Mary & Contemplating the Faithfulness of God

In the year 1788, the Scottish poet Robert Burns gathered together some fragments of a traditional Scots poem, added his own words and melody, and published the song, “Auld Lang Syne.” Ever since, that song – which is about cheerfully remembering friendships long past, even if they have faded with time – has traditionally been associated with end of the year. As we close out one year and usher in a new, “Auld Lang Syne” bids us to raise a toast for old times’ sake and remember the ways in which we have been blessed.

On this January 1, the Church bids us to do the same, to remember the ways we have been blessed, not just by others but by God. In the first reading, Moses receives the Lord’s promise of blessing upon the nation of Israel, a blessing that does not waver or fade but remains through for all time. Of course, as Christians, we understand that that blessing is primarily fulfilled in the coming of Jesus, who is the embodiment of God’s answer to humanity’s longing. On this eighth day since Christmas Day, we are reminded again that God has chosen to reveal himself to us by dwelling among us as one of us.

Francisco de Zurbarán, Christ and the Virgin at the House in Nazareth (c. 1640)

Rather than just remembering past blessings, rather than just being reminded again about what God has done for us, at the start of a new year, we also look to Mary – specifically to what she did in the Gospel reading. As the shepherds draw close to her newborn child, we hear that she “kept these things in her heart and reflected upon them.” Mary did more than observe, more than recall – she pondered, she contemplated, she kept the amazing events that had been done for her alive in her heart. Mary, of course, was pondering what God had done for her – that he had chosen her before all time to be the mother of his only Son. And because that Son, Jesus, is himself God, Mary is also properly called the Mother of God.

But by pondering what God had done for her, Mary was also pondering what he has done for all of us. The newness that Jesus brings is not something that fades after Christmas has ended – it has forever brightened our darkness, forever changed our mourning into gladness. Through Jesus, we are assured that God will never abandon us – he has eternally joined himself to our human reality through the Incarnation. And if God shares humanity with us, he also invites us to share in the divinity that he comes to bring.

On this New Year’s Day, perhaps we can take a hint from our Mother Mary, and remember to keep these things and reflect upon them in our heart. Gratitude is such an important key in our relationship with God – but we only cultivate a spirit of gratitude if we remember, as the shepherds did, what we have seen and heard. We shouldn’t let these days of Christmas slip by unnoticed; rather, we should seek to contemplate the newness of Jesus again and again, now but also throughout the year, so that we can learn to be grateful that the faithfulness of God is unwavering.

So let us be happy and rejoice, not just for old times’ sake, as Robert Burns would have it, but also for this new work that God has begun for us in Jesus, through whom he continues to bless us anew.