Mary’s greatness

Tuesday, July 23, 2019
16th Week in
Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Ex 14:21—15:1 Gospel:
Matthew 12:46-50
While Jesus was still talking to the people, his mother and his brothers wanted to speak to him and they waited outside. So someone said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are just outside; they want to speak with you.”
Jesus answered, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” Then he pointed to his disciples and said, “Look! Here are my mother and my brothers. Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is for me brother, sister, or mother.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
“Who is my mother?” Jesus asked this question in reaction to the report that his mother was looking for him. This sounds scandalous especially to us, Filipinos, who hold mothers in high esteem. But taken in context, Jesus’ question “Who is my mother” provokes a deeper reflection about Mary’s identity. But then Jesus himself answered his own question. He said: “Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is for me, mother…”. In effect Jesus was saying that Mary was great not only because she was his biological mother but also because she excelled in obeying God’s Will.
When the angel announced God’s plan to her, the heavenly hosts held their breath until she said yes. She did! In so doing, Mary entered into a special relationship with the Trinity. She no longer was merely “Daughter of the Father” in the order of Creation, but also became “Spouse” of the Holy Spirit by her ‘yes’ at the Annunciation. Above all, she also became “Mother of the Son of God” by the mystery of the Incarnation. No mortal creature has come this close to the life of the Trinity.
Her greatness was not a one-time windfall that came after the Incarnation. The implications of that Yes were scary but she embraced them as they came. In this way she became Jesus’ partner in saving the world. With Jesus’ submission to the Father’s Will during his Agony at the Garden of Gethsemane, and with Mary’s “be it done unto me according you your Word” at the Annunciation, both worked together to save the world. Some camps in the Church would like to declare Mary as co-redemptrix. Efforts to proclaim her as such have been stalled by theological squabbles on possible adverse implications. But history has it: Mary was God’s co-worker in the salvific act.

Thus when Jesus asked “Who is my mother?” and when he answered his own question with “Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is for me, mother”, Jesus gave Mary the highest form of affirmation God can give to a creature. This woman happens to be our mother too! – (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., D.M.

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