An Empty Space in which God can work
Luke 2, 16-21
Today we celebrate Mary as Mother of God.
But her greatness does not lie in this. Instead, it lies in her readiness to embrace God’s work within her. What makes a creature great is the ability to recognize him/herself as a “field” in which God can work. Mary, who is “blessed among all women,” a person completely divested of self, offers her life to God as an empty space in which he can dwell and work because there is no longer a “me” there, taking up all the room.
Simply put, Mary, Mother of God, can be likened to fertile soil–a ploughed field into which a seed can fall and blossom. Once a seed has been sown, it does what comes naturally to it: it sprouts and begins to grow (cf. Mt. 4:27f.), but how this happens is a mystery to the farmer. The energy, the potential for growth, is contained wholly in the seed–all it needs is fertile soil in order to bear fruit.
Mary is a patient mother. Like all mothers, she has to wait nine months before she can hold in her arms the flesh of her flesh, because God does not bypass the human route in favor of other ones. The birth of Jesus teaches us that he works according to the rhythm of human life. His “time” is that of human beings and of nature, which includes periods of waiting and growth. And Love knows how to wait.
Taken from the homilies of Fr. Paolo Scquizzato
May God be gracious to us and bless us;
may his face shine upon us.
