Mary, the Mother of Mercy made
Flesh, begins the events that reverse humanity’s downward spiral since the time
of Adam and Eve. At a time of darkness when humanity was most in need of a
Savior, Mary assented to the Holy Spirit through Gabriel’s visit, so that mercy
could be born into our hearts and minds. Mary’s magnanimity allowed her to
become the new mother of all the living and the dead. Mary answers the
questions we hear echoed in the first reading when God asks, “Where are you?” because
Mary is the one who places us with her son.
Where are you? This is often a
question we ask of God. Were you there when this unfortunate event happened in
my life? Did you see what happened, O God? I thought you might have been
around. Why didn’t you take care of me? I pleaded to you. I must not really
matter all that much to you because you do not show yourself to me or talk to
me. I’ve spent some many hours in prayer begging for your help and yet you
remain silent. Where are you? is a perennial question we have of God.
Our daily prayer is punctuated
with our search for God, and as we are not accustomed to listening for God’s
voice, we think God is not answering our prayers. We could not be further from
the truth. A problem with our prayer is that we are putting ourselves in the
place of God. We search, we evaluate, we judge. That is God’s domain. Let God
be the judge. Sometimes we do not realize how controlling we really are!
Sometimes we are wrapped up in our drama and chaos that we cannot recognize
those who are trying to help us. So, we are asking God, Where are you? While
God is asking us, “Where are you? Why won’t you let me come close? I want to be
with you.”
Many times, we get in the way of
seeing God. The walls we once built to protect us from harm also serve to cut
us off from one another. Whether we are widowed, orphaned, from a family with a
divorce, gay, straight, woman, man, a from a particular race, culture, or language, we
find there are walls to help us and harm us. On top of that, we add other
factors of our self-image: I’m not attractive enough, never went to college,
don’t like my body weight, have an addiction or some disability, never feel
heard or acknowledged when we speak, or we feel as if we could never measure
up. These conditions in our life set the wall a little higher as they protect
us from harm and keep us safe. Each negative experience we face, if we do not
confront it positively, adds another brick to the wall. Sometimes these walls
can get so high that we can only see ourselves, but God stands both inside and
outside the wall asking, gently, probingly, “Where are you? Will you tear down
this wall with me?” It is God’s mercy that has no limits and can penetrate any
wall – even the walls of death and sin.
Mary’s special role in our
salvation is to place us with her son. She is able to place us before God with
friendly intercessions. As we get to know her more familiarly, she is able to
tell God, “I know this friend well. I recommend that you cherish this person
deeply.” Sometimes mothers have a way of representing their children very well.
Mary wants the best for us and can soothe our wounds and encourage us with hope
to do things we never have done before. Mary gives us courage. It is one thing
to know that the walls around us have to come down, it is quite another thing
to have someone help us dismantle the wall. It is tiring work. It is risky
work. It is constant work. Mary wants to be our friend on the journey, and it
is much less lonely to do this work with her by our side.
When I get weary and feel low
and don’t have the energy or courage to talk directly to Jesus, I meet Mary in
our previously arranged place for conversation – her kitchen. I hear her
singing as she is baking. She carries a nice tune – like a mezzo-soprano and
she is baking something tasty. I come sit at the table and watch her and we
have casual conversation. She then says something like, “You are not singing
today. You don’t have a song in your heart. Tell me what is burdening you?”
Eventually I get around to it and I feel so much better for talking about my
fears, self-doubts, and feelings. She typically has good advice that I don’t
want to hear, but she is gently intrusive into my life that makes me get up the
courage and energy to tell Jesus what is going on with me. Sometimes she takes
me by the hand and leads me to him; Other times, she says, “Get up. You are a
grown man. You know what to do. Go see him.? But she is always acting for my
own good. She knows her role in my salvation. It is in placing me with her son
before God. Together, they encourage me to take another brick off my wall so I
can love and see myself the way Christ sees me. When I do that, I can love and
see others the way Christ sees them. I always have some glimpse of their mercy,
a mercy that extends the limits, a mercy that has no frontiers, a mercy that
heals, forgives and encourages, a mercy that makes me thankful.
This time when God asks, “Where
are you?” I can say: Here I am, right in your arms where I belong, right where
Mary placed me.
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