Mary, Mother of God: Luke 2:16-21

Today, as the world marks the beginning of a new secular year, the Church invites us to celebrate one of the greatest feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This coincidence is not merely a matter of the calendar; it is a profound theological statement. As we stand at the threshold of a new year, we look to Mary, the Theotokos (God-bearer), who stood at the threshold of a new age for all humanity.

Mary: The First Disciple and Mother

In recent decades, the Church has deepened its appreciation for Mary as the "first disciple"—the one who models what it means to follow Jesus with perfect fidelity. However, today’s feast focuses on a role even more fundamental: her biological and spiritual motherhood. Before Mary became a disciple of Jesus, he was a disciple of hers. In the quiet home of Nazareth, it was through Mary and Joseph that Jesus was initiated into the religious traditions of his people. He learned the psalms from her lips and the stories of the Covenant from her heart.

Even more essentially, Mary provided the very "yes" that allowed the Word to become flesh. She was the flesh and blood from which the human body of Jesus was formed. As St. Paul reminds us in today’s second reading, Jesus was "born of a woman." This phrase is not a minor detail; it is the anchor of our salvation. It means that God’s first dwelling on earth was not a temple made of stone, but the womb of a woman.

A Dogma of Faith: Theotokos

The title "Mother of God" is among Mary’s most exalted, but its origin is rooted in a deep truth about Jesus himself. In AD 431, the Council of Ephesus formally affirmed that Mary is truly the Mother of God. Later, in AD 451, the Council of Chalcedon affirmed this as a dogma of the Church.

This declaration was as much about the Son as it was about the Mother. To call Mary the Mother of God is to insist that Jesus is not two separate persons—one human and one divine—but one Person with two natures. Because Jesus is truly God and truly man, Mary is not just the mother of a great prophet or a holy man; she is the mother of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. As Elizabeth cried out in greeting, "Why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" (Lk 1:43).

The Heart of a Contemplative

Despite these high titles, the Gospel of Luke brings us back to a simple, humble scene in Bethlehem. We see Mary, Joseph, and the infant lying in a manger. There is no palace, no army, only the visit of lowly shepherds. Here, we encounter Mary as a contemplative. Luke tells us that "Mary treasured all these words, pondering them in her heart" (Lk 2:19).

What was she pondering? She was weighing the extraordinary promises of the angels against the vulnerability of her newborn child. This child was entirely dependent on her for survival. Without her motherly care and Joseph’s protection, the Word made flesh would have had no earthly future. Mary’s identity was forever woven into the identity of the Savior. She was the mother of Emmanuel—God-with-us.

Jesus himself eventually expanded this definition of motherhood. He declared, "My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and put it into practice" (Luke 8:21). Mary is the preeminent example of this. She did not just bear Christ physically; she conceived him in her heart through faith long before she conceived him in her womb. By listening to the Word and putting it into practice, she shows us how we, too, can "give birth" to Christ’s presence in our own lives and in the world today.

The Covenant and the Name

Today’s Gospel also mentions the circumcision of the Lord. In the Jewish tradition, circumcision was the physical sign of a covenant relationship with God—a promise that God would be a caring Father and the person would live as a member of God's holy people. By submitting Jesus to this rite, Mary and Joseph showed their total obedience to God’s law.

At this ceremony, the child was given the name Jesus, a name chosen by God and delivered by an angel. This name, meaning "God saves," defines his entire mission. As we begin a new year, we do so under the protection of this Name and the intercession of the Mother who first whispered it.

Entering the New Year with Hope

The feast of Mary’s motherhood is the most appropriate way to begin the secular year. It reminds us that we do not face the unknown future alone. Because of the "new age" ushered in by Mary’s Son, we have been adopted as sons and daughters of God. The Spirit of the Son has been poured into our hearts, allowing us to cry out, "Abba, Father!"

As we look toward the months ahead, we likely have resolutions to keep and challenges to face. Following through on these resolutions is not down to our willpower alone. We have been "greatly graced" through Mary’s Son. His power is available to us every day to enable us to make new beginnings.

Mary is the only person in Scripture present at every major juncture of Jesus’ life, from the wooden manger to the wooden Cross. She remains present to us now, always pointing away from herself and toward her Son, saying: "Look, here is your Savior."

When Mary gave birth, it was a new beginning for the entire universe. Today, let us make our own new beginning in the power and strength of the Holy Spirit.