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| Mary Eileen Collingwood ARCWP |
Homily Starter – Third Sunday in Advent 2019
The four weeks of Advent begin our liturgical year, and all the readings chosen for this season are documented through the male perspective—as are all the books of the Bible.
As I reviewed numerous commentaries on the readings chosen for this Third Sunday in Advent, I got very bored with the same translations, the same perspectives, the same conclusions that I’ve heard over and over and over again throughout the centuries.
It amazes me that during this whole time of Advent, the scripture readings written and chosen by men speak of conflicts and the oppression of people, of what we need to think and say, about how to prepare for Jesus’ coming, yet never once reflected on the female figure that brought this all on—that made it possible for Jesus to be born at all—save the incongruous feast of the Immaculate Conception that is inserted in the Advent Season to assure us that Mary had to be “purified” by an ill-conceived church dogma that states she was actually born without sin. No male who inseminated her had to be purified—only Mary. Oh yes, that’s right! No male did inseminate her according to that doctrine—the female “Spirit” did!
Truth be told, the season of Advent is not primarily about the coming of Jesus, our vision for a more peaceful world—whether in terms of the end times and Second Coming, or in the liturgical readings that primarily recall Israel’s faith and hope in God, the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, and directives from Paul on how we should believe and behave. The perspective of men continues as the readings conclude with the Gospel that describes the conditions of the pregnancy, Joseph’s response, the angel’s directive, and the purpose of the birth.
Truth be told, Advent is primarily about the Mother of Jesus. Her name is Miriam—Mary, in our translated context. This is her season to shine! The words from our psalm today are HER words! Her Magnificat! Her realization that she is pregnant with new life and, because of this, her whole world will change—indeed, the whole world has changed because of her pregnancy and the birthing her son, Jesus of Nazareth. And because Mary was willing to carry this child for nine months in her womb, the whole world did change. Her son transformed the way we see the hand of God in our lives, the way we understand the true Spirit of the Law, the way we are called to live in love with one another to bring about the true kinship of God.
In the words of scripture commentator Kenyatta Gilbert, “..news of Jesus’ coming provides reassurance because a coming Jesus brings reversals of circumstance.” And because of the willingness of Mary, circumstances did indeed reverse, and continue to change in our world today.
There was a young woman, married and pregnant for the first time, who shared with me that her mother was not giving her the attention during her pregnancy that she expected-- at least the degree of attention she believed she needed from her mother. This young woman felt isolated because her mother was not being solicitous or visiting her much at all. This new mother felt cut off and isolated and in reality, was lamenting her perceived separation and lack of support from her own mother. Because of this, she felt robbed of the opportunity to share the emotions and physical changes in her body, or the dreams for her unborn child that she was experiencing, with her mother. She had hoped to get some consolation and support and was more than a little unnerved because she didn’t.
Now can you imagine that Mary, the soon-to-be mother of Jesus, who was pregnant, unmarried, and experienced all kinds of emotional and physical changes, can relate to this young woman today, after all these years? Of course she can! Women continue to get pregnant, hormones continue to wreak havoc, and dreams continue to occur. And all these experiences, are intended to be shared with a trusted someone. The reality is that women need other women!
Using male vocabulary, we are led to the “end game” with the readings that are chosen for this Season. I caution everyone to rethink this approach to Advent. The word means “coming.” And, as we know, the world is constantly coming at us before our very eyes. We are called to “become” over and over again. Meditating on a woman’s pregnancy can be transformative for all people as we embrace this call to bring forth new life over and over and over again.
The time is now for women to recount their experiences of relating to their Creator Spirit, and the exclusive privilege they have in bearing new human life in the intimacy of their own hearts and bodies. Each child born has the potential to bring hope of new life and a refreshing perspective to our world. Each maternal gesture of love embodies the Divine Feminine for humankind. We can prepare for this new life, or just ignore its impact. But life goes on whether we are ready or not.
I believe Mary had much more to say. Women need to be her voice today.
Your thoughts: What words can we use to describe the primary role Mary
played in the Advent “coming” of her son, Jesus?
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