Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time when she who is to give birth has borne,
And the rest of his brethren shall return to the children of Israel.
A long time ago, I used to enjoy the Saturday morning television show, The Lone Ranger. The program invariably ended as our Hero rode out of town and someone asked,
"He helped us, and we don't even know his name. Who was that masked man?"
"Don't you know? He's the Lone Ranger!"
I never questioned the premise that a single gunman with his well armed sidekick (a native American named "Tonto") could bring peace and restore harmony to a troubled western town. With that and other programs the United States had begun its pendulum swing back from preferring the collective over the individual. The Great Depression and the Second World War had required that everyone pull together, regardless of class, race, religion, or sexual preference. There were no lone heroes nor space for individual liberties.
By the mid-sixties the pendulum was swinging hard toward individuality, and the recognition of everyone's right to feel, think, act, and experience their own unique talents, needs, desires, and preferences. Many believed in a Utopian Individualism: "If you do your thing, and I do my thing, and everyone does their thing, the cogs of society will mesh and the system will function perfectly."
In those days Jesus was also described as a lone individual, a hero who single-handedly saves the universe. He needed no church, and no one needed a church to know the LORD.
In 2022, the pendulum has begun its return to the middle and we're recognizing the need to pull together. We remember that Jesus was a member of an extended family. No one needs to stand alone; nor should they. And Mary, in particular, stands out as his connection of flesh and blood to every human being. Our daughter and sister bears our savior.
Nor was she a female lone ranger, without family or kin. There is ancient, non-biblical literature that names her parents, Saints Joachim and Ann. While we cannot prove through birth certificates or baptismal records, whether Mary's parents had those names, no one doubts that she had parents, family, and friends; and really lived like any other woman, a member of our human race.
If Jesus was not "born of a woman, born under the law," he could not be our savior. And so we celebrate God's plan which was conceived in the infinity of time before time; and was fulfilled when she who was to give birth had borne. Without believing in any cockeyed theory of history like determinism or Marxism we can see God's hand in Salvation History.
Nine months after the feast of the Immaculate Conception we celebrate her nativity. Mary's birthday represents the dawn of our salvation as the sky changes from black to dark blue to bright pink. We have been watching the eastern sky since the darkness of our sins overwhelmed it.
And with her birth our hope is given substance. It's not a misreading of ancient prophecies. The LORD is true to his promises; he does not abandon his people. The sun is rising and our salvation is near at hand!
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.