The Only Way to God
December 19/20, 2009
Fr. George Smiga
Luke 2:41-52
There’s a medieval legend that when we come to the gates of heaven, each one of us will have to answer two questions. And because an incorrect answer to these questions could be devastating, it is good that we review them now so that we might be prepared. As we walk up to the heavenly gates the first question that will be asked of us is this: “Have you come alone?” If we were to answer yes to that question, the second question follows: “How could you?”
It is a major misconception of our faith to think that we come to God alone. God has made us connected to one another. We depend upon other people to find our way to God, and we have a responsibility to help others find their way. There is no solitary way to heaven. If we’re going to be saved, we are saved together.
This is what makes today’s gospel both unique and essential. In today’s gospel, Mary comes to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Now there is no miracle in this story. The miracles happen a few verses earlier, where Elizabeth conceives in her old age and Mary conceives by the Holy Spirit. What happens in the story of the Visitation is that Mary and Elizabeth celebrate their connectedness to each other. Mary comes to help Elizabeth in the last months of her pregnancy and Elizabeth recognizes Mary’s gift and calls her blessed for being the Mother of the Savior. These two women come together so that they can share their questions and their doubts in confidence, so that they can celebrate the wonder and the anticipation which both of them feel. The two women come together in order to affirm one another’s faith, to help each other on their way to God.
So the story of the Visitation is both a description and an example of our connectedness to one another. Moreover, it points to that connectedness in a particular way. We are, of course, related in some way to all people. But the first person that Mary seeks out after being made the mother of the Savior is her cousin, a member of her own family. So in a particular way, the story of the Visitation reminds us of our connectedness to those who are closest to us, to the members of our own family.
This is a particularly helpful reminder during the holiday season. We all know that Christmas allows us to reach out in new ways to a variety of people. We can give our time and donations to those in need. We can greet the stranger on the street with holiday cheer. But the story of the Visitation asks us to be attentive to the people who are close to us. Often it is these people who have to bear the impatience and the frustration that we feel as we cope with the holidays. The Visitation asks us to love them first, to treat the people in our own household with kindness and with respect.
Today we are invited to look over our immediate and extended family. Is there someone who is struggling, struggling because of sickness, divorce, grief over a loved one who has died? If so, we should resolve to take some time in the upcoming days to contact that person and offer them words of support. Is there bad will between us and someone in our family? This story of the Visitation invites us to pray and to think whether this season could open a door to reconciliation, whether there is a step we could take that would move the relationship towards healing. There would be no better way to celebrate Christ’s birth.
Today’s gospel asks us to look at the people within our own households. With all the hectic preparations for the holidays, we should find at least a few moments in which we can affirm them, express our thanks to them, offer our love. After all, this season is not primarily about gifts or foods or traditions. This season is about the gift that God has given us in the people with whom we share our lives, in our connectedness to them.
Like Mary and Elizabeth, we should recognize and celebrate our connectedness to one another. No one of us wants to arrive at the gates of heaven alone. Therefore, reach out today to members of your own family, so that you can continue on your journey to God together.
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