20250101 SEEING THE FACE OF GOD IN MAN IS THE WAY TO PEACE
01 January 2025, Wednesday, Mary, Mother of God
First reading | Numbers 6:22-27 |
They are to call down my name on the sons of Israel, and I will bless them
The Lord spoke to Moses and said, ‘Say this to Aaron and his sons: “This is how you are to bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them:
May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord let his face shine on you and be gracious to you.
May the Lord uncover his face to you and bring you peace.”
This is how they are to call down my name on the sons of Israel, and I will bless them.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 66(67):2-3,5,6,8 |
O God, be gracious and bless us.
O God, be gracious and bless us
and let your face shed its light upon us.
So will your ways be known upon earth
and all nations learn your saving help.
O God, be gracious and bless us.
Let the nations be glad and exult
for you rule the world with justice.
With fairness you rule the peoples,
you guide the nations on earth.
O God, be gracious and bless us.
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
May God still give us his blessing
till the ends of the earth revere him.
O God, be gracious and bless us.
Second reading | Galatians 4:4-7 |
God sent his Son, born of a woman
When the appointed time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born a subject of the Law, to redeem the subjects of the Law and to enable us to be adopted as sons. The proof that you are sons is that God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts: the Spirit that cries, ‘Abba, Father’, and it is this that makes you a son, you are not a slave any more; and if God has made you son, then he has made you heir.
Gospel Acclamation | Heb1:1-2 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
At various times in the past
and in various different ways,
God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets;
but in our own time, the last days,
he has spoken to us through his Son.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 2:16-21 |
The shepherds hurried to Bethlehem and found the baby lying in the manger
The shepherds hurried away to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. When they saw the child they repeated what they had been told about him, and everyone who heard it was astonished at what the shepherds had to say. As for Mary, she treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds went back glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen; it was exactly as they had been told.
When the eighth day came and the child was to be circumcised, they gave him the name Jesus, the name the angel had given him before his conception.
SEEING THE FACE OF GOD IN MAN IS THE WAY TO PEACE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [NUMBERS 6:22-27; GALATIANS 4:4-7; LUKE 2:16-21]
We all seek peace in the world but instead there are so many wars and divisions, not just among countries, but also within the same society and community. This is because we do not recognise our identity as God’s children; that God is the Father of us all. We see ourselves as different because of nationality, race, language and even religions. We fail to recognise that we all share the same humanity, the same aspirations for peace, for freedom, for love and for our needs. Human beings are not different from each other. We share the same nature and the same aspirations like everyone else. We need love, comfort, food, proper accommodation; we want unity, harmony and peace.
The root cause of division is that we have lost our sense of identity of who we truly are. We forget that every family takes its name from God who is the Father of us all. The Lord commanded Moses to bless the people saying, “May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord let his face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord uncover his face to you and bring you peace.” If we know our identity, we will come to know the face of God. Unless we see the face of God, we will not know who we truly are. But if we see the face of God, we will come to realize that we are one humanity in God, with the same calling. We will not despise others who are different from us. We will see ourselves as one people so closely inter-connected that one’s happiness is dependent on the happiness of others.
To bring peace to humanity, we must safeguard not just our interests but the interests of everyone. Inward-looking and overly-nationalistic countries that care only for their own citizens, without social and global responsibility to others’ suffering because of poverty, wars, economic hardships, will realise – as we did during the pandemic – that their peace, prosperity and security would also be jeopardized. This is why globalization is the way to ensure that every nation and all peoples have the opportunity to enjoy the gifts of creation. The wealth of this earth does not belong to 10% of the richest people of this world whilst the other 90% suffer privation.
Hence, on the first day of the New Year, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Mother of God and also World Day of Peace. These two events are celebrated together because they are very closely connected. There cannot be world peace if we are a disparate humanity. To help us recognize that we share a common humanity and calling, the celebration of the Solemnity of the Mother of God, reminds us that we are partakers of Christ’s sonship. Christ the Second Person of the Holy Trinity became Man so that He could show us the face of God, the face of His Father. In the gospel of John, Jesus told Philip, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” (Jn 14:9) The corollary of this statement means that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. “No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” (Jn 14:6f)
By His life, His teaching and His works, especially His passion, death and resurrection, Jesus shows us the face of His Father. In Him, we see the Father’s mercy and compassion. This is why in and through Jesus, no one can say that he or she has not seen God. Seeing God, as the Lord told Moses, means to receive His blessings. Anyone who sees God will be able to see the face of His fellowmen. St John tells us in his letter, “Those who say, ‘I love God,’ and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.” (1 Jn 4:20) So if we have seen God’s face, we will be able to truly love our brothers and sisters. This is why John insisted in his letter, “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.” (1 Jn 4:8f)
The only way to know God through man is to know Jesus. This love is revealed to us through Christ. St John wrote, “God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.” (1 Jn 4:10-12) The Church prays in the responsorial psalm, “O God, be gracious and bless us and let your face shed its light upon us. So will your ways be known upon earth and all nations learn your saving help. Let the nations be glad and exult for you rule the world with justice. With fairness you rule the peoples, you guide the nations on earth.” In Jesus, we see the face of God and are blessed.
Today’s Solemnity of the Mary the Mother of God celebrates Jesus who is truly God and truly man. Jesus, who is the Second Divine Person of the Holy Trinity, took upon human flesh in Mary and assumed our humanity. In the dogma of the Mary the Mother of God, the Church affirms that Jesus is one person with two natures – human and divine. He is the Son of God and also the Son of Mary. Thus, it is possible to speak of Mary as the Mother of God, since Jesus is the divine person who put on human nature. Indeed, it is Mary who made it possible by cooperating with the grace of God. St Paul wrote, “When the appointed time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born a subject of the Law, to redeem the subjects of the Law and to enable us to be adopted as sons.”
In and through Christ, therefore, we come to share in Christ’s sonship. St Paul says, “The proof that you are sons is that God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts: the Spirit that cries, ‘Abba, Father’, and it is this that makes you a son, you are not a slave anymore; and if God has made you son, then he has made you heir.” We are all one in Christ. As St Paul wrote to the Galatians, “in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.” (Gal 3:26-29)
Truly, if we come to realize that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ, we will treat even those who do not know Him with respect and dignity, compassion and with justice. If we turn to Mary the Mother of God on this day of the World Day of Peace, it is because Mary is so close to God. The Bible says of Moses, “the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.” (Ex 33:11) Mary, too, was intimate with the Lord. She was greeted with the words “full of grace” by the angel Gabriel. Mary was calm and never unsettled because anyone who sees the face of God has peace and joy in his or her heart. Mary’s special relationship with her son shows us the way to be inclusive in our relationship. This is why Mary is not just the Mother of God but the mother of the Church as well. Having seen the face of her child, she radiates the love and compassion of God. Jesus, having gazed upon the face of His mother, saw in her peace and love in her relationship with His Father and others. We must learn from Mary and our Lord who is portrayed as mother and Son gazing at each other. Let us be like Mary who “treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart.” Meditating on the mystery of the Face of God in the human face is the way to peace, regardless of our nationality, language or religion. Recognising others as our brothers and sisters, we, too, love God in them.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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