Motherhood of Mary and New Year 2025

Mary, Mother of God and New Year [Lk 2:16-21]

01.01.2025

The Message of the Shepherds and Mary’s Faith-Response

Readings: (1) Num 6:22-27 (2) Gal 4:4-7

1.    Theme in brief

Treasuring the Word in our hearts and pondering it

2.    Focus Statement

Mother Church is constantly called to Imitate the following features of Mary’s Motherhood: receiving the Word of God in faith, treasuring it in her heart and pondering over its significance.

3.    Explanation of the text

In today’s gospel passage we notice three categories of people responding to the event of Christ’s birth in three different ways. First category is the shepherds, to whom the breaking news of the Messiah’s birth is announced by the angels. Their faith-response of the shepherds is made clear by their efforts to make known to others what had been told to them about new-born Saviour (2:17) and to glorify and praise God for all they had heard from the angels and seen in the manger (2:20).They “saw” (of course, with the eyes of faith) the greatest ‘thing’ (event) that had taken place – the event of God taking birth in a human form and stooping down to be born in a manger.

Second category are the hearers of the words of the shepherds, the public who were only amazed at what the shepherds told them (2:18), but did not respond to that message in faith. They are like the ones who hear the Word but do not respond with faith because of lack of roots (cf. Lk 8:13).

Then we are told about the faith-response of Mary who treasured the Word of God (announced by the shepherds) and pondered its significance in her heart (2:19).  She is like those who after hearing the Word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and produce a hundredfold fruit (Lk 8:8, 15). Thus in today’s gospel, Mary is presented as a model for reflection and introspection into our life on the basis of God’s Word. What the shepherds ‘saw’ was God’s boundless love revealed through the image of an ordinary family that was guided by the faith-reflections of a mother.

Mary’s role of treasuring all the words of the shepherds (in fact, God’s word) and pondering them in her heart (2:19) highlights an important aspect of her motherhood: listening to God’s Word reflectively, keeping it as a precious treasure in her heart and pondering (literally chewing over) its meaning and relevance or significance for her (our) life. Luke repeats this important trait of Mother Mary later in 2:51 also, where he says that Mary treasured the words of Jesus regarding his mission to be in his Father’s house. As she (as well as Joseph) did not understand those words immediately (2:50), she pondered or deeply reflected over their meaning.

In Luke’s gospel, the shepherds’ going to Bethlehem in haste (2:16) is very much related to Mary’s setting out in haste to the hill country of Judea to visit Elizabeth (1:39) in the sixth month of her pregnancy (1:36). Whereas the haste with which shepherds hurried to Bethlehem implies their eagerness to hear, see and share with others or proclaim the good news of salvation, Mary’s haste refers to her eagerness to serve her relative Elizabeth during her pregnancy. We can imagine how Mary’s faith and reflections on God’s Word overflow into action (that is, service rendered or charity done to the needy).

Later in Luke’s gospel we see him presenting Mary as the prototype of all the disciples who become like ‘mothers’ and ‘brothers/sisters’ of Jesus by hearing the Word of God and doing it, that is,  living by it  or putting it into practice (Lk 8:19-21). She also becomes the prototype of all those who become blessed because of their hearing and obeying the Word of God (Lk 11:27-28). Hence the title “Blessed Virgin Mother” suits her very well.

4.    Application to life 

By keeping the feast of the Motherhood of Mary on New Year Day, the Church wants us to begin the New Year with her blessing and under her maternal protection. As she is our Heavenly Mother, we entrust all the days of this year to her motherly care and tender love. We hope that she will not forget her children all year long as we often pray to her, “Remember O Most Gracious Virgin Mary…..”

It is right to ask how New Year is related to this feast. What is the significance of the connection between Motherhood of Mary and New Year? It is said that the name of the first month of the year, "January" comes from the pagan god of Rome called Janus.  He was a double-faced god depicted in opposite directions, one face looking to the past and the other looking to the future. This idea fits very well with the features of Mary’s Motherhood. As explained above, Mary is a model of reflection and introspection on how we lived the past year and how we are going to live the New Year. New Year is a new stage in our life to examine the past and look forward to the future. In spite of some failure of the past and anxieties of the unknown future, we are called to take forward to future with hope.

Socrates, the great Greek philosopher said, “An unexamined life is not worth living”. This idea of self-examination of the past and looking forward to a purpose-driven future, matches well with what Luke hints in today's gospel about an important trait of Mary's Motherhood: hearing the Word of God and pondering its meaning and relevance or significance for her life. She discovered God’s will and plans for her by treasuring God’s Word in her heart and pondering over its meaning, significance and relevance. She came to know about divine revelation through the message (words) of the shepherds, and God’s will in the event of finding Jesus in the Temple.

Mary did not know or understand the full meaning of neither the incarnation or the mission of her Son. She must have understood the full implications of this Christ-event only after the resurrection and Pentecost. From day one, she must have asked herself these questions again and again: who her Child really was; why he chose to be born in a stable under such a miserable condition; why he choose to be born of an ordinary girl like her; and why he chose the poor shepherds to give the good news of his birth and visit her family. Our entire Christian life is centred on who Jesus is for us and what it means to follow him in our times. Like her, we are to discover God’s plans for us in this New Year in the light of the Word of God.

As Mary pondered over the words of the shepherds (that is, God’s word) and the events that took place in her life, we too are invited today to reflect over the events of the past year and compare them with the purpose, vision and mission of our life. A vision or dream is a mental image or picture of the ideal we wish to realize in our life time. Some people dream only for their prosperity and selfish needs, forgetting totally about the needs of the world, country and humanity. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (former President of India) calls it a small dream. He says that a small dream is a ‘crime’. Yes, it is a crime to be concerned about oneself alone and not at all about problems of the world.

God has sent us with a definite purpose to make a small or big contribution for humanity which is God’s own cause. New Year is the best opportunity to see whether we have done our dream to our satisfaction. If not, as Abdul Kalam says, we need to activate our inner energy to translate our vision into better action in the New Year. Following Mary’s example, we need to introspect or ponder and see whether we are living our lives by chance or by personal choice. What were the wrong choices we made in the last year; and how are we going to make better choices in this year? On the New Year day, our Heavenly Mother invites us to make a review of life and recall to our mind the steps we need to take in order to live a purpose-driven life.

Mary is our best guide in our soul-searching questions. She becomes a model believer for her efforts to discover the meaning of life-events in the light of faith. She discovered God’s plans for her by treasuring God’s Word in her heart and pondering over its meaning and relevance. In the light of God’s Word, she reflected deeply on all the events of her life in order to discern what God was saying to her at every stage in her life. She is like those believers who after hearing the Word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and “bear fruit with patient endurance” (Lk 8:15), as Jesus has explained in the Parable of the Sower. Such believers are like the good soil that produces a hundredfold fruit (Lk 8:15).

The feast of Motherhood of Mary is closely related to the role of the Church (that is, all Christian believers) as a mother. In Luke’s gospel, Jesus asserts: “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the Word of God and do it” (Lk 8:21). Here Mary is presented as the prototype (model) of all those who become mothers and brothers or sisters of Jesus by hearing the Word of God and doing it (Lk 8:19-21). Doing it means living by it. To live by it, we need to receive it in faith and ponder its implications for our situation. Like Mother Mary, we too are called to become ‘spiritual mothers’ to others by “doing” God’s Word. The whole Church needs to become what she really is, that is, a ‘mother’ of God (or Christ) because God is needing to be ‘born’ again and again in the hearts of people; his self-giving love, compassion for the marginalized, forgiveness of sinners or offenders and concern for the needy must take birth through believers like us. She truly becomes a spiritual mother by hearing the Word of God and doing it, just like Mother Mary. If we had not sufficiently become the nursing and nurturing hands of a mother in the past year, the Church presents to us the model of Mother Mary to become more ‘motherly’ in the New Year.

Luke mentions Mary’s role of treasuring things in her heart twice in his gospel (cf. the explanation above) to show that she discovered God’s will both in his Word and in her life’s events. She came to know about divine revelation through the message (words) of the shepherds, and God’s will in the event of finding Jesus in the Temple. She understood the full implications of this event only after the resurrection and Pentecost. She had to go on discovering God’s ways gradually till the end of her life. God speaks to us today also through divine revelation (Word of God and its interpretation) as well as through the personal experiences gained through life’s events. But we need to be attuned to what God says as Mary was. Suppose we are attuned to only what the mass media or misguiding companions say, how can we know what God wants to tell us?

Further, our contemplation on the Word of God should overflow in joyful service like Mary’s going out “with haste” to minister to her needy relative Elizabeth (1:39). Let us begin this year with a resolve to be more sensitive to the needs of the needy and the suffering humanity like Mary, and be more eager to go out to joyfully serve such people. Do our religious practices and devotion to Mother Mary prompt or motivate us to go out of ourselves in serving the needy and the underprivileged? Like Mary, blessed are those who really become ‘mothers’ by showing sensitivity to the needs of others and go out in haste to serve them by sacrificing their time and energies. In this year, can we think of a specific act of charity we would like to do to such people?

5.    Response to God's Word

Like Mother Mary, ponder over these questions as you begin a New Year: (1) In my personal conduct what will be my guiding principle in this new year? (2) In my family/ social relationships/ community life what will be my guiding principle? (3) In my workplace what will be my guiding principle? Could I have done better in the past year? How did I spend my time? What good did I do and what did I fail to do? Can I pick up one or two wider issues/ problems/ concerns/ needs of people of my area or of my country and think of what I like to say or do about it in my own little way, at least by a small gesture?? For whom? How? What is my bigger dream for this year? How can I discover God’s plan for my family and its future with Mary’s guidance? Please entrust this New Year, your and your family’s future, the future of the Church, the future of humanity, the future of the entire universe to our Heavenly Mother’s care.

6.    A prayer

Thank you God for giving us Mary as our best guide in some soul-searching questions we need to address as we begin a new year. Grant that like her we may hear your Word in faith, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and produce a hundredfold fruit. Like her, may we become model believers discovering your plans for us by treasuring your Word in our hearts and pondering over its meaning and relevance for our lives. Give us the grace to “do” or live God’s Word by our witness. By our ardent prayer and joyful service, may we become mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters of Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us that we may be faithful to our personal vision and mission in this year. Amen.

  

Holy Family Feast (C)

 

Feast of Holy Family (C) [Lk 2:41-52]

29.12.2024

The Finding of the Boy Jesus in the Temple

Readings: (1) Sir 3:2-6.12-14 (2) Col 3:12-21

1.    Theme in brief

Our family’s mission

2.    Focus Statement

A Christian family is called to constantly seek and find God by giving absolute priority to do his will and fulfilling his mission. 

3.    Explanation of the text.  

At the age of twelve when Jesus became a ‘man’ and a ‘son of the law’ according to Jewish tradition, he went to Jerusalem with his parents for the festival of the Passover for the first time (2:41-42). When his parents returned from there, they did not know that the boy Jesus had stayed behind in Jerusalem (2:43), since men and women used to return in separate groups. Joseph must have thought Jesus was with Mary and vice versa, or in the group of travellers (2:44). When they realized that he was lost, they searched for him frantically (2:48). They did not find him in the company of his relatives and friends or among the pilgrims’ caravan (2:44). After three days they found him not in the expected places but in the Temple among the teachers of the law listening to them with humble submission and asking them questions as the one who had the authority (2:46). Maybe Luke was hinting here how believers would find him later on in the new temple of his own resurrected body after three days of his crucifixion and death.

As his mother saw Jesus, she asked for the reason why he treated them like that, because his father and she had been searching for him with “great anxiety” (2:48). These words “great anxiety” imply that they were looking for him with deep mental pain or trauma or with great distress. But Jesus in his reply took the word “father” from his mother’s mouth and said: “Did you not know that I must be in my “Father’s house” (2:49)? Thus, he indicated that now he had another “Father” besides Joseph, that is, his true “Father” in heaven. He wanted to let his parents know that he had to do his heavenly Father’s will more than his earthly father’s will. He must have meant that it was time for them to understand that he could not remain attached to his natural family but go out to do his Father’s mission (2:49). He was slowly becoming aware of his own unique relationship to God. He hinted at the fact that he was not only son of his parents but was in a unique sense the Son of God. His mission extended beyond their house to his Father’s house (2:49). His priority was to be faithful to God’s mission. He had come to do his heavenly Father’s business rather than continue his father’s (Joseph’s) business (= carpentry).

Since Jesus was both human and divine, he was a paradox. Although Joseph and Mary were parents of Jesus, in a way both of them were his disciples. They were unaware of his full identity and divine mission in the beginning. That is why Luke tells us that they did not understand what he said to them (2:50). They had to learn from him about this truth. But Mary treasured the words of Jesus regarding his mission to be in his Father’s house (2:51). As she did not understand those words immediately, she pondered over their meaning. Gradually she came to know its implications.

In spite of Jesus’ identity and status as the Son of God he went down with them to Nazareth and was obedient to them (2:51). Luke tells us, although he was the Son of God, he was subject to his earthly parents. Finally, he states that Jesus was not only increasing in wisdom and in years but also in divine and human favour (2:52). In other words Jesus was not only growing physically, but also was becoming increasingly conscious of his divine and messianic mission.

4.    Application to life 

Today as we celebrate the feast of Holy Family, the gospel passage gives us a glimpse of the family-values and attitudes Christian parents and children need to imitate from the Holy Family of Nazareth. What we observe in today’s text is Joseph and Mary’s parental love, concern and care for their child and the surprise of Jesus at their concern. Any of the parents who have lost a child and are not finding it will understand the inner trauma of Joseph and Mary when Boy Jesus was lost. They searched for him with great distress and mental agony because they thought they had failed in the responsibility and duty entrusted to them by God to care for their child. In other words, they were troubled not only because they were afraid that they lost him but also they did not take care of him. Sometimes, parents might ‘lose’ their children in a literal sense and sometimes in a symbolic sense. The former type of ‘losing’ happens in some parts of the world when they join terrorist or other criminal outfits or are kidnapped by such groups and disappear from home or get killed in police encounters and actions. The latter type of ‘losing’ happens when children losing character or moral and spiritual values. We know there are parents who suffer a great distress and mental trauma like Joseph and Mary, if they ‘lose’ their children in delinquent, criminal and addictive behaviour such as alcoholism and drug abuse. In traditional families of some regions, when children contract illegal/ illicit/ civil marriages outside their racial/ caste/ tribal/ ethnic/ religious communities, their parents experience a loss of their family’s ‘honour’ or good reputation in their society.

Today’s gospel-message motivates parents to go on anxiously searching for their lost children until they are found. They are to imitate the intensity of love and anxiety with which Joseph and Mary went in search of their lost child hoping to find them even against all hopes. The finding of Jesus in the temple after an anxious search is an example of hope for Christian parents for finding their lost children, and not losing them forever. In case they do not find them, they are not to despair; instead, surrender their hopeless situation to God in faith and offer the ‘lost child’ into his hands. In such traditional families there is a temptation to disown or excommunicate the ‘lost child’ from the family ‘for ever’.

But I have observed in my pastoral field this ‘for ever’ does not last for ever in most cases. After all, ‘blood is thicker than water’. Once the initial shock and mental agony gradually subside, many of them learn to reconcile stage by stage. After all, parents need to come to the realization that such children are not ‘items’ to be discarded when not useful, but are one’s own flesh and blood to be loved even though they have gone astray. They need not agree with all their choices and actions but need to extend arms of compassion in spite of their faults when the first shock becomes less intensive gradually. They should hope against hopeless situation, and wait for the day when they will be found. Though in some cases they may never be found, the hope of finding them will sustain their parents. Leaving the matter in God’s hands and surrendering one’s worries to him is the only way to gain peace of mind. Alternately, children also may be tempted to consider their old and infirm parents as ‘items’ to be discarded. Today’s feast reminds them that they have an obligation to repay the love and care they received from their parents when they were helpless by birth.

In the given text, we also notice how his parents react when they ultimately find him after undergoing a mental trauma of three days, and how Jesus expresses his love for his parents. If many of the parents today had found one of their teenage children staying away from home for three days without any information, they would have burst out. But knowing very well the sensitivity of the matter for a teenage child, Mary and Joseph ask gently, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety” (2:48). Jesus too explains to them with love and respect, his own God-given mission. He respects their anxiety as parents, but at the same time firmly makes them understand his own destiny. He cannot remain in their ‘lap’ forever. For him God’s work or doing his will take priority over family ties. This is a good lesson for parents to understand and accept the uniqueness of their children. The Holy Family must have gone through some tension regarding Jesus’ role in his family as the son of his parents and his role as the Son of God. Jesus had a strong sense of destiny. He knew that his Father had a plan for him and he went about doing his Father’s work. After gradually understanding the identity and divine mission of Jesus they must have allowed him to commit himself to his Father’s business.

Besides generation-gap, there are enough reasons why tensions between parents and children arise in modern age, especially with children of the age of Jesus (that is, teenagers). Modern children are well versed in all the intricacies of computer, mobile phones and internet, much more than their parents. Quite often parents have to depend on their children or get tuition from them about the correct use of these things. But listen to what the gospel says. In spite of his identity and status as Son of God Jesus went down with them to Nazareth and remained obedient to them until he began his public ministry. He could have overruled them. We understand from Jesus’ attitude that children, however intelligent they may be, should obey their parents. Nowadays we observe that in some families parents ‘obey’ their children instead of children obeying parents. I mean, parents are controlled by their children. Though parents may not have all the knowledge and intellect of children, they surely have more experience – especially they have the experience of their own past mistakes from which they have learned to become wiser. Children need to respect their experience and feelings in these matters. Like Jesus, children are called to be obedient to their parents even when they fail to understand their genuine intentions. Parents too have an obligation to see that their children grow up both in “divine and human favour” as Luke states in today’s gospel (2:52). They have a responsibility towards both the human (intellectual) and spiritual development of their children.

Worse than ‘losing’ children in above-mentioned ways is losing Christ himself in our families – a situation which cancels our claim to be called a “Christian” family. Christian parents are called to imitate the intensive spiritual (religious) atmosphere prevalent within the Holy Family and to be faithful to their spiritual duties. In our families, we must constantly seek and find Christ, especially whenever we lose him. Like him, in our families we too must give absolute priority to do God’s will and to fulfilling his mission. Like Jesus, who became gradually aware of who he was and what was his destiny, we too have to discover God’s plans in our family. Mary and Joseph searched three days for Jesus, and on the third day found him. But our search for Jesus in our family doesn’t end in three days. We need to seek him and find him continually in all the ups and downs of family life as well as in its joys and sorrows till the end of our life. The question is whether we are as seriously concerned about committing ourselves to our heavenly Father’s business, or are concerned only about our earthly business or family business.

If we have lost Christ we must turn back again and again to the place where we had lost him and trace our steps back to our first love. In our family relationships we need to find out how and why we have abandoned the first love we had for each other as spouses, for children as parents and for parents as children (cf. Rev 2:4-5). Our search for him will continue in our daily dying to our selfishness and rising to genuine love till we ultimately find him in our heavenly home. Those who seek him in the sorrow of ‘Good Friday’ will find him in their joy of ‘Easter’ – symbolically mentioned as finding Jesus after ‘three days’ just as he rose from the dead in three days. Do we have the courage and conviction to proclaim and live this ‘Paschal mystery’ or the mystery of our faith in our families?

5.    Response to God's Word

Do we give priority to establishment of Christ’s gospel-values, such as genuine love for one another, care, concern, sacrifice and forgiveness in our family? Do we anxiously search for erring and ‘lost’ members of our family until we find them? When they do not return do we lose hope and abandon them? Do we understand and accept the uniqueness of each child in our family? Do we seek for the Lord and his holy will in our families, or seek only for material needs? What are our attitudes towards the aged, elderly, sick, bedridden, widowed and disabled members of our family? Are they properly taken care of, or neglected?

6.    A prayer

Jesus, by your birth in the Holy Family of Nazareth, you have sanctified the families of those who diligently search for you in the ups and downs of family life. Grant us the grace to seek and find you continually in all the ups and downs of family life as well as in its joys and sorrows till the end of our life. Give us the necessary patience, tolerance, compassion, committed faith and unshakable hope that we may go on seeking after our lost children until we find them. We resolve to commit ourselves to our heavenly Father’s business, and resist our tendency to be concerned only about our earthly business. Amen.

Gospel Reflections: CHRISTMAS MASS AT DAWN (C)

 

Christmas Mass at Dawn (C) [Lk 2:15-20]

25 December 2024

The Visit of the Shepherds

Readings: (1) Is 62:11-12 (2) Titus 3:4-7

1.    Theme in brief

Proclaiming what we have seen and heard

2.    Focus Statement

Celebrating Christmas means like the shepherds hearing (accepting) God’s message, seeing (experiencing) its truth, and proclaiming to others what we have heard and seen.

3.    Explanation of the text

In today’s gospel passage we notice three categories of people responding to the event of Christ’s birth in three different ways. First, there are shepherds, to whom the breaking news of the Messiah’s birth is announced by the angels. The shepherds were poor, illiterate, ignorant (as they were not allowed study the Law), impure (as they could not participate in the temple liturgy), dirty (as they could not afford to take regular bath) and outcasts. It is a wonder that the good news of salvation is given first to the poor, ignorant and despised people.

The faith-response of the shepherds is highlighted by their: (1) eagerness (“haste”, 2:16) to go to Bethlehem to see “the thing” (that is, the event) that has taken place (2:15); (2) making known to others what has been told to them about this child (2:17); and (3) glorifying and praising God for all they have heard and seen (2:20). They go to verify what they have heard from the angel that a Saviour is born for all people in the city of David (that is, Bethlehem, 2:10-11). What do they see? They see a helpless child born to a poor and homeless family lying in a manger (2:12). In this fragile child they recognize the glory of God. Their haste indicates their eagerness to receive the good news of salvation. They become a model for the missionary call of Christian disciples – to witness to what they have heard and seen.

Secondly, we notice a group of hearers who are amazed at what the shepherds tell them (2:18). But nothing is mentioned about their faith-response. They are like the ones who hear the Word but do not respond with faith because of lack of roots (cf. Lk 8:13).

Then there is a third category of people represented by Mary who treasures the Word and ponders its significance in her heart (2:19).  She is like those who after hearing the Word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and produce a hundredfold fruit (Lk 8:8, 15). She becomes a model believer for her efforts to discover the meaning of life-events (especially God’s incarnation) in the light of faith.

4.    Application to life 

According to today’s gospel, all that glitters is not Christmas! What glitter is there in those shepherds who are considered dirty, impure and outcasts by the respectable people? What glitter is there in a manger either? Is it not a wonder that God favours the despised people like shepherds, and identifies Himself with our deprivation?

After hearing from the angels the good news of the Saviour’s birth, the shepherds are so eager to “see” (that is, to experience) for themselves “this thing,” that is, this wonderful event of God becoming a human person (2:15). When they reach Bethlehem they see or experience two things:

 (1) They see poor, homeless and helpless parents (Joseph and Mary) and a defenceless child (Jesus) lying in the manger. It is a tremendous contradiction to see the Saviour of the world in such a misery! They see God’s boundless love and humility to stoop down to their own level; to be like one of them. Christmas challenges us to examine whether we favour the type of people whom God favours. God seems to favour all sorts of “less” people – the homeless, landless, jobless, defenceless, voiceless, helpless and powerless. Though God loves all people, in Jesus he decides to make a preferential option to favour or to take the side of less privileged people. If so, what is our concern for such people and families? Do we have anything to do with them? Do we side with only influential and powerful people, or side with the above-mentioned “less people” also? Allowing Jesus to take birth in our hearts today involves making some room for this sort of people in our minds and hearts first, and then in our deeds.

(2) They see the Saviour of the world born in an ordinary human family. They observe how a father (Joseph) and a mother (Mary) struggle to nurse, protect and take care of their new-born baby. They come to know how God reveals his love through the image of a family. On Christmas Day, the response of the shepherds leads us to ponder how God reveals His love through our own family even today.

In this sense, Christmas is the greatest Family Feast. Jesus takes birth again and again in our families. Like the shepherds, we need simple but deeper faith to recognize him in our genuine and human love. In many societies, we notice that the family members who are scattered due to jobs or studies hasten to be at home during Christmas. Today’s gospel invites all those who live outside their homes for various reasons and hurry to their homes for a family reunion to see with the eyes of faith what is the most important thing they must observe and value in their families.  All those who live in the family need to see whether the traditional family values which the older generation cherished so much such as mutual sharing, adjustment and collaboration, sacrifice of one’s own comforts, personal care and joyful togetherness are still there or not.

If God has revealed his love through the image of a family struggling to live in site of all odds, how sad we feel when we notice the gradual erosion of the traditional “family-values”. They are replaced by individualism, superficial relationships and “you-do-your-work, I-do-my-work” attitude. Even on Sundays, instead of spending some time together, all (including children) think of keeping their own schedules and attending to their own ‘appointments’. For persons of faith, it is a big challenge to see to it that they rediscover in their families the values for which Jesus was born. Jesus was born in a deprived family to tell us that our families should learn from him the spirit of sharing even the meagre resources and limited time we have! In a busy world today, the greatest Christmas gift which parents need to give to their children is not the best clothes or latest gadget in the market, but the gift of time.

Christmas is also a Missionary Feast. After “seeing” (experiencing) what the Lord had made known to them (2:15), like the shepherds wee too must share our experience with others. Celebrating Christmas means like the shepherds, accepting God’s Word, seeing for oneself its truth and proclaiming it to all. Because God became one with our human condition, we hear and see every day God’s mysterious presence and hidden love in whatever happens to us. Like the shepherds, we must bear witness to our experiences of these signs of God’s love and care. When we bear witness to the values we have “heard and seen” (experienced) in and through Christ (e.g. non-retaliation and forgiveness), people may ask us: “Why do you do what you do?” That is, why do you behave differently from the general pattern of the world or human behaviour? If people ask like that, it is a clear sign that we are bearing witness to what we have “heard and seen”. Through our testimony to Christ’s values in society and workplaces, we see Jesus being born anew in our situation.

Finally, the feast of Christmas invites us to imitate the faith-response of Mary. We need to discover the meaning and significance of various events in our lives in the light of faith. Like Mary, we are invited to ponder the implications of what Christmas means for us today. Surely, it does not mean only new clothes, decorations, cakes and parties. It also means a deeper reflection on the meaning and purpose of our lives or the mission for which God has called us.

5.    Response to God's Word

Do we most often side with the powerful and influential people only and brush off the poor and the underprivileged? Is there genuine love and concern for one another in our families? Is there a spirit of sharing in our families, especially when our resources are so meagre? Do we show in our words and deeds that Jesus is truly our Saviour and Lord? Does our life’s example of living Christ’s values speak louder than our words? Which values? Does our behaviour or action which is different from people is general make others ask us why we behave that way? Like the shepherds, do we marvel at God’s love, goodness and mercy in our lives and respond to it by glorifying and praising God?

6.    A prayer

With the faith of simple shepherds, we praise and glorify you O God. What wonders you have done for us and for the whole world by giving the gift of your Son. What thanks can we render to you for what we have heard and seen in and through Jesus. Grant us the courage and strength to rediscover His values in our families. Give us the generosity to make some room for the deprived and the despised in our minds and hearts first, and then in our deeds. We make this prayer through Christ who is born anew today. Amen.

 

 

CHRISTMAS MIDNIGHT MASS (C)

 

 CHRISTMAS SEASON (C) 

Christmas Midnight Mass [Lk 2:1-14]

24/25 December 2024

The Birth of the Saviour, Messiah and Lord in Utter Deprivation

Readings: (1) Is 9:1-6 (2) Titus 2:11-14

1.  Theme in brief

God’s identification with human conditions

2.  Focus Statement

At his birth Jesus identifies himself with the rejection, lowliness, deprivation and powerlessness of humans; and his birth brings salvation to all people and peace to those on whom God’s favour rests.

3.  Explanation of the text

Luke’s ‘infancy narrative’, begins with the mention of the birth of the Heavenly King (“the Messiah and the Lord,” 2:11) in a meek, lowly and powerless circumstance during the reign of the most powerful earthly king, namely Augustus Caesar. What a contrast!  Jesus and his parents (especially Mary in her advanced pregnancy) become victims of an arbitrary order of this earthly emperor that a census of the entire world ruled by him should be taken (2:1). Of course, Luke wants to tell us that Jesus is born for the whole world (as a universal Saviour); not only to give glory to Israel but also to become the light of revelation to the Gentiles (2:32). Further he wants to show that the Jewish expectations of Messiah coming from David’s dynasty are fulfilled as Joseph is a descendant of David (2:4). This explains the hardship and constraints faced by Joseph and Mary to go to Bethlehem (Joseph’s ancestral place) for the registration.

While they are there, Mary gives birth to her firstborn Son in a manger because there is no place for them in the inn (2:7). She wraps him in bands of cloth or swaddling clothes (2:7, 12). These details tell us that the Son of God faces total humility, rejection, poverty and utter deprivation at his birth, or takes upon himself these humans conditions..

The news of the humble birth of Jesus is first given to the lowly shepherds. The shepherds in Palestine were considered to be poor, dirty and ignorant of the Law; hence outcasts. By choosing the shepherds to announce the news of his Son’s birth, God tells us that he has become one with the despised, the poor, the lowly and the little ones. The angel who announces the birth calls it good news of great joy for all the people (2:10) because of the Child’s universal mission to save all. According to the message of an angel of the Lord the reason for their joy is (2:9-10), for them (1) a Saviour, who is (2) the Messiah and (3) the Lord is born (2:11). The first title (Saviour) denotes that he is born for a divine mission (that is, to save all people), the second one is that he is to be confessed as the promised Messiah, and the third one (Lord) is that he is of divine nature. The sign given to the shepherds to recognize the Saviour is a fragile, helpless and defenceless baby wrapped in all the poverty of swaddling clothes and lying with all humility and lowliness in a manger (2:12).

Soon, along with that angel a multitude of heavenly hosts appears to announce that with the birth of this baby at Bethlehem, God is glorified in the highest heaven and the gift of peace is promised to people on whom his favour rests (2:14). And who become the objects of God’s favour? Not the pundits and religious heads of Jerusalem, but the poor and the despised shepherds. Finally, it is clear that joy, salvation and peace are the greatest gifts offered by God to all people by giving his Son to humankind.

4.  Application to life 

From tonight’s gospel, we come to know that God’s promised Messiah comes to us not as a powerful king but as a powerless, poor and weak baby. Yes, not all that glitters is Christmas. God identifies himself with human predicament of insecurity, rejection, deprivation and misery. Joseph and Mary had to face the same predicament of insecurity and rejection due to arbitrary order of a worldly ruler, namely Augustus Caesar. They are only examples of so many people in our own times who have to face the same ordeal due to harsh and unjust decisions of those in power, especially of repressive regimes and of those rulers who ruthlessly introduce new economic policies at the cost of the poor. The poor are powerless to change these decisions. They are powerless to organize public protests because the powerful ones who normally organize such protests are silent in order to safeguard their own interests. Joseph and Mary were rejected by their own people who refused to give them place in the inn. Later, Jesus himself was rejected by his own people in his native place, Nazareth (Lk 4:24). The fourth gospel (John’s) tells us that he came to his own and his own people did not accept Him (jn(99(((((((      him (Jn 1:11).

One simple statement in today’s gospel that expresses the extent of God’s humility out of his boundless love for us and challenges our love for others is this: “She (Mary) gave birth to her firstborn son ….and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn” (2:7). During a cold night, the hearts of neighbours turned cold and refused to give place or make room for a pregnant woman in an inn at the time of her imminent delivery. Finally, the Son of God finds warmth among the animals. Sometimes human beings can sink to the level of beasts. Whenever we close our eyes to dire needs of others or whenever we refuse to extend a helping hand to those in dire need, we too sink to the same level. By rejecting such people we reject Christ who wants to be born today.

Even today the poor find no place for them in the fast changing economies of developing countries whose political leaders are more geared to back up the corporate and business world with the aim of getting political and financial support from them. Many of the underprivileged and disadvantaged people have to struggle for survival. Do we give them a place in any of our schemes and relationships? Do we create a little time or room for them in our own ‘inns’ (places or spaces)? Do we have a number of excuses for our refusal to share our space (if we have) and things with them? What about the well-to-do among us? Many of them too are deprived of love. Mother Teresa used to say, even the rich are poor for love, for being cared for, for being wanted. What can we do to tackle this spiritual deprivation?

In spite of harsh realities of life faced by Jesus, it is a joy to discover that he is born as one of us, resembles us and takes upon himself our fate! God loves the despised and deprived people so much that he becomes one with their destiny. He has come to satisfy our hearts that are poor and hungry for love. Have you heard anybody telling you: “Get out from here. I do not want you.” Have you ever used these or similar words to anybody? Nowadays, we can notice a sense of hunger for love and affection among children due to the inability of parents to spend some quality time with them, especially those parents who are too busy in jobs, politics and business. As the evangelist John says, today also Jesus comes to his own (disciples) in the guise of the needy, but his own receive him not (Jn 1:10-11). As prophet Isaiah says, a great light has shone on those who walk in this kind of darkness and gloom of selfishness or lack of concern (Is 9:1). Will Jesus find place in our ‘inns’ (that is, selfish, over-busy and loveless hearts), or face outright rejection by us, just as he faced at his birth?

In Jesus, God comes to us with all the vulnerability and helplessness. He comes as a child “wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger” (2:12). Since God has stooped to the lowliest level of a manger, all of us who want to find him tonight and in real life must also stoop low. It is clear that God hates pride and comes to smash it, not with fire and brimstone but with humility and powerlessness. This helpless baby born to deprived parents does not pose any threat to anybody. He only says, “Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you…” (Rev 3:20). To all who receive him he promises to give the power to become the children of God (Jn 1:12), and those who reject him lose this wonderful privilege! What about us? Tonight, he comes and knocks at the doors of our sinful hearts. Will we open the door or keep it shut? Why there is no room for him in our hearts? As we are preoccupied with all social celebrations and normal busy-ness, there is no time for him and no room for him. As Christmas becomes commercialized, there could be temptations to join those who want to celebrate a ‘Christless’ Christmas and make it purely a social celebration. If ever we could give more room there could be a little victory over selfish attitudes. 

In Luke’s account there is nothing spectacular surrounding the birth of the King of kings. Though we glamorize the scene of Christ’s birth by surrounding with angels, Luke’s gospel mentions about no angels around his birth. The angelic hosts are rather found in the fields around the shepherds.  In fact, Joseph and Mary come to know about the appearance of angels only from the shepherds. Like them we also sometimes come to know about Christ’s birth not in the church but out in the fields – among the poor and the marginalized. Why did God choose the despised shepherds to give the good news of his Son’s birth? He is born among the lowly and the poor, for the lowly and poor, to teach us to be humble and poor in spirit and show compassion for the lowly and the poor. This shows God’s first attention, care and tenderness does not go out to the rich and the powerful, but to those who are on the margins of society – the poor, the deprived, the downtrodden, the least and the last.  He is a God who takes the side of this type of people. Jesus is born in utter poverty and lowliness, and the news of his birth is first given to the deprived ones precisely because we may take a new birth with a new attitude to care for the marginalized and show concern towards their suffering. Ambrose says: "He (Jesus), being rich, became poor for your sakes, that through his poverty you might be rich." Yes, rich in sharing and caring for such people.

Jesus’ poverty and deprivation are a challenge for the greedy who acquire wealth through corrupt means and overexploitation of the natural resources. We notice how severely the Mother Earth and the whole of creation groan or cry in agony due to environmental degradation and break down of ecological balance, just because of human greed. Christmas reminds us that, since God used our world to send his Son, this planet is sanctified by the mystery of incarnation. According to Pope Francis, Mother Earth which is our common home is like a sister with whom we share our life, and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to nurture and sustain us. “This sister now cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her” (“Laudato Si” No. 2). Further he says: “The earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth.” (“Laudato Si” No.66).  Further, Jesus’ birth in utter deprivation is a challenge to tendencies of consumerism in the modern world. It is a challenge to those who go on craving to acquire latest goods in the markets instead of sharing some of their wealth with the poor. Moreover, the humility and lowliness of the Babe in the manger is a challenge for the proud who bully/ dominate/ exploit the weak, the powerless and the ignorant.

Tonight’s gospel speaks about three wonderful gifts that are given by God to humanity by sending his Son: (1) the gift of joy (2:10); (2) the gift of a Saviour (2:11), and (3) the gift of peace (2:14). If so, we need to ask: “What is the real cause of our joy tonight?” Our joy is not merely due to the glitter of decoration, the glamour of new clothes, the mouth-watering cakes and fascinating gifts, but due to the gift of a Saviour who comes to lift us to the level of divinity by totally sharing in our humanity. We rejoice because he is born for all people – saints and sinners, friends and foes, nationals and foreigners and for all races and cultures. How wonderful to know that he is not bound or constrained by human tendencies of narrow-mindedness, prejudices, exclusiveness and ethnocentrism.

Today, he comes to save (liberate) us from all dehumanizing factors and situations by becoming one of us. Quite often, we are unable to rise up from our fallen state and become better persons, in spite of our best efforts. He wants to hold our hands to raise us. Do we extend our hands towards him? He comes to give peace to those whom God favours. In tune with the multitude of angels who praised God at the good news of the Saviour’s birth (2:13), we too glorify him because we, sinners, have become “those whom he (God) favours,” and those on whom his glory dawns from “the highest heaven,” and to whom peace is given on earth (2:14)! Is this peace given to us for safe-keeping or to share it with those who do not have it? It is good to examine ourselves and see whether we are basically peacemakers or peace-breakers by our way of talking and acting.

Today’s gospel says that Mary wrapped Jesus in “bands of cloth and laid him in a manger” (2:7). But today Jesus does not take birth in a manger. Our broken hearts are mangers where he wants to take birth. He takes birth in order to remove hatred from our hearts and fill us with love, to wash away our sins and make us holy, to drive away darkness and give us his light, to rake away unrest and give us peace, to liberate us from all bondages, and to remove hopelessness and fill us with hope. But how many of us want to open our hearts to him? He comes with light and we may want to remain in darkness; he comes to give us divine life and we want to remain in our sins; he comes to give us peace and we wan to remain in disharmony and division; and he comes to us as a poor and helpless baby so that we do not keep the poor and the powerless out of our designs. It is good to examine ourselves whether we seriously try to heal the wounds of brokenness, hatred, emotional hurts and bitterness.

5.  Response to God's Word

What does Jesus lying in the manger tell us? Is it not scandalous for God’s Son to be born as a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger? How does this utter deprivation and lowliness become a challenge for us to renounce our tendency towards domination and exploitation of the weak, possessiveness and consumerism? Do we share our resources with those who cannot repay any of our help in any way? If there is no place for the poor in our schemes, how can Christ be born today? Do we try to share the peace of Christ in a world that is so much broken and divided?

6.  A prayer

Glory to you, O God, in the highest heaven. By becoming one with us through Jesus, you showered your boundless love on lost sinners like us. We praise and bless you with the choirs of heaven for giving us abundant gifts of joy, salvation and peace by giving your Son. Make us generous so that there may be room for the poor and the rejected in our hearts. We pray that your poverty and deprivation at birth may challenge us to renounce our tendency to be greedy and possessive. Let your kind favour rest on us that we share your peace with others by becoming active promoters of peace and harmony in our broken world. O Prince of peace, grant us peace. Amen.