20200822 SHARING IN CHRIST’S KINGSHIP WITH MARY
First reading | Isaiah 9:1-7 © |
A Son is given to us
The people that walked in darkness
has seen a great light;
on those who live in a land of deep shadow
a light has shone.
You have made their gladness greater,
you have made their joy increase;
they rejoice in your presence
as men rejoice at harvest time,
as men are happy when they are dividing the spoils.
For the yoke that was weighing on him,
the bar across his shoulders,
the rod of his oppressor,
these you break as on the day of Midian.
For all the footgear of battle,
every cloak rolled in blood,
is burnt,
and consumed by fire.
For there is a child born for us,
a son given to us
and dominion is laid on his shoulders;
and this is the name they give him:
Wonder-Counsellor, Mighty-God,
Eternal-Father, Prince-of-Peace.
Wide is his dominion
in a peace that has no end,
for the throne of David
and for his royal power,
which he establishes and makes secure
in justice and integrity.
From this time onwards and for ever,
the jealous love of the Lord of Hosts will do this.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 112(113):1-8 © |
May the name of the Lord be blessed for evermore!
or
Alleluia!
Praise, O servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord!
May the name of the Lord be blessed
both now and for evermore!
May the name of the Lord be blessed for evermore!
or
Alleluia!
From the rising of the sun to its setting
praised be the name of the Lord!
High above all nations is the Lord,
above the heavens his glory.
May the name of the Lord be blessed for evermore!
or
Alleluia!
Who is like the Lord, our God,
who has risen on high to his throne
yet stoops from the heights to look down,
to look down upon heaven and earth?
May the name of the Lord be blessed for evermore!
or
Alleluia!
From the dust he lifts up the lowly,
from the dungheap he raises the poor
to set him in the company of princes,
yes, with the princes of his people.
May the name of the Lord be blessed for evermore!
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Lk1:28 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee!
Blessed art thou among women.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 1:26-38 © |
'I am the handmaid of the Lord'
The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. He went in and said to her, ‘Rejoice, so highly favoured! The Lord is with you.’ She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, ‘Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God’s favour. Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and his reign will have no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘But how can this come about, since I am a virgin?’ ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you’ the angel answered ‘and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. Know this too: your kinswoman Elizabeth has, in her old age, herself conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God.’ ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord,’ said Mary ‘let what you have said be done to me.’ And the angel left her.
22 August, 2020, Saturday, Our Lady, Mother and Queen
SHARING IN CHRIST’S KINGSHIP WITH MARY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Isaiah 9:1-6; Psalm 113:1-8; Luke 1:26-38 ]
Unlike in ancient times we are living in a very fragmented and divided world, whether as a society, a nation or among other nations. Then, unity was assured by having a strong ruler or king to govern and to unify the people as one. Of course, this has its downsides. If the leader was a good leader, just, wise, humble and selfless in serving his people, the nation progressed. However, if the leader was inept, selfish and self-centered, foolish, the people suffered. Worse still, if the leader was not just a dictator but also a ruthless tyrant, those who opposed him would be destroyed. For this reason, in most countries, monarchy has been replaced by democracy, a single party socialist state, or constitutional monarchy.
However, democracy has not been able to bring about unity because elected leaders are dependent on their supporters. They lack the capacity to do what is truly good for the country because the elected government must do the bidding of the people, irrespective of their demands, because the leaders are dependent on the peoples’ votes. In many places, elected governments are often corrupt, because they are at the mercy of those who finance their elections and those who vote for them. Often, influential people can manipulate the opinion of the voters. Instead of leading, the leaders are merely carrying out the bidding of the sheep. This is why democracy too has its downsides.
In Israel, God was the only King and the earthly kings were simply ruling the People of God as His representative. However, as the earthly kings failed in their duty because of the lack of faith and obedience to the Covenant, they brought destruction to their people and country. The Northern Kingdom of Israel was wiped out by the Assyrians in 722 B.C after three years of siege. Having conquered the Northern Kingdom, the Assyrians targeted the Southern Kingdom, Judah. It was in this context that the prophet assured them that a Messianic king would come and deliver them from the Assyrian army. He would bring light to those in darkness, “those who lived in a land of deep shadow.” He would protect them against their enemies. “For the yoke that was weighing on him, the bar across his shoulders, the rod of his oppressor, these you break as on the day of Midian. For all the footgear of battle, every cloak rolled in blood, is burnt and consumed by fire.” This Messianic king would be called “Wonder-Counsellor, Mighty-God, Eternal-Father, Prince-of-Peace. Wide is his dominion in a peace that has no end, for the throne of David and for his royal power, which he establishes and makes secure in justice and integrity. From this time onwards and for ever, the jealous love of the Lord of hosts will do this.”
However, this promise of a Messianic king that would rule the people and bring peace and prosperity to the country was not fulfilled during the prophet’s time. Historically, Assyria eventually retreated from attacking Judah because of an epidemic that afflicted the Assyrian army. However, this Messianic king is still much awaited. For us Christians, this is fulfilled in the person of our Lord. This is what the gospel reading wants to underscore. Jesus is the Messianic king that would establish God’s kingdom in the world. Belonging to the descendent of David, He would reign forever. The angel said, “He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob forever and his reign will have no end.” Jesus by His passion, death and resurrection has won for us our salvation and established for us a kingdom of peace and justice, a kingdom of truth and love, a kingdom of holiness and grace. By His victory over sin through His unconditional love and forgiveness, and His victory over death by His resurrection, He has conquered the last enemy of the kingdom.
Today’s feast of the Queenship of Mary is founded on the Kingship of Christ. Like Mary, we are to share in Christ’s kingship in an analogous manner, although in terms of intensity and degree, Mary certainly shared in Christ’s kingship more deeply. When we say that our participation in Christ’s kingship as that of Mary is analogous, we mean that only Christ is King. Mary is not Queen in the physical or literal sense as that of a monarch. Christ as the Son of God will hand “over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” (1 Cor 15:24f)
Like Mary, we follow Jesus in overcoming all the enemies of the kingdom, of which the last is death. When we live a holy life and a life in obedience to the teachings of Christ, we allow God to rule our lives. Mary is given the title “Queen of Heaven”, simply because she is victorious over sin and death. This memorial of the Queenship of Heaven instituted in 1954 was a corollary to the feast of the Assumption proclaimed in 1950. Since Mary shared in Christ’s victory over death by sharing in His resurrection, she too would rightly be honoured with this title of Queen because she too had overcome the last enemy, which is death. In our case, we have not arrived at this final stage of our battle against Christ’s enemies. We continue to fight in Christ’s army to establish the kingdom of justice, truth and love. Insofar by virtue of our baptism, sharing in the royal priesthood of Christ, we participate in Christ’s kingship whenever we overcome evil in our life.
Our Queenship, like that of Mary’s, is also completely dependent on our Lord. He is the sovereign king of the universe. Indeed, Mary’s Queenship is completely dependent on her union with the Lord at every stage of His life, from His birth, incarnation, ministry, passion, death, resurrection and Pentecost. Mary was in union with Jesus, sharing in His salvific ministry, giving Him the support and motherly love that He needed. She stood by Jesus in His ministry when He was rejected, especially when He was at the cross. Mary was there with Jesus from the beginning to the end. Rightly so, the prophecy of Genesis was fulfilled in her. “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Gen 3:15) Like Mary in a lesser degree, we are all kings and queens in Him. This is what the book of Revelation says, “To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (Rev 1:5f) If Jesus were not king, we would be slaves of Satan and under his bondage. The Lord has set us free from sin. It is through His mercy that we are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (1 Pt 2:9)
Finally, Mary’s Queenship is the consequence of grace and not her merits. Just like the other privileges of Mary, namely, Immaculate Conception and Assumption, these were gifts bestowed by the Lord for her to help Him in the work of salvation. Jesus is the only mediator but the Lord wants to save, not without us but with us. He chose Mary to bear Him in her womb and to share in His salvific role. If Mary were crowned Queen of Heaven, it was not her right but rather it was a demonstration of God’s graciousness. This is the reason why we call Mary, “full of grace” after the angel. She has been highly favoured by the Lord, as seen in His choice of Mary to be the mother of the Messiah. Mary was young, poor and a virgin. However, God used her weaknesses to show forth His glory and power. The angel said, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow.” It was only because of God’s grace that she was able to remain faithful to the Lord, and became a true model of Christian discipleship. She recognized that all her honours were due to God’s grace alone. “He has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me.” (Lk 1:48f) We too are called to give thanks to God for all His blessings and to use them well to establish Christ’s kingdom on earth as in heaven.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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