Confidentiality (Mary, Mother of God, 2012-01-01)

This is my homily for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, Sunday 1 January 2012. I am a Catholic chaplain in Teaneck at Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) campus and for the FDU Newman Catholic Association. We celebrate Catholic Mass - during Fall and Spring semester - every Sunday Evening (7:30 p.m.) at the Interfaith Chapel, 842 River Road, Teaneck, NJ. Our Sunday Evening Mass resumes Jan. 22, 2012 at 7:30 p.m.

[_01_] Who can keep a secret?

Secrecy are confidentiality are very important to us.

We will pay someone to keep a confidence. Or, we will expect certain friends, family member to reveal only information which is absolutely necessary in a crisis or a time of confusion.

Confidentiality is safety. Confidentiality is a firewall.

Confidentiality saves us time, money and enable us to buy, sell, hold.

Confidentiality can also be a sign of love, charity, care.

[_02_] Jesus asks for secrecy at times in his ministry.
This happens after the healing of the deaf and mute man and after the revelation of Jesus as the Messiah by Peter. (cf., Mark 7:33-36, Mark 8:27-30)

Jesus urges his disciples not to tell anyone at these times.

These are examples of what is called the “messianic secret.” That is, Jesus makes confidential / secret revelations to his disciples while teaching them that he is not a conquering Messiah coming to take their lives but a compassionate Messiah coming to give his life.

So, there is this time of secrecy in Christ’s ministry.

And, we also hear about it today in the shepherds who are coming to Jesus.

[_03_] The shepherds of Luke’s Gospel are called to secrecy and confidence… at least at first. In the darkness, watching their flocks, they are first to hear about the birth of the Messiah, the first to hear the unrevised Glory to God in the highest, from the angels.

Then, they are instructed to go to Bethlehem, to see Jesus, to adore, to learn about him.

After this (initial) encounter, they go and tell it on the mountain that Jesus
Christ is born.

And, as we read, “all who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds.”

[_04_] The shepherds very quickly come out from behind any firewall of security. They publish and broadcast what they have heard. This is their calling, to communicate, to share all of their photos with you and me.

Neverthless, the relationship between the shepherds and the Lord starts out in secrecy, in confidentiality.

[_05_] The Blessed Virgin Mary has a calling to confidentialityat this time. She is silent, disclosing no account information, except to those who come to the manger on their own.

Mary is silent. In contrast with those who cause and promote amazement by their sharing of the Good News, “Mary [pondered] kept all of these things reflecting on them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19)

[_07_] Sometimes, we also are emotionally amazed, we may be just a bit impressed, or we may be completely astonished regarding...
• Amazement about something we received for Christmas or amazed because of something we did not receive.
• Amazed about something someone said to us – or something the person did not say, something which was withheld or forgotten.
• Amazed because of the great kindness (generosity) of another person or due to cruelty (unkindness)

[_08_] Regarding such amazement, what about the firewall, the confidence, the secrecy?
First of all, in the face of emotional anxiety and joy, don’t we need someone to talk to. We need certain selected people in our lives whom we can trust to keep a secret.

But, beyond these trusted confidantes, should we go and tell it on the mountain?

Both the shepherds and the Blessed Virgin Mary remind us that our adoration and prayer are meant to come first.

First, we come and adore him.

First, we adore before we can be amazed.

First we adore – privately - before we can tell the public.

Mary herself adores privately before she proclaims the greatness of the Lord, before she rejoices in God her savior.

Yes, sometimes, we are amazed, overcome by the goodness or the evil in the actions of others.

We may not know what to do.

The Gospel today reminds us of the Good News of keeping secrets, of keeping confidence.

Consider that our own mothers and fathers have nurtured us, helped us to grow NOT ONLY by giving us advice but also by listening, by sharing, sometimes not saying anything, reflecting on these things in their hearts.

And, when we are in a state of amazement, confusion, crisis, we are invited to come first to adore him, to adore him in the Blessed Sacrament, to adore him in prayer, in that one-on-one conversation.

So that we might also keep the Gospel in our minds, on our lips, and in our hearts.
[_fin_]