We Too Must Be God-Bearers
2023년 1월 1일We Too Must Be God-Bearers
< Solemnity of Mary, The Holy Mother of God >
We begin each year by focusing on the Blessed Virgin Mary under her most holy and mystical title: Mother of God. In response to the Arian heresy that denied Jesus was God, the Church fathers gathered in 431 A.D. at the Counsel of Ephesus. To emphasize Jesus was truly God and truly human, they bestowed on the Virgin Mary the title “Theotokos” (God bearer). We in the West translated this as Mother of God, which, while true, loses some of the mystery of the word Theotokos. In any event, the Roman Catholic Church placed this feast on the first day of the New Year to emphasize not only the role of Mary as the first perfect disciple of Jesus but also for us to imitate Mary’s example.
Mary was probably 13 or 14 when the Angel Gabriel appeared to her in Nazareth with the invitation to become mother of the Messiah. We know her age because according to the Mishnah, the Jewish text which explains the Torah–the first five Books of the Bible– a young woman was to marry before her third menstrual cycle. Mary put aside her plans and accepted God’s will by saying, “Behold, I am the handmaiden of the Lord. Be it done to me according to your word.” Through the power of the Holy Spirit she conceived Jesus. In other words, she gave flesh to the Word of God, gave the Word to the world, interceded with her Son at the wedding at Cana, and–hardest of all–stood at the foot of the cross as her Son suffered and died. Everything she did, we too are called to do! We too must put God’s will ahead of our own. We must receive the Holy Spirit and, through our words and actions, give flesh to God’s Word. We must intercede for the world and give this word to the world and, like Mary, at times we may have to stand at the foot of the Cross and witness our loved ones suffering. In short, we too must become Theotokos, God-bearers. If we do this, our New Year will not just be happy, but holy as well.