Our sure encounter of Christ in Mary

Dec 17, 2021

                     Reflecting on our Sunday Readings with Fr Alexuchelvam Mariasoosai

Fourth Sunday of Advent (C)
Readings: Micah 5:1-4a;
Hebrews 10:5-10; Gospel: Luke 1:39-45

The Church, on this Fourth Sunday of Advent, through the liturgy of St Luke, draws our attention specifically to the person of Mary, and also to Elizabeth, and the offspring they are both carrying in their wombs, as they share together their exuberant joy at the blessing and fulfilment of the promises of God — to the people of Israel, in and through Mary.

The people of God, the Israelites, have been waiting for the promised ruler, the one who is to be born of ‘she who is to give birth’; the one who carries the majestic divine name of the Lord; the Davidic Shepherd King who is to gather His scattered flock, the tribes of Israel who are lost, and who will bring peace to all mankind by his perfect obedience to the will of God.

God, in the Incarnation, has visited the world through Mary by preparing her as ‘the worthy dwelling’ for the Word to become flesh; and through her, visited His people, the expectant Israelites, symbolised first by her visitation to Elizabeth and John in her womb and, later, through Jesus’ birth.

How joyful then it must have been to be the handmaid of the Lord, to carry the Lord God himself in her womb, and at the same time to bear the Light within her that is to scatter and overcome the darkness of the world. What a vessel of purity and grace Mary must have been, a spotless body for the Lord for nine months, making her the real Ark of the Covenant, and the most sacred tabernacle carrying the Lord in her wherever she went. Instead of ‘hiding the Light’, she went in haste to visit Elizabeth, perhaps out of curiosity, but most likely out of real concern and love, since the Angel Gabriel had revealed to her that Elizabeth too had a miraculous conception in her old age, staying with and serving Elizabeth for three months, presumably until she gave birth to John the Baptist.

In that short period of time, so much more was revealed about the mysterious identity and nature of the baby Mary was carrying. Elizabeth, without knowing Mary’s condition, experienced the power of God in Mary as John leapt for joy in her womb. She was filled with the Holy Spirit when Mary greeted her. Mary’s identity becomes crystal clear to Elizabeth and she shouts out with joy at the privilege of being visited by the Lord himself in his mother’s womb. What a blessing to see and recognise the Mother of God and the child in her womb. It took the Church hundreds of years to articulate its understanding more carefully and to defend vigorously against the heresies that misrepresented and misunderstood Mary’s role, and thus, Jesus, true God and true man.

Mary had come in haste to serve her cousin and to prepare the way of the Lord, even before John the Baptist proclaimed it in the wilderness. Mary is the disciple par excellence, the model of the Catholic Church, the Body prepared by Jesus himself, through his passion, death, and resurrection, to draw all mankind to himself.

The Body of Christ, like Mary then, is always pregnant with Jesus in her womb, waiting to be born in the hearts of men daily through her visitation, her greeting, her words, her liturgy and more so through her sacraments, especially through His real body and blood in the Eucharist.

The Church, in her liturgy, recalls the expectations of the coming Messiah and Saviour during the Advent season and the joy of his first coming on Christmas day, to prepare her children to be joyfully expectant of his second coming. What then do we do today? How do we prepare ourselves even as Christmas day comes knocking at our doors soon? Firstly, it is good to prepare our hearts especially in prayer and through the liturgy of the Church in the coming days and to meditate on the word of God daily, especially the stories in the gospel that lead up to Christmas.

Secondly, we should be bold and courageous to share and remind one another, family, friends, and others, who and what exactly we are celebrating this Christmas day. Even more so, we should slip in a rosary or two every now and then, and meditate on the beautiful words spoken in the Scriptures about Mary, as an exaltation of Jesus Christ himself, our Saviour and Redeemer, and the beautiful plan of God to save us all in Christ through a woman, through Mary’s ‘Yes’ to God.

Mary, Mother of God, pray for us, your children here in Malaysia. Come and visit us and bring with you your Son, Jesus Christ, that we may adore him in your womb and exclaim and shout with Elizabeth, ‘how blessed I am to have the mother of my Lord to visit me!’

Come, Lord Jesus, come.

-- Fr Alexuchelvam Mariasoosai is a clergy of the Malacca-Johore diocese. He is currently the assistant priest at the Church of St Louis, Kluang, Johor.