MARY, THE IMMACULATE ONE
Catholic convert Scott Hahn narrated an exchange he had with a professed atheist. One day, he was lecturing on the philosophical proofs for the existence of God. After the talk, an avowed atheist spoke up and said, “Professor, if God did not exist, we would invent Him anyway.” In response, Scott Hahn remarked, “If God does exist, we would invent atheism anyway.”
What do we make of the atheist’s remark? For him, God was just an invention of the human mind, an infantile projection of human insecurity, of man’s inability to cope up with the mysteries of life. What do we make of Scott Hahn’s reply? Now, why would we invent atheism? It is because we do not want a demanding God. We do not want a God who will challenge us or tell us things that we do not want to hear. It would have to be a convenient God, who will never make us feel uncomfortable or bring us out of our comfort zone. That is the God of atheism. And that is no God at all.
Mary, in today’s Gospel, is a corrective to the modern-day attitude of rebelling against a God who can make us uncomfortable. We have heard the Gospel of the Annunciation countless times, yet sometimes we fail to appreciate how disturbing it was for Mary. With the revelation that she was to be the Mother of God, her life was turned upside down. Surely she must have been branded as a lunatic with her claim of a virginal conception. Her reputation must have been besmirched. She was put in real danger of being stoned to death, were it not for Joseph’s selfless sacrifice of not exposing her to the Law. In the face of all this, Mary’s response was, “I am the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to Your Word.”
What can we learn from Mary’s openness to the Divine interference in her life? God comes to us not only to make us feel good; He comes to make us good. And it is only after being good, that we shall genuinely feel good about ourselves. Being good entails a decisive choice of the good over the bad. That will entail purification, purgation, a dying to one’s self. And that is difficult. Therein lies the beauty of Mary, the Immaculate One! Fr. Joel Jason
REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Describe your brand of Christianity. Is it the cafeteria brand where you only choose to follow those things that appeal to you?
Today, make this prayer your own: “Lord, if I am disturbed, comfort me. But when I am too comfortable, disturb me.”
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