Mary wants to get you to heaven

Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent Year C

by Fr. Tommy Lane

At the time of Jesus, many Jewish people were familiar with part of our first reading today from the prophet Micah, the part about their future ruler being born in Bethlehem:

And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
since from you shall come a ruler,
who is to shepherd my people Israel.
(Mic 5:1. In some translations 5:2)

Because of this prophecy from Micah, the Messiah was expected to be born in Bethlehem. When the wise men went to Herod enquiring where the new king was born, Herod was disturbed and summoned the Jewish religious leaders. They explained to Herod that part of our first reading today about Bethlehem (Matt 2:1-6). We read in John’s Gospel that once when Jesus was teaching in the temple there was a discussion if Jesus might be the Messiah. Some said he could not be the Messiah because he was from Galilee and Scripture said the Messiah would come from Bethlehem (John 7:40-42). So as Mary and Joseph journeyed to Bethlehem for what is described by Luke as a census (Luke 2:1-5), they obviously knew the prophecy from Micah was going to be fulfilled while they would be there—that Jesus would be born while they would be in Bethlehem and what Micah had pronounced eight centuries previously was taking place wondrously in their lives. Mary and Joseph realized they were humble instruments in God’s magnificent plan to bring Jesus into the world at Bethlehem.

That plan of God was, as the conclusion to our second reading today tells us, that we be made holy by Jesus offering his body once and for all instead of all the animal sacrifices in the temple (Heb 10:10). Those animal sacrifices took place day after day and year after year but never brought about a change in humanity. They were ineffective. But Jesus’ sacrifice of himself achieved our salvation so the reading concludes by telling us that Jesus’ offering of himself was once for all (Heb 10:10). The reading makes it clear that Jesus was born to die for us. So, there is an arc, so to speak, from Jesus’ birth to his death, an arc from his becoming flesh in the womb of Mary to Mary standing beneath Jesus dying on the cross offering himself as the one and only perfect sacrifice for all time capable of changing us, saving us, making us holy.

As Mary stood beneath the cross, Jesus made public her role as our spiritual Mother as he said, “Woman, behold your Son” and to John he said, “Behold, your mother.” (John 19:27) Mary had become our spiritual Mother when she consented to become the mother of Jesus and what happened at Calvary was only making public that she was our spiritual Mother. We see Our Lady as spiritual Mother in the Gospel today going to visit her kinswoman Elizabeth (Luke 1:39-45). She brought Jesus in her womb to Elizabeth and as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary, the unborn John the Baptist leaped. Of course, there were practical reasons why Our Lady went to visit Elizabeth. Elizabeth was already six months pregnant and being past the age for childbearing, most likely needed the assistance of Our Lady during her last trimester. We see Our Lady in her motherly caring role at Cana asking Jesus to do something when the wine ran out so that the couple would not be embarrassed (John 2). In the last book of the New Testament, the Book of Revelation, we see Our Lady continuing in her spiritual role after her assumption into heaven. There we are called the spiritual offspring of Our Lady (Rev 12:17); we are her spiritual offspring because she is our spiritual Mother.

In her role as our spiritual Mother, Our Lady has one task—to bring us all closer to Jesus to get us to heaven. Our Lady wants you close to Jesus so you can get to heaven. Spend time with Our Lady in prayer every day. She is the mother who is always there for you. We see that in Guadalupe. When Our Lady appeared to St. Juan Diego, she told him she is the mother of the true God and that she is a mother full of mercy and love for all who love her and trust her, to hear their complaints and comfort their afflictions and sufferings. She asked Juan Diego to go to the bishop to ask for a chapel to be built there and dedicated to her. The bishop didn’t pay much attention to him. Our Lady sent Juan Diego back to the bishop again and the bishop asked for a sign. Juan Diego had to take care of his sick uncle and was not in the usual place at the time Our Lady was supposed to appear to him giving him the sign for the bishop. It didn’t matter; she appeared to Juan Diego where he was. He was embarrassed but Our Lady said, “Am I not here, I who am your mother?”

As we see Our Lady visiting Elizabeth in the Gospel today, I think Our Lady would like us to know that she is always here for us, she who is our Mother. Since she is our spiritual Mother, and a mother loves all her children equally, in some inexplicable way I think we can see Our Lady loving each of us as much as she loves Jesus. She wants each of us to hear her say, “Am I not here, I who am your mother?” She brought Jesus into the world at Bethlehem as Micah predicted and as your spiritual Mother, she wants to bring you close to Jesus to get you to heaven.

© Fr. Tommy Lane 2024

This homily was delivered in a parish in Ireland.

More Homilies for the Fourth Sunday of Advent Year C

Mary, Spouse of the Holy Spirit and Mother of God

Stories: Strange light like embryo in Guadalupe