By David Obeid
In Catholic theology the Gospel is the Good News. The good news is not merely information like “The Bulldogs won the premiership” or “Australian sheep farmers are experiencing the best ewe fertility since the drought”. It isn’t even information about Our Lord: God the Son became man to save us! The Gospel is not just information about Our Lord. So then what is the Gospel in Catholic theology?
The Gospel is not a what. It is a who. In Catholic theology the Gospel is Jesus Christ. He is the Good News.
In the New Testament we find four books called “The Gospels”. More properly understood, the NT Gospels are presentations, manifestations, of Jesus Christ. Listen carefully in Catholic liturgy and you will hear the Gospel being introduced as “The Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to St. Matthew/Mark/Luke/John” instead of “The Gospel of St. Matthew/Mark/Luke/John”.
There is therefore an essential and radical unity in the four NT Gospels. How much moreso is there a unity within a single Gospel? Each passage, phrase, and even each word is breathing forth a single “whole”.
So what?
So when we read a passage in a Gospel we don’t see who it might be pitted against another passage, but how the two passages speak the self same truth.
Look at St. Luke 11:27-28.
27 As he said this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that you sucked!”28 But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
There are some who on the face of it look at this passage and read into it a slight by Our Lord against His blessed mother. But is such a reading keeping in harmony with the rest of the Gospel?
The immediate context
In the immediate context we read:
Luke 11:24-28
24 “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he passes through waterless places seeking rest; and finding none he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’25 And when he comes he finds it swept and put in order.26 Then he goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first.”
27 As he said this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that you sucked!”28 But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
The immediate context is while Our Lord is teaching about the state of someone who has been delivered from demonic possession only to become subject to an even worse possession and the resulting torment. It is in this context that a woman cries out praise to Our Lady.
Our Lord (and also St. Luke who wrote this Gospel account) was well aware of what transpired in the events recorded in Luke 1 and 2.
There we read:
Luke 1:26-49
26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.28 And he came to her and said, “Hail (Kari), full or grace (kecharitomene), the Lord is with you!”29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be.30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor (Karin) with God.31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High;
and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever;
and of his kingdom there will be no end.”34 And Mary said to the angel, “How shall this be, since I have no husband?”35 And the angel said to her,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you;
therefore the child to be born will be called holy,
the Son of God.
36 And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.37 For with God nothing will be impossible.”38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah,40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!43 And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?44 For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy.45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”46 And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,48 for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden.
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed;49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
and
Luke 2:1-19
1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled.2 This was the first enrollment, when Quirini-us was governor of Syria.3 And all went to be enrolled, each to his own city.4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,5 to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.6 And while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered.7 And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
8 And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear.10 And the angel said to them, “Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people;11 for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,14 “Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!”
15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”16 And they went with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.17 And when they saw it they made known the saying which had been told them concerning this child;18 and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.19 But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart.
And
Luke 2:22-35
22 And when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”)24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.27 And inspired by the Spirit he came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the law,28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,29 “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace,
according to thy word;30 for mine eyes have seen thy salvation31 which thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples,32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to thy people Israel.”
33 And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him;34 and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother,
“Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel,
and for a sign that is spoken against35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also),
that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed.”
And
Luke 2:41-51
41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover.42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom;43 and when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it,44 but supposing him to be in the company they went a day’s journey, and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintances;45 and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking him.46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions;47 and all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.48 And when they saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously.”49 And he said to them, “How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”50 And they did not understand the saying which he spoke to them.51 And he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart.
The Gospel according to St. Luke is emphatic about Mary’s intimate contemplation of God and the mystery of the divinity of Her Blessed Son. It is also clear about Our Lady’s union with the mission of Christ in the redemption of mankind (c.f. St. Luke 2:34-35). Our Lady’s faith is affirmed by St. Elizabeth under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (c.f. St. Luke 1:41, 45). Our Lady’s will was so aligned with that of God that God the Son subjected Himself to her (c.f. St. Luke 2:51). We act not by what we know, but by what we will (c.f. St. James 2). Our Lady’s actions and faith then were a living expression of a life of positive response to God.
Now, Our Lord did not need a Bible study of the events described above to remind Him about who and what Our Lady was – it was all present in His mind in the episode in St. Luke 11.
What does Our Lord say in response to Our Lady’s womb and breasts being blessed? He points out that what makes someone blessed – what makes Mary blessed – is that she heard the word of God and kept it. Our Lady wasn’t merely a womb and breasts that God used to come into the world – She was truly a mother to God the Son, loving Him, serving Him and ever believing what God said about His Son.
If anything, the passage is not a bullet against Marian devotion, but instead a devastating refutation of those who would only reduce the Blessed Virgin to a “vessel” and nothing more – something that they choose to discard or ignore, even while God Himself strove to heap honours upon her.
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