Octave, Incarnation, Theotokos... Placing ourselves in Mary's hands!

+ J. M. J. +

Homily Outline for the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God

Today we celebrate many things! First of all, it is the Octave Day of Christmas… as at Easter, the Church extends our joyful celebration through 8 days, and the 8th day is the day of Resurrection, the day of the New Creation. The idea of a Sabbath comes from God resting, and inviting all creation to rest, on the 7th day, but Jesus rose on the first day of the week, the day after the Sabbath, the Eighth Day! So, today, the Octave Day of Christmas, we celebrate the filling up of the joy of Christmas, and the way that God is doing something new and beautiful in our midst! Christmas does not end today, but in a certain sense this first and most intense time of celebration is filled up.

The Church also continues to place before us today the mystery of the Incarnation, God taking on flesh and dwelling among us. God came into the world through the free and loving choice of Mary to cooperate with God’s surprising plan. She pondered all that was happening in her heart, wondering and waiting on God’s initiative. We also hear in our Gospel of Jesus being circumcised, this very fleshly and earthy and human sign of the covenant. God has really come to dwell with us, to live and walk in our midst, to enter into the whole human experience, eventually bearing the whole burden of sin, despite never having sinned.

The sheer paradox and mystery of the Incarnation is captured very elegantly and succinctly in the title of Mary that we celebrate today, Mother of God. In Greek, this title was rendered Theotokos, literally, the God-bearer. In 431, at the Council of Ephesus, this title was rejected by the notorious Nestorius, and by that act he placed himself out of communion with the prayer of the Church, and with the Church itself. The title, though, is less about Mary per se, and very much focused on Christ… in one short phrase, we know that Jesus is both God and man. The God is out in the open, and of course anyone who has a human mother is human… and so when we acclaim Mary Mother of God, we summarize all the deep reasons for joy during this Christmas season!

You may have noticed that I’ve said nothing yet about the reason most people are celebrating this evening! In many ways it is more coincidence than anything else that this feast takes place as the new year begins, but I think it is as fortunate, even a providential coincidence! What better news to receive as one year ends and another begins… God is in our midst, at our side, and we are entrusted into the loving prayers of Jesus’ mother, Mary! It is very fitting that we gather for the Eucharist, the most perfect form of thanksgiving, as we look back on the year past. It was certainly a mix of good and bad for each of us, a combination of sin and grace, and yet God was at our side in the midst of it all, drawing good from all things. As we come to this altar this evening, we can place all that the past year has held there, asking God to transform it.

Having given thanks, we can look ahead, with fear, with hope, with uncertainty, with eagerness, to 2014. And again, it is good that we are here in church, about to receive the Lord’s Body and Blood, that which we most need to sustain us in all that lies ahead. Like Mary, God invites us to say “YES” to Him this year, entrusting ourselves into His hands. Like Mary, God invites us to treasure all things in our hearts… His words to us, the people in our lives, the opportunities God gives us to serve Him.

So, tonight, we continue to receive the news of Christ’s birth with joy, we continue to ponder on the deep mystery of God among us, and we cross the threshold from one year into the next with thanksgiving and with faith-filled hope. We place ourselves in Mary’s hands and Mary’s prayers, trusting that she will lead us to her Son, trusting that she will help us to say yes to Him as she did!

+ A. M. D. G. +