Bible
Study: Genesis 3:9-20, Psalm 98, Ephesians 1:3-12, Luke 1:26-38
Today, we
celebrate a very important Solemnity as far as Christmas is concerned; the
solemnity of the immaculate conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Since Jesus
Christ is God, it is impossible for him to have been born into a womb that had
the stain of original sin. And so, long before the word was made flesh in her
womb, God had already prepared grounds by creating a woman free from the stain
of original sin. And the fact that Mary was born completely sinless is what we
celebrate today. By Immaculate Conception, we mean that Mary was conceived in
the womb of her own mother without sin, without the sin of Adam and Eve.
If there
was no immaculate conception, then perhaps there would be no Christmas because
God could not have been incarnated into an environment of sin. Just as Advent
is a time we prepare ourselves for the birth of Jesus into our hearts and
lives, the Immaculate Conception represents God’s own advent when he had to
prepare a woman for the role of his earthly mother. The feast of the Immaculate
Conception is an exultation of the state of sinlessness of the Blessed Virgin
Mary. This feast challenges us to stay completely away from all sin so as to receive
Christ always into our hearts.
Ordinarily,
one might assume that since Mary was conceived without sin, she must have been
given a special shield, or say, a special defence mechanism to prevent her from
committing any sin but this was never the case. Though born without original
sin, Mary also had the ability to choose, to say ‘yes’ or to say ‘no’ just like
every human being. She was always free to say “Yes” or “No” at any point in
time. That she had to be visited by Angel Gabriel as we read in today’s Gospel
passage is a testimony of how God didn’t want to impose his will on her. And
God does not impose anything on us, we are always free to choose good or evil,
to say ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ God needed to hear Mary’s response – God was waiting for
her fiat – God wanted to hear a “Go Ahead” from Mary. God does not act without
our cooperation. God does not force his will on us, if we say “No” to God, then
He completely accepts our will.
As we saw
in the first reading, Adam and Eve had a special characteristic in that like
Mary, they were both created without original sin but unlike Mary, Adam and Eve
said “No” to God when they freely choose to eat of the forbidden fruit. That
was why God held them directly responsible. Since God did not force them to
sin, he did not take the blame for their fault even though Adam and Eve tried
to shift the blame to God by saying “it was the woman YOU gave me; the serpent
YOU created.”
Each time
we sin, we too say “NO” to God. Each time we deliberately disobey God’s
commandments, we are saying “God, I do not recognize your authority over my
life, I do not believe what you have for me is better than what I stand to gain
right now by doing this sinful act.” God demands that we respect Him by keeping
his commandments but he also respects our choices.
As St.
Paul tells us in the second reading today, each and every one of us just like
Mary has been chosen by God for a particular reason, to accomplish a particular
good in life. Yet, with every sin that we indulge in, we keep rejecting God’s
plan for our lives. As he says: “…the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world TO BE HOLY AND
BLAMELESS before him in love.” Ephesians 1, 3 to 4
The moment
Mary said “Yes” to the angel, her very “Yes” turned into flesh insider her
womb. Something happens when we say “Yes” to God. Something very mysterious
which we cannot fully explain takes place, there is great joy in heaven and God
himself starts working great and powerful miracles right inside of us. She said
“Yes” and became pregnant. Do you know that whenever we allow God’s will
prevail, whenever we do his will and reject temptaions, we instantly become
pregnant with Jesus? Do you know that each time we let go of our personal plans
or make acts of sacrifices just for the sake of doing something good for God or
for others, we are supernaturally transformed by the Holy Spirit? God does not
force us but he always loves to hear our “Yes.”
Even
though God had chosen Mary before she was born by exempting her from original
sin, Mary grew up to constantly say “Yes” to God to the point that she herself
by her choices FOUND FAVOUR with God. It is one thing to be chosen, anybody can
be chosen, in fact, we all have been chosen, our biographies are not accidental
scripts, we may not have been chosen to give birth to Jesus, but we all have
been chosen to do something special for God. I was chosen to be the one writing
this homily today. You too were chosen. Yes, we all are chosen by God. But then,
it is one thing to be chosen, and a different thing altogether to find favour
with God.
Finding
favour is not easy. It demands work, it demands sacrifice on our part, it
entails having to let go of so many seemingly enticing things. When the Angel
told Mary she would conceive, she said “How can this happen since I am a
virgin?” Her statement shows that she was no longer a baby, she knew that the
only way a woman can give birth was by having relations with a man. But she had
kept herself. Dear friends, her story would have been different if she had
yielded to the temptation of pre-marital sex. There is great benefit in
standing out, there is great reward for those who refuse to be lured into sin.
There is great happiness for us whenever we say “Yes” to God by keeping our
hearts pure, dwelling on holy thoughts, selecting the kind of movies we watch
and the kind of friends we hang out with, there is great blessing in practicing
chastity; keeping ourselves till the day of marriage, and remaining totally
faithful to our vows whether marital or celibate.
At times,
saying “Yes” to God may sound ‘impossible.’ You may be wondering how can I say
“Yes” when I see temptations all round me every day? How can I say “Yes” when I
have become used to saying “No”? How can I say yes when I have gone far in the
world? How can I say “yes” when I have no one to show me good example or be a
model to me in holiness? Dear friend, if Mary could say “Yes”, you too can say
“Yes”. It is not going to be by your efforts alone, Mary did not conceive Jesus
by her power, all that is needed is for you to say “God, let it be done!” and
God will do the rest. Do not be afraid, say “Yes” and God himself will give you
the strength to stand by your “Yes” because with Him, all things are possible.
Let us
Pray: Lord God, just as you prepared Mary by freeing her from original sin, may
we be fully prepared to receive you into our hearts this Christmas by
constantly rejecting sin and constantly keeping our heart completely pure and
welcoming to you. Amen.
Holy Mary,
Mother of God: Pray for us.
Good morning.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you.
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