Luke 2:16-21

Luke 2:16-21

The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph,  

and the infant lying in the manger.

When they saw this,  

they made known the message 

that had been told them about this child.

All who heard it were amazed 

by what had been told them by the shepherds.

And Mary kept all these things,  

reflecting on them in her heart.

Then the shepherds returned, 

glorifying and praising God 

for all they had heard and seen,  

just as it had been told to them.  

When eight days were completed for his circumcision,  

he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel  

before he was conceived in the womb.

Opening Prayer: Mary, I venerate you today as the Mother of God. You said “Yes” to God every moment of your life. I want to say “Yes” to God as you did. Help me and guide me with your maternal care today.

Encountering the Word of God

1. The Shepherds Found Mary and Joseph: In the Gospel, the Shepherds, like Mary, went “with haste” to communicate the angel’s message. “They find the child hyping in the manger and cannot help but praise God and then go tell others of their encounter with him. Thus the shepherds become the first people to proclaim the Messiah’s arrival are not the Jewish priests, Pharisees or other religious leaders of the day but these lowly shepherds in the Bethlehem countryside!” (Sri, Dawn of the Messiah, 79). In the books of the Bible, God often shows favor to shepherds like Abel, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, and Amos. The prophet Ezekiel promised that one day God himself would shepherd his people. And so, when Luke speaks about shepherds coming to Bethlehem, the city of David to meet the newborn Messiah, this heightens “the royal Davidic character of Jesus’ birth. Now this group of Bethlehem shepherds gathers around the one true shepherd, the new David, who will lead the flock of Israel back to [the Lord]” (Sri, Dawn of the Messiah, 80).

2. Mary Kept all these Things in Her Heart: One of the things that Mary pondered in her heart was how God humbles the prideful and powerful and exalts the humble and lowly. She saw that God himself became lowly as an embryo, a fetus, a baby, a child, a boy, a teenager, and a young adult. She saw how God chose to reveal the Messiah not to the religious leaders in Jerusalem or the political rulers in Herod’s palace, but to poor shepherds in the fields. “The theme of reversal announced in Mary’s [Magnificat] resounds this night in Bethlehem. The birth of the Messiah escapes the notice of the powerful and privileged in Israel, while lowly shepherds in their ordinary labor have front row seats to the glory of God and the birth of the King who will change the world (Sri, Dawn of the Messiah, 80).

3. The Circumcision of Jesus: On the eighth day, Mary and Joseph had their child circumcised. This act looks back to the covenant promise made to Abraham of a royal line of descendants. Abram, Genesis tells us, grew impatient as he grew older and didn’t have a son. He listened to his wife, Sarah, and had relations with Sarah’s maidservant to have a child. But this wasn’t how God planned to give Abram a child. The covenant of circumcision that followed these sinful actions by Abram thus had a penitential dimension to it. Abram was invited to walk in God’s presence and be blameless. God then said to Abram: “No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I am making you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fertile; I will make nations of you; kings will stem from you. I will maintain my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you throughout the ages as an everlasting covenant, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you” (Genesis 17:5-7). The sign of this covenant was circumcision (Genesis 17:11). When Jesus was circumcised, his blood was shed, and it looked forward to the ultimate shedding of blood on the Cross.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you made the womb of Mary your holy dwelling place. You lovingly sanctified her and guided her along the path of holiness. Dwell in me today and sanctify my soul with your grace so that I may bring your merciful love to those around me.

Living the Word of God: How can I honor and venerate Mary as my mother this upcoming year? What virtues of Mary – humility, generosity, service, charity – do I need to imitate the most?