – that “good news of great joy that will be for all the
people.” That “today in the city
of David a Savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord.” She now knows that this tiny baby who grew in
her womb, whom she held in her arms, who fed at her breast, was the Savior of her race, the Savior of
the world. She now knows that she had
given birth to God! Imagine her
joy! Her wonder!
Indeed, it is with
some share of that joy and wonder that we celebrate the Feast, the Solemnity of
the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God! For of all the titles given to Mary by the
Church across the ages, Seat of Wisdom, Queen of Peace, Mother of Mercy, and I
could go on, the greatest and most important title is “Theotokos,” which is
Greek for “God-Bearer”, a title bestowed on her nealy 1600 years ago at
the Council of Ephesus. God-bearer. Mother of God. She who brought God our Savior into the
world. And for that unique role in
salvation history, we esteem her and honor her greatly.
Now most protestants
don’t quite “get” the Catholic devotion to Our Blessed Mother. Many think we Catholics worship Our
Lady. They don’t understand that the Church
teaches that we worship God alone, that there is a difference between esteeming
and honoring Our Lady and worshipping her.
But if we ponder
the wonder, and the majesty, indeed the miracle that Our Lord, through whom all
things were made, grew within Mary’s womb for nine months, if we if we consider
with amazement that Christ derived His very human nature from this
woman, if we let it sink in that Our Blessed Mother was the first tabernacle
of the Most Blessed Sacrament, how can we help but to revere and esteem
her? And how can we not go to her for
her intercession, for her assistance, for her timely help?
And if we consider
that Our Lady was Christ’s first and holiest tabernacle when she carried within
her Jesus Himself, it will also occur to us that in a unique but very real way,
we also become tabernacles of the Lord.
When we receive into our bodies and minds and souls the very Body and
Blood of Our Lord. In a different way,
of course, but in a real way, we also carry within us the life of Jesus
Christ. And we will go forth from this
place this evening, carrying Jesus Christ out into our community, out into our
world. With the help and intercession of
Blessed Mary, Mother of God, may we be able and worthy “God-bearers” to all
whom we encounter. May we do our part to
bring God our Savior into a world still seemingly so foreign to Him, still so
hungry for Him, still so in need of Him.
Holy Mary, Mother
of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
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