Readings: Micah 5:2-5; Psalm 13; Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23 Note: you can skip the genealogy (1-16) and go straight to the birth of Jesus.
In celebrating the birth of Mary, today’s Gospel highlights Mary’s role in the Incarnation and how her “yes” changed the world. Yes, Jesus is the perfect expression of God’s love but Mary’s role was to foreshadow that love, to bring it to the light of day. Besides Mary’s “yes”, we cannot forget Joseph. The end of the genealogy: “… and Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.”
Jesus, the fulfilment of God’s promise of salvation.
After the annunciation and especially after the angel’s words to Joseph: “do not to be afraid to take Mary as your wife”, like most couples stepping into parenthood, Mary and Joseph must have asked the same questions: Will our baby be healthy? Will we be good parents? What will he grow up to be? But they could never have imagined the unfolding of God’s plan. They too experienced great joy and that sense of uncertainty. Let’s face it: Life rarely goes the way we imagine it will go.
Today as we celebrate the birth of Mary, our first sentiments should be of gratitude and praise to God for the gift of the Holy Family and of our families also called to be holy … yes, even in the broken and dysfunctional parts of ourselves … praying for healing, or at least acceptance and love.
Secondly, it’s an opportunity for us to remember that we are all called by God in so many different ways according to the gifts we have received: we cannot even imagine the unfolding of God’s plan. We don’t know how or when our next “call” will come but can’t you hear God saying: trust me.