Mary the Mother of God: May 17, 2009 Sixth Sunday of Easter (B)

In each culture, mothers carry their children in distinct ways.The Korean moms carry their infant on their back using a large blanket-like cloth wrapped around their waist. Korean moms will do their daily chores with their child on their back; they often suffer from back pain, but that is the price to pay than hiring a baby-sitter. In Korean culture, "baby-sitting" is not a common concept. The Korean child spends enormous amount of time with his mother, and this lends itself to much closer bond between the mother and her children even after the children are grown. I often wondered why in Western culture, children exhibit independence from their parents much earlier than Asian children. It's common for Asian adult children to be living with their parents after marriage.

The reason I mention this interesting aspect of my culture is that the childhood bond created between the mother and the child translates into how the adult child treats his mother. Because of such close bond, the adult children often place their mother's need ahead of theirs. This include difficult life decision like choosing a career, a spouse and whether the parents will live with the children in the same house after marriage. The Korean adult children will weigh their parents' wishes more so than their own. This is very strange to the Western culture where individual preference is primary. What does all this mean to me? Putting it simply, I have a soft spot for my mom's wishes. Whenever I go home to Dallas for vacation, my mom has a list of her friends who would like to have "home mass" said. I complain that I came home to relax, but because of my soft spot for mom, I oblige.

Let me take us now back in time and to a completely different culture--Ancient Near East, in the time of Old Testament and Jewish kingdoms including Kingdom of David and Solomon. I want to talk about the role of queen mother. Queen mother is the mother of the ruling monarch. In the time of Old Testament, a queen mother held one of the most powerful office in the kingdom; she influenced political, military, economic, and religious affairs of the kingdom. It was generally king's mother who ruled as queen not the king's wife. A queen mother served as an advocate for the people and counseled her son in variety of affairs. Let's take for example, Bathsheba who was one of the wives of King David and was later the mother of King Solomon. In 1 King 2, Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him on behalf of someone, and the King Solomon stood up to meet her and paid her homage. Then he sat down upon his throne, and a throne was provided for the king's mother, who sat at his right. And Bathsheba asked, "There is one small favor I would ask of you," she said. "Do not refuse me." "Ask it, my mother," the King Solomon said to her, "for I will not refuse you." (1 Kings 2:19-20)

In the New Testament, there are ample clues that point to another queen mother. Can anyone take a guess? In Matthew 1, we read a long genealogy of Jesus. The purpose of the long list of names from Old Testament is to show that Jesus is the messianic king foretold in the Old Testament. And Matthew inserts Mary as part of that royal line. Matt 1:16 reads, "Of her [Mary] was born Jesus who is called the Messiah." Matthew tries to show that Jesus is the fulfillment of Prophet Isaiah's prophecy of a messiah, "...the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel." (Isa 7:14) And this we are very familiar with because it is the First Joyful Mystery of the Rosary or Luke 1, the Annunciation. In Chapter 2 of Matthew, we encounter the Magis coming from east to pay homage. They asked, King Herod, ""Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star 3 at its rising and have come to do him homage." (Matt 2:2). And when the Magis followed the star, "they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh." (Matt 2:11)

In Luke Chapter 1, we see even more explicit mention of the kingship of Jesus. Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Angel Gabriel told Mary, "Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." (Luke 1:30-33) And where there is a king, there is king's mother, as-known-as queen mother. There is a more explicit mention of Mary in the New Testament as the queen mother. The Book of Revelation Chapter 12 begins with the following words, "A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth...She gave birth to a son, a male child, destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod. Her child was caught up to God and his throne." (Rev. 12:1-5) What kind of a woman would wear a crown? A queen. Hence the Church gives Blessed Mother several titles that relate to what we discussed in this homily: Mary the Mother of God and Mary the Queen of Heaven and Earth.

As a child I remember being carried on my mom's back as she worked. Of course, I gave her some serious back problems. She eventually had to get a back surgery later down the years. I'm much thankful for what's she's done for me. If I as an earthly priest cannot deny my own mother's requests, think about how difficult it is for Heavenly Priest and King, Our Lord Jesus, to deny his Queen Mother's requests. She is our Advocate, therefore we cry Hail, Holy Queen!