Mary allows us to see the face of God, whom angels worship

Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, Jan. 1, 2012
Fr. Joseph Eddy, O. de M.
Gospel: Luke 2:16-21 Mary reflected on these things in  her heart.

Full text of sermon: There is one traditional Christmas commercial that goes back to the 1980’s. It is one of those “classic commercials that is still played today because of its popularity.  This commercial is for Maxwell House coffee. In it a son, who has been away in the military for a long time, surprises his family by coming home Christmas morning. Of course, it is snowing heavy outside in the early morning when the young man comes to knock at the door.

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No one is awake except for his little sister, who has grown into a young lady. At the sight of her brother, the teenager cries out with joy and gives her brother a big hug. Since it is early, they do not want to wake up anyone, but instead make a pot of coffee. Naturally, the smell of the coffee reaches the parents upstairs who wake up and go downstairs to see what is going on. As mom and dad reach the steps they catch sight of their son and are overjoyed to once again see his face.

This commercial is one of the most popular holiday commercials ever. Maybe it is because the emotions that are expressed are so human and natural. We all have a longing to see the face of a loved one. The face reveals the person: their personality, their life; all the memories and emotions that are attached to the person come back when we glimpse their face. It is just not the same when we talk on the phone or text message with someone. There is something spiritual (having to do with the soul) about the looking on of another’s face.

Face to face

Another universal longing is to look on the face of God. We want to know Him; to gaze upon the face of our creator and come to understand ourselves as creatures created in God’s Image. To know God is to begin to know ourselves and all of creation in its proper order. In the Beatific Vision, we see our God face to face for all eternity. This is the experience of heaven. It is unimaginable and a joy beyond explanation. The Jewish people knew this and so Moses tells the first priests to use this blessing: “The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord let his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace.” The Jews believed that if one looked upon the face of God they would die. The blessing of the Jewish priest is that God would show his face to the people in some way so as to bless them.  This is the same blessing that a Bishop gives to his people.  He is praying for his flock to experience a foretaste of the Beatific Vision; that God would show his face to them now in a veiled form and later fully in Eternal Life.

Jesus Christ, our Savior, came as the fulfillment of revelation. St. Paul tells us in the second reading that in the “fullness of time…God sent His Son, born of a woman.” Jesus is the Alpha and Omega (beginning and the end). He fulfills all the prophecy of the Old Testament. In Jesus Christ we see the face of God. Jesus is both fully God and fully man. Jesus is one divine person with two natures (human and divine). Logically, we can then conclude that Mary, who is a human being, is the Mother of God, because she gave birth to the God-Man. This is unimaginable, but true!!

On today’s feast we honor Mary, because she said, “Yes” to the angel and allowed us to see the “face of God.”  This is the “face” that the shepherds traveled a great distance to see. When they arrived they caught a blessed glimpse of what angels worship and all creation longs to see! How blessed were St. Joseph and Mary who spent years gazing upon the face of God? And, we too have seen his face; in the Sacred Scriptures, the Tradition of the Church, and, especially, the Sacraments.

How do we respond to such a blessing? Mary shows us how: she “kept all those things, reflecting on them in her heart.” Jesus is the revelation of God to us. The Lord does not hide His face or Truth from us! Yes, we cannot understand all truth until the Beatific Vision, but Jesus is the revelation of who God is to us. We are blessed to know what is the truth and what is the way to live on our Pilgrimage during this life. We know this through Jesus and His Body the Church. God would not truly love us if he left us to figure everything out on our own. We must take the time we have been given in this life to reflect on everything in our heart — the teachings of Christ in the Gospel and in His Body the Church.

Ponder what is revealed

It takes time to understand and accept what Christ has revealed, but God wants us to ponder it. We, like the Blessed Virgin Mary, take all things to prayer; our lives, our sufferings, the commandments…. We take them to Mass with us each Sunday and offer them on the altar with the sacrifice of Calvary. Then, God gives us himself in the Eucharist and the grace to take our faith into the world. It is a journey of reflecting in prayer with the Mother of God. Coming to the point of responding “Yes” to the birth of Jesus in our lives. Longing for the “face of God,” until at last we experience His face fully for all Eternity.