Sign of God’s Love
Introduction
Our first reading talks about sign. It is human nature
to look for a sign. “It is this: the maiden is with child and will
soon give birth to a son whom she will call Immanuel.”
This is a sign of God’s intervention in human history. Our salvation
and all the other things that lead to it are God’s initiative. It is not through
our own efforts that we can be saved. Our salvation solely depends on
God who enters into our lives because of his infinite love for us. It is not
through our own efforts that we can acquire the grace of God. We acquire
His grace because of His mercy and the merits of Jesus Christ.
Body
It is the nature of things to be represented by some signs in one
way or another. Christianity to be authentic must also have some signs.
Where there is a Christian, there must be a sign of Christianity. In ancient
times, the pagans upon seeing a community of Christians exclaimed: “See
how they love each other.” Love is a sign of the presence of Christ. This
love is demonstrated on the cross, the unequivocal sign of Jesus Christ.
The same sign is asked of us by non-believers in our time.
God Himself made this sign manifest by the very nature of the
name of the messiah, that is, Immanuel which means God is with us. This
is the essence of the love of God to be present with the beloved. To give
Himself to us and to be present with us.
Love is expressed in the time spent with the beloved. For according
to a popular song, “What is love without time, and what is “time” without
love?”
In our contemporary times, when we have parents working
abroad just to send their children to school, we have problematic school
children as a result. How can absentee parents demonstrate their love for
their children with the money they send minus their presence? We in the
Church do not recommend this situation. If possible the whole family
must always be together for better and for worse. Husband and wife on
their wedding day so aptly put it: “For better and for worse, for richer and
poorer until death do us part.” But with one spouse working abroad and
one left, what happens is that one is in a better situation than the other.
It has been the observation that husband and wife, through the
years, begin to look alike. They begin to imbibe one another’s mannerisms,
ways of talking and even eccentricities. It is because of the long time they
spend with each other.
If we spend time listening to God in His words by reading
the Scriptures, celebrating the Eucharist, adoring God in the Blessed
Sacrament, doing acts of charity and penance, we will certainly acquire
the values of the Gospel by the grace and merits of our Lord. By the
grace of God, we will begin to love our enemies and do good to those
who persecute us. And with St. Paul, we say’ “It is no longer I, but Christ
who lives in me.”
But to be able to do the above-mentioned spiritual activities would
require some degree of faith. Hence, it is necessary that we preach the
gospel that others may also acquire faith. That was what St. Paul did. He
preached the Gospel to the Gentiles.
In today’s Gospel, the Angel promised to Mary that the Holy Spirit
will overshadow her. To the announcement of the Angel of the good news
that she would become the Mother of the Redeemer, she replied, “I am
the handmaid of the Lord, let what you have said be done to me.” These
were the words of complete surrender and submission to God. We can
submit to God and we can do His will if there is humility in our hearts.
According to St. Paul, “Wives must submit to their husbands.”
With the advent of feminism, it is difficult for the wives to obey their
husbands, especially if the wives are the breadwinners, if they are more
intelligent and if they earning more than their husbands. It is only when
the wives have faith in Jesus who obeys the will of the Father until death,
that wives can obey their husbands.
To the husbands, St. Paul says, “Husbands, love your wives as
Christ loves the Church.” This is loving in the dimension of the cross.
If husbands would want to go out at night with their friends and their
wives are in need of them, they would not go out because their feet are
crucified like Jesus. If husbands, in anger because of nagging wives, they
want to slap their wives, they cannot because their hands are nailed on
the cross.
Conclusion
The closest thing we have here on earth to the love of God is the
love between husband and wife. God’s plan in marriage will be fulfilled
if and when there is faith in God who is with us, Immanuel. Wives can
obey their husbands if and when there is humility. Husbands can love
their wives if and when there is faith in Jesus Christ. Question
How am i a sign of God’s love for others?
Rev. Fr. Isidro T. Marinay
Parish Priest, St. Maria Goretti Parish Manila
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