Numbers 6:22-27 / Galatians 4:4-7 / Luke 2:16-21
As we come before the Lord on this first day of the New Year, we have come to do two things.
We have come to offer thanksgiving for the blessings that we have received during the year past.
We also have come to invoke God’s blessings as we begin the New Year.
But before we invoke blessings from the Lord, we must also be thankful for His blessings that we have received.
And here is where we need to ponder and remember how God has blessed us.
It is in pondering and remembering the blessings that we receive from God and that our hearts begin to be filled with thanksgiving.
2019 is still fresh in our memories and it must be. We won’t forget things so quickly.
We have seen birth and death, health and sickness, happiness and sadness. We have had our share of joys and hopes, and also anguish and disappointments.
But over and above all these, in good times and in bad, we must see the hand of God blessing us.
And so we remember, we ponder and we give thanks to the Lord for blessing us with good times and lifting us in bad times.
In the gospel, we see Mary pondering on what she heard about her son Jesus, and she treasured them in her heart. Jesus is her greatest blessing from God.
Jesus is her greatest treasure in her heart and today as we honour Mary with the eminent title of Mother of God, Mary wants to share with us this great treasure of her heart.
Jesus is her greatest joy and blessing, and that blessing enabled her to endure the painful sorrows to come: The escape to Egypt from the persecution of Herod, the loss of Jesus when he was 12 years old, the crucifixion and death of Jesus, and having to bury Jesus.
All these sorrowful moments pierced her heart, like the sword that Simeon prophesied.
But out of her pierced heart flows the greatest gift to us, Jesus, and also her motherly prayers for us.
So we pray for blessings for the days ahead. Like Mary, let us know that we will receive the greatest blessings from God, and that is Jesus.
With Jesus in our hearts, no sorrow will break our hearts, and with Mother Mary praying for us, let joy fill our hearts on this first day of the New Year and may joy be in our hearts all the days of the New Year.