Mary, Mother of God: God's revelation of connection

Why was the Son of God born as human?

Philosophers, theologians, thinkers looking at our contemporary culture; examining aspects of the violence, the turn towards fringe groups, conspiracies, the rise of pornography, social media et al, addictions, rates of depression, narcissism… find that loneliness/alienation plays an important part, if not a vital cause for so much.  Ironic that in a time when we can talk with people on a video who live on the other side of the world, we can feel so disconnected from others. This disconnect not only is people without people, but people will feel there is nothing in the universe; it is simply cold, material, a nihilism.  And because we do not feel or experience that intimacy, that connection, we try to find it, or make meaning in groups that we seemingly offer it: gangs, white supremacists, nationalists…and at times others will take advantage of this.  Or because we feel like nothing, everyone also is nothing too, and therefore those lives can be ended.

This is devastating us; our world, our young persons, our communities.

We are created to be connected, to people, to the world, to the universe. It is part of being a human person. Healthy human persons have connections, feel that connection, experience a connection. When we belong and feel accompanied in life, we find purpose.

Dorothy Day said: “We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community.”

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. Think of the irony of this; the created one, the human person gives birth to the uncreated, the infinite one. It seems like a contradiction.  Yet that apparent contradiction invites us to enter into the mystery. When we do, we see this is not just about Mary, this whole Solemnity is about the reason for the season, Jesus and what he means for us.

God so much wants us to know that we are connected; God wants us to know that we have meaning and purpose, to experience this. God so wants this that God willingly gave of God’s self and became human; born through Mary.

This is an intimacy beyond all expectations.

Jesus reveals God’s overwhelming desire for our unity with God.  Jesus, the Son of God, fully God and fully human reveals to us our value, our dignity, our true reality as Children of God. 

Our very nature then is to be as God, to work with God to bring forth the life that is present in this world, to bring forth the goodness that is within this world and within ourselves and others.  Our very nature is to be one with God.

Jesus reveals to us how we live our purpose; through our own giving of self for others, e.g. Love.  It is through healing and reconciling; it is through building up community. It is through those virtues of generosity, kindness, patience, prudence, wisdom.

It is living with and for others.

In doing so, our universe expands, our connections are built, our sense of isolation, loneliness becomes healed in Christ.

Our way of being parish is belonging leads to believing: we strive to create community which then draws people deeper and deeper into believing the Truth that Jesus Brings.  We work to create community within which that healing power of Christ is made present and real.

Dorothy Day experienced this in her life: wandering about through life until she became connected to the Church and community. She found her meaning and purpose. She now is on a path towards sainthood. 

Thomas Merton, a contemporary of hers, also wandered about in the world and academia. He too found the Church, eventually becoming a Trappist monk and offering to the world an insight into God. He too began to find meaning and beauty in this world.

Certainly both struggled with this and in their lives, but they persisted and became true to themselves.

And always there is the work of Fr. Greg Boyle in Los Angeles with the men and women of the gangs. These people who search for community, meaning, but finding it the wrong way, in a life of violence. Fr. Boyle reaches out and offers them an option that is better. He creates community that forms life and offers opportunity and dignity.  

There is the L’Arche society formed to show persons with disabilities their inherent worth and dignity. They too live in community, assisting each other.

But this all comes from God reaching out to us, inviting us into community. Our Eucharist is God’s invitation and grace for this. We come each week to remember, to give thanks and to be reminded of our work to go and do the same.

We come and receive the very person of Jesus, resurrected, so that we will have tangible proof of God’s desire; and we need not feel so lonely and isolated any longer.