Nativity of Mary
We celebrate only three birthdays in the Bible. Jesus, of course, St John, and today, the Blessed Mother Mary. The gospel of Matthew gives us the genealogy of Jesus, complete with all those ancient names. I still struggle with pronunciations but have gotten better at it as I have learned more about each of Jesus’ ancestors.
Now I can look over this amazing history and see how God’s grace has been working continuously from the beginning. Even the worst in this list of names worked for the good of God through His grace. If I had been chosen to choose the ancestors for Jesus, I would have spent a great deal of time looking for the best, according to my criteria. Now as I think about it, my criteria probably would not have been all that good.
What is most important is to see God’s grace working. I will not go through the whole list but just a couple of people.
Look at the grace Joseph received. He was going to divorce Mary. He had every right to. Even the law supported his decision for divorce. Instead, he accepted God’s grace to act with charity and forgiveness.
Look at Mary, a mere child. She could have said no to the angel. Her life would have been less painful. She was warned this was not going to be easy. But with God’s grace she chose charity and forgiveness.
Oh, one more person. Do you do just what you are supposed to do? Just follow the rules? Or do you choose charity and forgiveness even when you know you will not receive anything in return?
May the Lord bless you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen