Feast of the Mother of God

In our first reading from the Book of Numbers, things have settled down, King David has created a united nation (something I wish and hope for the United States and our world) and Yahweh assures them of peace and prosperity in a beautiful blessing to assure the people that what he promise will continue to be.
Centuries later when Luke writes about Mary’s story things have once again changed radically and now the Romans have occupied what we know today as the Holy Land. But let us focus our attention on Mary for this is her Feast as the Mother of God which we celebrate on the first day of each New Year. This is Mary’s story and we want to view it through her eyes. Her yes to being asked to be the Mother of God ushered in the long awaited messiah, savior, redeemer has been born into our world as one of us; not only to show his love for us but his wanting to be one with his creation and in this way has made us heirs, God’s children and co-creators in all that will happen for all time.
Mary’s Yes made her the Mother of God but it also made her a co-creator with God. She was fulfilling her role, her mission that God had planned for her. In this way she fulfilled her call to service and discipleship.
Do you ever find yourself feeling this same way – pondering what you’re doing, what is the meaning of my life; am I finding God’s Will in my daily life circumstances? What things do you reflect on in your heart? I think for most of us we get so caught up in our daily tasks and chores that we don’t seem to find the time to ponder these questions. On the other hand, Mary was a woman with duties, chores and concerns much the same as ours, and yet she was able to prayerfully reflect on the events of her daily life experiences, always seeking God’s direction for the next step in her faith journey.
As Mary’s Yes called her to be the Mother of God, we are called to continue her yes, by building up God’s kingdom of justice, peace, and love living in the hope that in fact it will happen. Mary’s yes, as the Gospel of Luke tells us would cause Mary much concern and bring her far more suffering than she could have ever imagined. As Luke tells us, “And Mary kept all these thing, reflecting on them in her heart.”
As co-creators with God we should be doing the same type of reflecting on our daily life experiences to find God’s Will in our faith journey. Part of that faith journey is to actively participate in the building up God’s kingdom of justice, in order to bring about the peace in our world that we all seek and so desperately desire.
Tonight is the beginning of the first day of a New Year which brings the hope for a new beginning, new possibilities, and new opportunities to be part of God’s plan for salvation. For Mary, not knowing what her future would hold in store for her, her yes called her to be both servant and disciple. We are no surer of what the future holds in store for us than Mary was, however being a woman of prayer she trusted in God’s love for her and her love of God. Should we not follow in her footsteps?
As we reflect on the past year and look to a New Year, perhaps this is a good time to take a review of our life to see if we are at a key turning point in our faith journey. Mary’s reflection brought her to the point of her yes to God’s Will – “be it done unto me according to your will.” Will our reflection bring us the same answer?
The beginning of a New Year holds out to us the hope that our God is going to do something remarkable in each of our lives and in our world. We are all seeking more peace, and Jesus being born a new in our hearts this Christmas gives us the HOPE that peace is truly possible. However, like Mary who gave herself completely over to God’s Will, so must we if we are to be co-creators in building God’s kingdom of justice, peace, and love – all the things we long for in our own lives and the things we pray for others in our Christmas cards and our New Year’s greetings.
I pray 2012 will be a year of renewed hope in our loving God who has become one with us to lead us into his Kingdom of eternal peace. AMEN. Happy New Year everyone!