Homily: New Year - A or Mother of God

Cycle A -New Year / Mary, Mother of God

Num 6:22-27; Gal 4:4-7; Lk 2:16-21


One more year has been added to the pages of history. The year 2010 passed by leaving its joys, and pangs of grief. The earthquake in Haiti (in January) resulted in the deaths of 200,000 to 250,000 people. The floods which swept through Pakistan (in July) hit the country very badly. Fatalities in the floods reached almost 2,000 people, and further affected 20 million people. Torrential rains (in May) across Southern China resulted in over 3,000 fatalities, and over 1,000 people missing. The Earthquake in Yushu, Qinghai, China took away 2,698 people and 270 were missing. It left another 12, 135 people injured. The Chilean earthquake resulted in the deaths of 521 people. Natural disasters and human made disasters stole away the life of a quarter million people.

When we look back we find our own little sorrows too - the death of a dear one; loss of job; loss of wealth; sufferings due to illness, financial constraints, misunderstandings and so on. But along with them we have occasions of great blessings, too. The greatest blessing that we have received is that we are here today. While the dreams of a quarter million people faded away, we are given one more opportunity to leave our footprints on the sands of time.

Once a village blacksmith had a vision. An angel of the Lord came to him and said The Lord has sent me. The time has come for you to take up your place in his kingdom.’ I thank God for thinking of me’, said the blacksmith, ‘but, as you know, the season for sowing the crops will soon be here. The people of the village will need their ploughs repaired, and their horses shod. Do you think I might put off taking my place in the kingdom until I have finished?’ The angel looked lovingly, and vanished. The blacksmith continued with his work, and was almost finished, when he heard of a neighbour who fell ill in the middle of the planting season. The next time he saw the angel, the blacksmith pointed towards the barren fields, and pleaded with the angel. ‘Do you think eternity can hold off a little longer? If I don’t finish this job, my friend’s family will suffer.’ Again, the angel smiled, and vanished. The blacksmith’s friend recovered, but another’s barn burned down, and a third was deep in sorrow at the death of his wife. And the fourth… and so on. Whenever the angel reappeared, the blacksmith drew the angel’s eyes to where the suffering was. One evening, the blacksmith began to think of the angel, and how he had put him off for such a long time. He felt very old and tired, and he prayed ‘Lord, if you would like to send your angel again, I think I would like to see him now’. He’d no sooner spoken than the angel appeared before him. ‘If you still want to take me’, said the blacksmith, ‘I am now ready to take my place in the kingdom of the Lord’. The angel looked at the blacksmith, and smiled, as he said ‘Where do you think you have been living all these years?’ –(Jack McArdle in ‘And that’s the Gospel truth!’).

In the New Year our resolution should be, to be the heralds of the Kingdom of God, by doing the little that we can to ease the pain, to bring peace in the family, to weld up the broken relation between our neighbours, to bring together the estranged husband and wife, and to lead back the children who have abandoned their parents. Little roses spread fragrance in a large garden, and make their presence felt. Likewise every act of kindness, however insignificant they are, will have their own importance. William Wordsworth wrote, "That best portion of a good man's life is his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love."

Mother Theresa worked with great dedication but she could not bring comfort to all the orphaned or abandoned children, She could not provide shelter to all the children living in poor housing conditions, she could not feed every child living in impoverished conditions and she could not provide education to all the children who lacked who did not attend school. Gandhiji dedicated his life for the nation (India), and he wanted to improve the life of the Harijans. But he could not elevate all the Harijans Martin Luther King sacrificed his life for defending the dignity of human beings, and fought against human prejudices, but he could not wipe out racial discrimination altogether. The little that they could do has become great. If we can help one in our life, our life is fulfilled. “Build a little fence of trust around today; Fill the space with loving deeds, and therein stay. Look not through the sheltering bars upon tomorrow; God will help thee bear what comes of joy and sorrow. Wrote Mary F. Butts.

Greater occasions are given to those who use the insignificant chances. The story of the Talents narrates: one is entrusted with one talent, another two, and the third five. The one who got one talent ignored it; others put their talents to work. If the one who had received one talent had put his talent to work, the response of the master would have been the same to him, too, “come and enter into the joy of your master”. The New Year is a gift for us to make use of the opportunities given to us to work among our brothers, to work with our brothers, and to work for our brothers. Remember the words of Mother Teresa "If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten we belong to each other."

In an art class the students painted a large portrait. But the eyes looked very dull. The Art teacher dipped the brush into the white paint and put a small dot in the centre of the pupil. The portrait gleamed with life. The world is longing for our little strokes. Be not hesitant to act. The New Year is ahead of us prompting us to begin, and we should begin from ourselves.

"If there is light in the soul, there will be beauty in the person.
If there is beauty in the person, there will be harmony in the house.
If there is harmony in the house, there will be order in the nation.
If there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world."
- Chinese Proverb

Today we also celebrate the "Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God." Mary found out God’s plan for her through the daily events in life, through the people among whom she lived, and through prayer. Today’s Gospel reading emphasizes this fact with the statement, “As for Mary, she treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart.” Hence she was able to transform her life as God wanted. So, there was light in her soul, and beauty in her person. Our beloved mother, Mother of God, urges us also to begin with little strokes. In the New Year let’s all rally behind her.

May God bless us through the intercession of Mary, The Mother of God.

Satish

Anecdote

1) Smiling child and his mother: There is a beautiful, little story about a long, tedious train journey made, one Christmas day, by some elderly residents of a nursing home who were on their way to a vacation spot. At one station, a young mother with a small child entered the train. The child smiled at all the grim faces around him and began moving from one lap to another talking, shouting with joy and chatting with every one. Instantly, the grim and silent atmosphere in the train was changed to one of joy and happiness. Today we remember with joy and gratitude, how Mary and her Divine Son Jesus transformed a hopeless, joyless and sinful world into a place of joy and happiness.