Today we celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. This feast is a celebration of Mary who was chosen by God to be the mother of Jesus and therefore the mother of God. This message is announced to Mary by the angel Gabriel:
“Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High…”
Mary was chosen for service and calls herself the “servant” or “handmaid” of the Lord as she responds to God’s call: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”
St. Paul tells us in today’s second reading that each one of us has also been chosen to be servants of the Lord:
“…he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ…In him we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will, so that we might exist for the praise of his glory…”
Like Mary we have been “destined” or predestined “before the foundation of the world.” We are chosen “to be holy and without blemish…for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ.” We know God chose Mary to be the mother of God but why did God choose each one of us? Jesus gives us the answer in his Sermon on the Mount. We were chosen to be disciples of Jesus to draw people to God:
“You are the light of the world…. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.” (Matthew 5:14, 16).
We preach the Gospel by our “good deeds,” by the way we live and show God’s love and compassion to all. We preach the Gospel when we feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, and visit the homebound and imprisoned. We are chosen for lives of service not for ourselves but to draw people to the one true God and to give glory and praise to God. God’s will is that all people be saved and he has chosen us to spread his message!
Image: “Mary, Mother of God” by Sunfrog1 is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.