Bible
Study: Genesis 3, 9 to 20, Ephesians 1, 3 to 12, Luke 1, 26 to 38.
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. 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.
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. 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.” 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
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. 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. 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? 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 Jesus, keep me pure and holy like Mary. Amen.
Holy Mary,
Mother of God: Pray for us.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith.
It is well with you. God bless you.
Fr. Abu.
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