O
marvelous exchange which we celebrate tonight and which is summed up in the
words of our Marian antiphon: “Man’s creator has become man, born of a virgin.
We are made sharers in his divinity, who deigned to share in our humanity.” But
I would like to shift the focus a little to the woman, the mother, Our Lady,
who makes this marvelous exchange possible by accepting God’s desire to come so
close to his people and in such an ordinary way. The Gospel proclaims this
mystery in a few short words: “…the time came for her to have her child…”
“…(T)he
time came for her to have her child…” Isn’t that why we are all here, to
accompany the mother and welcome the child. The world is going about its normal
business with rulers trying to boost tax collection by issuing decrees; simple
people being interrupted in their daily lives at the words of the elite, and the disagreeable graveyard shift left to the shepherds. And yet in the midst of
it all, the Spirit of the Lord has turned what is so ordinary – a woman giving
birth to a child – into a revelation of divine mercy.
Divine
mercy revealed in such an ordinary event! Isn’t that God’s way? When the time
comes for a woman – any woman – to have her child, are we not drawn out of
ourselves with care and concern? I think God wants it that way. He wants us to
realize the exchange that is taking place and the mysterious mission which
women carry. New life comes to us through them. And the fact that they willingly
accept this mission gives us new hope – no willingness, no new life; no new
life, no hope. Even though there are so many forces working against their
willingness, women carry on, often against great odds. They do it for the
vulnerable child, but also to fulfill an inner mission, which could be called
an exchange of love. That is why it is good for us to gather in prayer and
vigil to support them.
Of course, how much more sublime is the
exchange we are witnessing tonight. The time has come when a lowly handmaid
willingly brings forth a child who will set us free. What care she lavished on him!
How she prepared a place for him! With what love she carried him wherever she
went, all the while awaiting her hour. Mary shows us the willingness that we
must have to meet our hour and to bring new life into the world in whatever way
God wants.
O marvelous exchange! The natural gift
and capacity of a woman to give her body and blood for the life of another
become the door to our salvation. Her willingness unlocks the door. And God accepts
the exchange and grants the gift of a savior, the Lamb of God, the infant
Jesus, the Son of the Father! Now the Son of Man has a place to lay his head.
Now the angels have ample reason to proclaim the glory of God. Now the
shepherds hasten, like us, to see this marvelous exchange! And it is all summed
up in these simple words: “…the time came for her to have her child.”
Madonna and Child by Orazio Gentileschi. Mid-night Mass homily by Dom Vincent.
