Happy Birthday, Mom!

Sep 8: Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Sep 08, 2023

Today is all about the unexpected. Nothing that happened in today’s Gospel was part of Mary’s plans, or Joseph’s, or even the prophets. It was God’s plan.

Reading 1

Mi 5:1-4a

The LORD says: You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah, too small to be among the clans of Judah, From you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel; Whose origin is from of old, from ancient times. (Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time when she who is to give birth has borne, And the rest of his brethren shall return to the children of Israel.) He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock by the strength of the LORD, in the majestic name of the LORD, his God; And they shall remain, for now his greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth; he shall be peace.

Bethlehem is a tiny town, not really a big deal in Israel, much less within the Roman Empire, still less to the world. Yet, that’s where God chose to come into the world. Similarly, He chose a poor, young woman from this nowhere town to be His mother.

God doesn’t see things the way we do.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 13:6ab, 6c

R. With delight I rejoice in the Lord.
But I trusted in your mercy,
let my heart rejoice in your salvation.
R. With delight I rejoice in the Lord.
Let me sing of the LORD, "He has been good to me."
R. With delight I rejoice in the Lord.

The first part of this Psalm, before the passage here, is a song of lamentation. But the psalmist never gives up hope; he trusts in God. He sings God praises in anticipation of God’s mercy.

If you enjoy reading The Amateur Theologian, so will your friend! This post is public so feel free to share it.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, holy Virgin Mary, deserving of all praise;
from you rose the sun of justice, Christ our God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

I have nothing to add here.

Gospel

Mt 1:18-23

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means "God is with us."

There were a lot of prophesies about the Messiah, many of which seemed to contradict each other. For example, how could he be a Nazarene and come from Bethlehem? The Roman census took care of that.

Being born of a virgin was another issue, since genealogy passed through the father. The natural line is broken but the promises to David are still fulfilled—Jesus belongs to the family of David through Joseph’s adoption. Matthew sees the virginal conception as the fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14.

Mary was part of God’s plan from the beginning, but no one, not even the prophets, knew it.

Share The Amateur Theologian