Every human being is God's creature, directly (soul) and indirectly (body) the fruit of God's love. This means that we all have -- ingrained in our spiritual genetic code -- a fundamental orientation towards God our maker and perfection. The notion of creator comprises the idea of father and master.
- As father, God is the giver, essentially pouring out His love for us to be and exist.
- As master, God shows us how to become sons and daughters of His.
Here
lies the root of our vocation as disciples and the fundamental reason we call Mary: disciple. She is expressing this
realisation, in fact the only real self-definition we have of Mary, by saying: I am the servant of the Lord. In this
self-awareness Mary recognises her being a creature, meaning loved by God and
called into His service.
She
reconfirms this through her yes at the moment of the Annunciation. Through this
yes pronounced globally, anticipating the future of her role as Mother of God,
she constituted herself as disciple, willingly and consciously.
Through
her yes she says that she is willing to act according to God's will. God's will
needs to be discerned as we know, and as we can see from Mary's own life. She
ponders much and speaks little, meaning she wants to understand God's ways and
designs.
Mary's
vocation as mother-disciple evolves according to the following stages:
1) Discernment: At the Annunciation
Mary listens to the angel, and compares his message to her own situation,
debates whether to say yes, and ponders the pros and cons.
2) Commitment: Declaring her
willingness to be mother of God she also declares herself to be willing to act
as God's and the Spirit's disciple (I am the servant). She commits herself to a
type of existence largely unknown, and she does it wholeheartedly.
3) Acceptance: Much of what we know
about Mary's life could be qualified as adaptation to the unknown and
unpleasant (circumstances of conception, birth, flight into Egypt). One of
the learning abilities most appreciated in a disciple is his/her flexibility,
sense of adaptation, acceptance of the unknown, and ability to deal with it.
Mary is learning as the loving, faithful and trusting servant.
4) Pondering: Mary faces situations
of utter incomprehensibility, personal doubt (not of her commitment but its
practical expression). In all of these situations, she works towards a deeper
understanding of things happening to her, puts them in perspective with her
vocation as mother of Jesus Christ, allows for growth in patience and
perseverance.
5) Participation: The true disciple
engages in his master's projects and hopes. As disciple Mary associates her
concerns -- and that of others -- with those of her Son. She shows initiative,
courage, concern for others... and respect for Christ's own mission. The
wedding of Cana is such an example of
participation in her Son's mission. Again, this example shows that Mary attunes
her desire to help to Christ's own mission. She learns to respect His
"hour."
6) Transformation: Radical discipleship can
lead to personal transformation. Such is the case for Mary as she stands at the
foot of the cross. She suffers with her Son because she is unable to avert his
passion and death. She understands that the “horror” (monstrosity) of his death
cannot be changed if salvation is to become reality. But Mary's most important
transformation occurs when Jesus asks her (John 19, 25-17) to take care of His
brothers and sisters in the Spirit. At the foot of the cross she becomes our spiritual mother. She
has to accept a new way of being mother. In losing her son, her call takes on a
new significance and leads her into a radically new understanding of her role
as Mother.
7) Communion: There is a social
dimension to discipleship. Disciples of a same master learn from each other and
develop existential bonds. Together with Christ's other disciples, she follows
the inspiration of the Spirit sending them to the ends of the earth to
disseminate Christ's message.
In summary, it clearly shows that Mary learns
and adapts to being Christ's first and
faithful disciple. Therefore, as God’s faithful children, let us also emulate
Mary and be true disciples of God.
Editor’s note: This topic’s relevance to the Year for Priests is Mary’s discipleship as a model for priests.
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