SON-TALK; MOTHER-TALK
[BREAKING THE BREAD OF GOD’S WORD]
Solemnity of Mary Mother of God
January 1, 2016
SON-TALK; MOTHER-TALK
As the Son rises to our consciousness, so, too, does the
figure of His Mother rise in our collective imagination and appreciation.
Christmas Day, the time when the world bows in worship to the coming of the
promised Messiah, is followed a full week after by the celebration in honor of
the one through whom the human birth of the 2nd Person of the
Blessed Trinity came to happen.
The Divine Son rises in His full human and divine nature.
The Mother rises to the occasion and allows herself to be the necessary
instrument for the miracle of the Incarnation to happen.
This, my dear friends and readers, is what we honor Mary for
essentially – for her unique role in the unfolding drama and story of
salvation.
That role is unrepeatable, even as it is humanly speaking,
inconceivable. No less than St. Paul recognizes the depth of this mystery. He
acknowledges that Jesus, the Son of God, and Son of Mary, submitted himself to
the Mosaic Law – thus, becoming like unto us in all things except sin. He
became man in the context of a specific
moment and particular culture.
When we talk of the Son, we cannot but talk, too, of the
Mother. If we believe, as we all do, that Jesus is Son of God, whose Person is
no other than the 2nd Person of the Trinity, Jesus who was man-God,
was “born of a woman, born under the law.”
Son-talk leads to Mother-talk. And today, January 1, octave
of Christmas, we honor her who is logically called Mother of God, not in terms
of her nature, which is human like yours and mine, but in terms of her singular
role as the one chosen and blessed above all women, to be the Son’s mother.
Yes, dear friends, talk about the Son, cannot but lead to
talk about the Mother. And when we call her Mother of God, it is the greatest
acknowledgment that the Son born of this woman, born a Jew and like us in every
way, is God.
Glory be to God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit!
Praise be to the woman blessed among all women for her
singular and unique role in the salvation that has been promised us, and given
us!
For a Son has been born for us, a Son is given to us!
Happy new and blessed New Year to all of you!
Comments