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Let’s play bible trivia for a moment: Do you know what Mary’s last recorded words are in the Christian Scriptures? Now think real, real hard… Use your memory… “Do whatever he tells you….” Those last words of Mary are recorded in the Gospel of John (2:5), the words Mary spoke to the servants at the wedding feast in Cana. The wine had just run out and the wedding party was teetering not on the verge of drunkenness but on the verge of disaster. As the “First Lady of the Christian faith,” Mary’s words to those servants at the wedding feast in Cana provide a direction about how we can and should accept the challenges the Gospel presents us. That is, we should approach the joy and sorrows, the hopes and the fears, as well as the ups and the downs of daily life by doing whatever Jesus tells us by following his teaching and example of life. Mary’s role in salvation history―a role God envisioned for her from the beginning of time―was to listen to God’s word and, solely through her faith in God, to make the invisible God visible to all humanity. Because of Mary’s willingness to cooperate with God’s plan of salvation “to the ends of the earth,” God became human in all things but sin and, as Jesus’ disciples in every generation do whatever he tells them to do, Jesus’ disciples not only know and live in Christ but they also make the invisible God visible to the ends of the earth. Today, we celebrate our belief that God called Mary for this special role in salvation history from the beginning of time. We believe that God called Mary not only to bear His only begotten Son, but we believe that God also formed Mary by creating her without the stain of original sin. Mary would be the sin-free Ark of the New Covenant from which would come God’s most definitive act of salvation. The gift of the Law and sending the Prophets to announce God’s word would pale by comparison to the very Word of God being made flesh. Our belief in Mary’s Immaculate Conception does not mean, however, that Mary could not sin. It only means that Mary was created without sin, reversing the power of Evil we heard about in the first reading. The fatefully selfish choices Adam and Eve made introduced sin into human existence, first, as each blamed each other and everything but themselves for the choices they freely made, second, as they refused to accept personal responsibility for the outcomes associated with their choices and, third, as they selfishly placed their self-interest ahead of each other so that enmity now characterized their relationship. In other words, Mary entered the world just as Adam and Eve had; created in God’s image and likeness, Mary entered life without any stain of sin. Where Mary differed from Adam and Eve is that, as the power of Evil tempted Mary to sin, she did not. Her virtue was so great that, when confronted with news that had the potential to end her engagement to Joseph, to destroy her reputation, and to lead her to death by stoning, Mary trusted in God’s word as the Archangel Gabriel announced it to her. Mary’s response, “Let it be done unto me according to your word” is the definitive moment in salvation history when Mary became the Ark of the New Covenant from which would emerge God’s definitive act of salvation. Mary, the Mother of God, is not only Jesus’ mother but also is the mother of Jesus’ disciples. The events of her life, as chronicled in the Gospels, offer us the unsullied example of what it means to be a true follower of her son, Jesus. Mary’s example teaches us, first, to understand how to live responsibility, how to grow to full Christian and Catholic maturity, and how to assume our place and enact our responsibilities as women and men of faith. Mary’s example teaches us, second, what it means to be totally committed to the Word of God and to witness that it is possible, in all that we say and do, to make the Word of God present and visible in this world. Mary’s example teaches us, third, to immerse ourselves more deeply in the mystery of her son, Jesus. “Do whatever he tells you,” Mary told the servants at the wedding feast in Cana. “Do whatever he tells you,” Mary tells us as her son’s disciples. He is the eternal Word among us, the Word of God coming into our world from the very unity and inner life of God. Mary’s son, Jesus, revealed who God is, taught the meaning of life, and helped people to live life as God intended it to be lived. This could not have happened without Mary, her Immaculate Conception, and her “Let it be done unto me according to your word.” Rather than cooperate with Evil as it is so easy for human beings to do, God’s Word became flesh because Mary cooperated not with Evil but with God’s plan for her life. Through Mary, Jesus learned to speak in human language, to communicate through signs and symbols that have endured through subsequent human history, and to love with the fullest power present in a human heart. Mary helped bring God among us. She is the Virgin Mother through whom the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. “Do not be afraid,” the Archangel Gabriel tells us, “for you have found favor with God.” “Do whatever he tells you,” Mary teaches us. As we do whatever Jesus tells us by contemplating his teaching and imitating his life, God’s Word once again becomes flesh as we cooperate with God’s plan for our lives. Through us, Jesus speaks human language to our world today, Jesus communicates through signs and symbols have mean something to people today, and Jesus continues to love with the fullest power present in a human heart…our own hearts. In short, as we turn away from sin and allow God’s grace to heal us, we become like Mary and our “Yes” to God allows the Word to be made flesh, dwell in us, and be made present to the ends of the world in this generation.
Now, a very brief commercial announcement... When I find a resource I believe might be useful for parishioners' spiritual lives, I like to let them know about it. Normally, I post them to my "Resources for Catholic Living" website (www.homepage.villanova.edu/richard.jacobs/homilies/). This past week, I found two resources I believe might be of particular and timely interest that I'm making special note of them here as well as on the "Resources for Catholic Living" website.
Additional resources for Catholic living are available on my webpage. Check them out by clicking on the button:
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HOMILY
