God brings peace and reconciliation to His people in the ‘little things’ and in accompanying them along the path of life.
This was the central theme of Pope Francis’ homily this morning during Mass at Casa Santa Marta.
Dressed in a white and blue chasuble to commemorate the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Holy Father reminded the faithful that Christians are called to reflect on this aspect of humility in which God accompanies his people.
Through Jesus Christ, he said, God seeks to make peace and reconcile his people in a “special way”: by accompanying them through the little things in life that appear on on our path in life.
The 78 year old Pontiff referred to the first reading from the prophet Micah which states: “You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah, too small to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel; Whose origin is from of old, from ancient times.” God, he said, always uses the most humble things to do great works.
This however, he explained, is not done magically but through an extensive history of salvation, evidenced by today’s Gospel from St. Matthew with lists the genealogy of Jesus Christ.
“The Lord did not want to pacify and reconcile with a magic wand: today – boom! – all done!” the Pope exclaimed.
“No. He began to walk with his people and when we heard this passage from the Gospel of Matthew: that is a bit boring no? This one became the father of this, this one became the father of this one, this became the father of this one… It is a list: but it is the path of God! The path of God among men, good and evil, because in this list there are saints and there are criminal sinners as well. There is so much sin here. But God is not frightened: He walks. He walks with his people.”
It is in this history, the Pope continued, that God begins to sow in His people the hope in the Messiah.
“The people dreamed of liberation. The people of Israel had this dream because it was promised to them, to be liberated, to be pacified and reconciled. Joseph dreams: Joseph’s dream is a bit like the summary of the dream of this whole history of God with his people. But Joseph is not the only one with dreams: God dreams. God our Father has dreams, and dreams beautiful things for his people, for each one of us, because He is a Father and in being a Father, He thinks and dreams of the best for his children.”
The Jesuit Pope said that today’s Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a decisive moment in the history of salvation. A feast, he concluded, that invites us to pray for the grace of unity, peace and reconciliation.
“We continue the celebration now, the remembrance of the Lord in the ‘little things’: a little piece of bread, a little bit of wine…in the ‘little things’. But in this little thing there is everything. There is the dream of God, there is His love, there is His peace, there is His reconciliation, there is Jesus. He
