Pondering Mystery in our Hearts

Homily

Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary,

The Mother of God

After the visit of the shepherds to Bethlehem, Saint Luke tells us: Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. With those words we might say that Mary became the first Christian theologian as she sought to understand the meaning of the events surrounding the birth of her first-born son. When Mary and Joseph return with Jesus to Nazareth after finding him in the temple with the doctors of the law, Luke once again confirms Mary’s reflective spirit: His mother kept all these things in her heart. Mary is joined by others in Luke’s Gospel who wonder about the identity of Jesus. The evangelist tells us that on Easter Sunday night two disciples on the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus were conversing about all the things that had occurred.

That wondering and reflection and discussion about the identity of Jesus has continued throughout history as believers and nonbelievers alike seek to grow in understanding about who he is, this Son of Mary and Joseph, born under the most  mysterious of circumstances. We might think that after two thousand years everything that could possibly be known about Jesus has been discussed and written about by great scholars, saints and councils of the Church. But by its very nature “mystery” is just beyond human comprehension. It is our reaching out to try to grasp mystery that stretches our minds and our hearts to receive, ever so gradually, another insight, a fuller understanding of who Jesus is.

In the fourth century, at the Council of Nicea, the bishops of the church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit,  pronounced what we believe about God in the formula we call the Nicene Creed, still recited when we gather for Mass. One hundred years later, at the Council of Ephesus, the Church proclaimed Mary as the Mother of God, her title we celebrate on this eighth day of Christmas. As always, what we say about Mary helps to bring clarity to our thinking about her Son. In proclaiming Mary as Mother of God, we affirm what we believe about Jesus, that he is truly divine and truly human; truly God and truly man; one person with two natures that cannot be divided.

The articulation of our beliefs into creedal statements and dogmatic formulae is important. Guided by the Holy Spirit, the Church seeks to be precise about what has been revealed to us about the identity of our God. In this way God is not whoever I decide God to be on any given day. God is not held hostage to my ideas and thoughts and feelings, which are, as Shakespeare says, like the moon in constant move. Rather, I submit to the revealed truth of God’s identity and strive to conform my life to his image and likeness, rather than conform God to my thoughts and musings.

In reflecting on the nature of faith it has become popular to say: “There is only one God so what difference does it make what religion you are?”  Well, yes, I will grant you there is only one God; but we think about God makes all the difference in the world, in the same way what we think about “family” will determine what kind of family life we nurture and guide; what we think about “friendship” will determine what kind of friend we seek out and what kind of friend we will be. What we think about God will determine how we worship and pray, the decisions we make about our moral life, the way we treat others and the way we appreciate ourselves.

It is Mary’s reflective spirit, her pondering in her heart the great mysteries unfolding before her, that shows us the way to greater understanding, to greater faith. Mary invites us, encourages us, to take time to prayerfully consider who our God is and how he is revealing his plan to us as he did to Mary and to Joseph. And it is the careful teaching of the church and formulation of our belief that keeps us focused on the mystery of our God, not as we imagine him to be, but rather how he has revealed himself to us, born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as his sons and daughters.

There are many images of Mary that we treasure. The image of Mary at prayer is the one that most inspires me. Mary bowed before the enormity of God’s plan of salvation as she pondered that plan in her heart. As this new year of grace begins, may God find us as he found Mary, reflective in prayer and docile in spirit before the wonder of his love manifested in his Son Jesus.