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HOW MUCH MORE HOLY MUST BE THE ONE BEING FROM WHOM THE HOLY ONE OF GOD TOOK HUMAN FLESH

(A biblical reflection on the Solemnity of THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, 8 December 2011)

Gospel Reading: Lk 1:26-38

First Reading: Gen 3:9-15,20; Psalms: Ps 98:1-4; Second Reading: Eph 1:3-6,11-12

The Scripture Text

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have favour with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of His kingdom there will be no end.” And Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no husband?” And the angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. (Lk 1:26-38 RSV)

Throughout the ages, God’s preservation of Mary from the stain of original sin has always fascinated and occupied the minds of Christians. How was it that Christian believers were led over centuries of reflection to believe in the Immaculate Conception?

Various points from the Bible impressed these praying Christians seeking the light of God’s revelation for their minds. One was the thoroughness of God’s preparation. They saw that God had a plan and a purpose for creation (see Eph 1:9-10;Col1:25-27) and that each believer was chosen in Christ ‘before the foundation of the world” (Eph 1:4). God prepares for the future – a truth expressed in each prophecy of the Messiah and in each “type” or forerunner of Jesus in the Old Testament (Isaac, Joseph, Joshua, David, Jeremiah, to name a few). God did not choose Mary to be the mother of His Son as an afterthought.

When Christians prayed about the holiness of the priests who ministered in the sanctuary (see Lev 21:6; 22:3), they realized how much more holy must be the one being from whom the Holy One of God took human flesh. If the temple in Jerusalemdemanded such ritual purity, would not the temple where the Lord took on flesh need to be free of the stain of sin and impurity? Similar reflections focused on the word translated as “overshadow” in relation to Mary (Lk 1:35), a word with strong Old Testament and Exodus connections. Comparisons were also made with the sanctification of John the Baptist in his mother’s womb (Lk 1:15,41,44).

All these thoughts were present in the minds of many praying Christians as they pondered the meaning of the angel Gabriel’s address to Mary: “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!” (Lk 1:28). Today, let us ponder God’s perfect preparation for the incarnation. Does it not seem right that God would want a pure and spotless vessel as the first earthly abode for His pure and spotless Son? What God does is sometimes too great for us to imagine or understand. Only with the aid of the Holy Spirit can we confront this mystery.

Additional notes: The early Fathers of the Church, beginning with Justin would see in the above story of Annunciation the reversal of the process of sin: Mary listened to the angel; she was obedient to God’s words; in a more profound sense she is the mother of all those who live through the redeeming death of her Son who finally conquers evil, Satan and death

Short Prayer: Heavenly Father, we rejoice in the privilege of our Lady’s Immaculate Conception, which preserved her from the stain of sin by the power of Christ’s redeeming death, and prepared her to be the Mother of God. By Your Holy Spirit, teach us to be ever humble, obedient, and faithful to Your call to holiness, hence imitating our Mother, Mary. Thank you Father. Amen.