FIRST READING: Genesis 3: 9-15, 20 – After Adam had eaten of the tree, the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of thee in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent beguiled me, and I ate.” The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all cattle, and above all wild animals; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; it shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise its heel.” The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.
SECOND READING: Ephesians 1: 3-6, 11-12 – Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. He destined us in love to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
GOSPEL: Luke 1: 26-38 – The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there will be no end.” And Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no husband?” And the angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
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Mary is not a goddess, much less God. Mary is not a redeemer, much less the Redeemer or the Mediator of salvation. Some really go over the top. Mary, like all of us, is part of Jesus’ community; one amongst all, even if the most excellent.
The story of Adam and Eve is just a story. It never happened. It is a story with a moral, and a very important one at that. It reminds us that life on earth is a conflict which we all have to undertake. This conflict is against all those who are in opposition and go up against any community living, preferring to disunite us in order to manipulate us and exploit us. This hostility is basically against equality, freedom and fraternity. It is what we have to put up with because of people’s greed and lust for power.
We are called to love, as Paul reminds us, and love is not about greed or power; it is about regarding everyone on an equal footing, respecting everyone’s freedom of thought and action, and endeavouring to build up the community amongst all human beings.
Jesus, the ‘great’ one, is the way to this new creation. His coming into this world through the womb of Mary is what gives credence to our faith, reason to our hope, and joy to our love.
Speaking of Equality in the eyes of God our Creator, I'm surprised and hurt to read over and over again cases where this Equality is not respected by those who say they are the ones who convey the Word of God and His salvation. Those who treat men and women equally in the Church are punished worse than criminals. It's unbelievable. All these hundreds of years we've only been taught about Mary the Mother of God and sometimes other Biblical women, but we have never been dared to reach their spiritual, social and political greatness in leadership. This greatness has always been played down, not to be aspired to, and women have been praised for being 'meak', 'obedient', 'silent' and 'doing their household duties'. With this kind of mindset we have been moulded into, the Church is wasting half the treasures God has put on this earth. It is the Church itself, and indeed the whole world, who is losing out by blocking women from greater service and leadership in the the community. Can God ever create anything or anybody bad?? http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/08/15698507-priest-stripped-of-duties-for-celebrating-mass-with-woman-priest
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