Sunday Gospel Comment
Alberic Jacovone OSB
YEAR C FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT - 24.12.06 Mic 5,1-4; Hb 10,5-10; Lk 1,39-44 Hail, Mother of my Lord! God’s
visitation.
Throughout Sacred Scripture, God chooses people who are lowly & powerless to
accomplish tasks that are quite
beyond their ability, & through them, he executes his plan for our
salvation. As these ‘little people’ respond with faith & simplicity to
God’s daunting requests, they become a model for us all to imitate. Luke’s
story of Elizabeth & Mary has its share of suspense & surprise. In the
days of old, through Patriarchs & Prophets, God had promised to visit &
save his people: now, at his appointed time, namely in the days of Herod the
Great, God fulfils his promise, which -unexpectedly- is carried out through the
role, not of men but of women:
Elizabeth & Mary. Elizabeth is depicted by Luke, as representing all that
Old Testament Judaism stood for, through its long Biblical past. She stands out
in her proud Jewish Ancestry, Torah-Piety; & together with her Husband &
Priest Zachariah, lives to the full the rhythm of Jewish life, customs &
liturgical worship at the glorious Temple of Jerusalem, where prayers &
sacrifices were offered to the Lord. But, for all this pedigree, power &
piety, she stands old, sad & sterile. She & her husband represent the
Patriarch Abraham & his wife Sarah who were also sad, old & sterile.
Hidden in this sad couple, Luke seems to express a conviction that Judaism, for
all his ritualistic pomp & glory, its long history of piety & privilege,
had in fact become old & sterile. Now through Mary & the Saviour, it was
destined to be surpassed, & a new Israel was going to be born. In it, a new
‘wonder-ful deal’ & a new
mind-set would be established, which would fulfil the promises made by God the
past & bring salvation to the whole human family, for ages to come. Mary,
‘Mother of my Lord’
The Visitation story states for the first time that Mary is ‘Mother of my Lord
- (Meter tou Kurious mou)’. Taking Elizabeth’s words to heart, the early
Christians made up the expression ‘Mother Of God (Theo-tokos)’, & from
this same setting in Luke Chapter One, Catholic piety has made up the prayer:
‘Hail Mary’. At Annunciation, the Angel Gabriel greets Mary with the words:
‘Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with
you, blessed are you among women’ (Lc1,28); & at Visitation (Lc 1,42),
Elizabeth responds to Mary’s greeting, by repeating the Angel’s words: ‘Blessed
are you among women’ & adding the words:
‘& blessed is the fruit of your womb. Elizabeth is also the one to
give full meaning to the second part of the “Hail Mary”, when she says: ‘Who am I that the Mother of my Lord should come to me?’.
The words ‘Mother of my Lord’ soon became ‘Mother of God; and
from this context the ‘Hail Mary’, draws its inspiration by praying: Holy
Mary, Mother of God, pray for us
sinners now & at the hour of our death’. Luke places Elizabeth & Mary
in sharp contrast, so as to give us a
sobering warning. He says: Elizabeth & Mary are both chosen by God &
wait for the fulfilment of God’s promise. However, Elizabeth stands in her
ancestral Torah-piety, & solemn rituals at the great Temple of Jerusalem,
whereas Mary boasts no pedigree or prestige: she is just a simple girl in an
unknown town, Nazareth. She is a young virgin engaged to a simple man Joseph, of
the house of David. And yet God chooses Mary to fulfillHis plan, in simplicity,
sincerity & intimacy with God, away from any pomp & glory. A
Lesson: For Christmas this year, let’s cut down on extravagant pomp. By
all means let’s enjoy our prayerful ceremonies & joyful carols & like
Mary, let’s welcome God’s visit & in turn pay a visit to someone who is
devastated by tragedy & needs God’s consolation. ______________________________________ |
