The reading for today, the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Matthew 1:1-23, culminates in the name of Mary’s son: Emmanuel, God with us. Mary is blessed because she is the mediator of grace and salvation to the world. She is “the fountain from which the living fountain flows, the origin of the beginning.” Today is properly about Mary’s birth, but in light of Matthew 1:23 and the ongoing pandemic, I’m drawn to reflect on the fragility of Mary’s baby: our Lord as a helpless infant. The author of life and fount of all existence was powerless, defenseless and utterly dependent on Mary, his mother.
Contrast this with our praise of independence, self-sufficiency and being “self-made.” There is an absolute distinction between babies and adults. Babies need someone else to provide their every need. They cannot walk or talk; they cannot protect themselves; they pee and poop without control—they need someone to change their diapers. This is very different for adults.
But is it really? Is this baby-adult distinction real? I’m supposedly an adult. Yet, I’m still vulnerable to my environment. What could I do if a tornado hit my apartment building? I’m thoroughly dependent on farmers and factory workers whom I will never meet for food. I would die very quickly without them! I depend on the physical, mental, emotional and financial support of my wife, family and friends. My school and work cannot exist without teachers, staff, administrators, donors and so, so many others. I certainly did not “make” myself. Privilege, help, support, some individual effort and luck has carried me. I’m temporarily able-bodied, but I could sprain my ankle, crash my car or catch a disease at any time, which could radically alter my capacities. And I’d rather not admit it, but illness, bodily failure or simple poor timing can still result in the wrong stuff coming out of the wrong places at the wrong times. It seems the baby-adult distinction doesn’t hold!
Every person is born a helpless, dependent, vulnerable, finite being. Every person, given time, nears the end of their life a helpless, dependent, vulnerable, finite being. And, despite our best efforts, everything in between is definitively marked by helplessness, dependence, vulnerability and finitude. The fact that some people at various points in their life gain capacities to appear otherwise does not take away from the truth of our abiding vulnerability and finitude.
Jesus is our true humanity and the true Image of God. God with us reveals our true selves. Mary’s baby attests to the reality of our vulnerability and dependence. The desire to gain the appearance of, to claim for oneself or to establish over and against others our own invulnerability and independence is directly counter to the incarnate Word, Mary’s baby. Instead of resisting our vulnerability, dependence, (dis)abilities and finitude, we ought to embrace them and one another. We ought to seek relations of support, care, love, mercy, generosity and interdependence that reflect our true nature as vulnerable and finite beings. Swaddled in Mary’s arms we see the Image of God, ourselves and the truth of our common situation. Hold us, pray for us and intercede on our behalf, Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God.
Image of: Black Madonna and Child, Katherine Skaggs, katherineskaggs.com
