If not for you, where would I be?

September 1, 2026

 

O Mother, where would I be if not for you?” asked Jesus. Micah 5:2 Prophesy. Holy Spirit, God’s glory-presence, the spouse of Mother Mary, the ‘love gaze’ between the Father and Son, and the teacher of wisdom (1 Cor 2:10-16), “Where would I be if you did not overshadow my mother (Lk 1:35) and be present as a dove with my Father at my Baptism?” (Mt 3:16-17) “Father Joseph, where would my mother and I be if you were not there with us on the journey of many miles over rough terrain and resident danger that all travel entails.

 

From Nazareth to Bethlehem in 5 B.C. (129 kms) to pay Roman Taxes, and where I was born in a stable and lay in the manger. Then to Jerusalem (10 kms) after 40 days to present me at the Temple for my purification and circumcision. Back to Bethlehem (10 kms) for the Magi to venerate me and give me gifts - gold, frankincense and myrrh (Mt 2:22) that represent my kingship, priesthood, and also how I would die.

 

[Note: Luke states that after the purification in Jerusalem, the family returned to Nazareth: When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him. (Lk 2:39-40)

 

From Bethlehem, you took us to Egypt (60 km) to escape Herod’s wrath. After Herod died in 4 B.C., we returned to Nazareth another way.

You were warned in a dream that Herod Archelaus, the eldest surviving son of Herod the Great, was the new ruler of the area. Like his father, Archelaus ruled with tyranny and cruelty. [John Gill's Exposition of the Bible states that one time he sent his entire army into Jerusalem's temple, at Passover, to kill 3,000 men suspected of sedition.]  

 

What can I say about my mother?

 

She beheld my suffering in her heart from the time of my purification in the Temple. ‘Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, ³⁵ so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” (Lk 2:34-35)

 

While the Old Testament foreshadows and prefigures my coming, when I think of my mother, I go back to the very beginning of time. I know John, my beloved apostle, said about me: ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (Jn 1:1-5)

 

And then there was my cousin John the Baptist, born to my mother’s cousin, Elizabeth. My mother, with me in her womb, made haste over many miles to see her cousin. She was with a child in her old age. My mother sensed that she just had to be there to help her cousin and introduce John to me – while still in our mother’s wombs. ‘He came as a witness to testify concerning that light (that’s me) so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light (John said); he came only as a witness to the light. (Jn 1:6-8)

 

We spoke of how I was born through the ‘overshadowing’ of the Holy Spirit. ‘Overshadowing’ was nothing new. Where God is present - a crucial interjection is needed here: God is One, but three Persons – God the Father, God the Son (me), and God the Holy Spirit – there will be overshadowing. May there be no confusion about this mystery.

 

Here are the key biblical instances where the Holy Spirit (or God’s glory-presence) “overshadowed,” followed by the theological connection from Genesis to Mary as illuminated by Bible scholars and Church Fathers who believe in me:

Spirit hovering over the waters (Gen 1:2); Glory-cloud overshadowing Sinai and the Tabernacle (Ex 24:15–18; 40:34–35); Cloud filling Solomon’s temple (1kgs 8:10-11); Cloud overshadowing at the Transfiguration (Mt 17:5; Mk 9:7; Lk 9:34).

Bible scholars and Church Fathers read these texts typologically: the same divine presence that hovered at creation and overshadowed Israel’s sacred dwellings now overshadows Mary, making her the living sanctuary of the Word.

Key links scholars emphasize: Creation → New Creation: The Annunciation is thus a new creation event: the Spirit who brought life at the beginning now brings forth the incarnate Life in Mary’s; Tabernacle/Temple → Mary as the new Tent of Meeting: the Shekinah glory that filled the Tabernacle prefigures the Holy Spirit’s overshadowing of Mary; Ark of the Covenant → Mary, Ark of the New Covenant: The glory-cloud “overshadowed” the Ark in the wilderness (Ex 40:34–35; Num 9); Sinai’s Law → Word made flesh: At Sinai, God’s presence descends on the mountain to give the Law. In the New Covenant, God’s presence descends into Mary so that the Lawgiver Himself becomes flesh; Mary as “bride of the Holy Spirit” (theological language): While Scripture does not use the exact phrase “bride of the Holy Spirit,” theologians speak this way to express Mary’s unique spousal relationship to the Trinity in the economy of salvation: the Spirit “espouses” her in the Annunciation so that she conceives the Son. The overshadowing is the nuptial act of the New Covenant, parallel to the Spirit’s covenantal “marriage” to Israel symbolised by the cloud and the Ark.

Luke’s Visitation narrative (Lk 1:39–56) intentionally parallels 2 Samuel 6: David bringing the Ark to Jerusalem:

• Ark goes to the hill country of Judea → Mary goes to the hill country of Judea.
• David/John “leap” in the presence of the Ark/Mary.
• “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” → “Why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”
• Ark stays three months → Mary stays three months.
• The contents of the old Ark (tablets of the Law, manna, Aaron’s rod) find their fulfilment in Mary’s womb: the Word made flesh, the Bread of Life, the eternal High Priest.

What more can I say about my mother? To quote John, the beloved, who said about me: Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written. (Jn 21: 25).

Who in your life, if it were not for them, would you be here?

-        Mathew Anthony

We’ve Gone Our Way and Learnt the Hard Way

 We’ve Gone Our Way and Learnt the Hard Way

“You are a morning person, Uncle”, my nephew remarked, rubbing his eyes, as he tried to stay awake after a late night to make it to a ride-hailing cab to sleep out the rest of the day at his home. “I start my day with Holy Mass”, I said. I don’t know what awaits me for the rest of the day. With God’s leading, I should get through it unscathed. And so, it is. If your day was not so great, you may want to ask yourself how you start the day.

“Everyone is looking for you!” my host at Siddapur, Orange County/Evolve Back, Coorg, exclaimed. At the break of dawn, I had got up and ‘wandered’ off to Church. I stepped out of the estate gate, turned left and kept walking. I was a recent convert - from Church-going to Going-to-Church. Later in the morning, when my host came to the lodge to invite me to breakfast, I was missing. That set in motion some commotion.

Why such a fuss over a missing person? Was this dacoit-infested Chambal Valley? No, worse. It was inhabited by marauding elephants. They rarely asked for ransom or spared their prey. This was Coorg. People don’t generally ‘wander’ at that hour. Wherever I had gone was cause for concern.  When I returned, there was relief and mild reprimand, mixed with wonder at how I found the church and found my way back through the forest. This was my first time in Coorg. How did I do it? I have no idea. I wanted to go to church, so I was led and returned safely to my host.

“Everyone is looking for you”. Not me, but Jesus. ³⁵ Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. ³⁶ Simon and his companions went to look for him, ³⁷ and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”

If we have a long day ahead with much to do – and to do it right – it is best to take time off to pray and make the day regret-free. Jesus had much to do. ³⁸ Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” ³⁹ So he travelled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons. (Mk 1: 35-39)

Mahatma Gandhi famously said, “I love Jesus” but “Christians, hmmm”. Britishers colonised India with the intent to spread Christianity. Instead, their unwelcome rule contradicted the very ethos of Christianity: love for neighbour through humility, not dominance, as exemplified by Jesus. 

¹² When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. ¹³ “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. ¹⁴ Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. (Jn 13: 12-14)

How do we wash each other's feet? Ritually, perhaps, but we can do better.  

When you’re having a busy day or just immersed in a book or movie at home. A loved one asks you something. Your flow is interrupted. You can choose to ignore it or bookmark the page – bookmark as a metaphor – and attend to what is being asked – and then return to your book or movie. You would have washed “one another’s feet”. You were Jesus for that moment. The one you visited just this morning.

Interruptions can be life-changing for you and for the one whom you attended to as the Bible teaches us:

In Genesis 12:1-4, God interrupts Abram’s life, asking him to leave his country, his people, and his father’s household for a land He would show him. At the time, Abram was settled and likely comfortable, as we were with the book, euphemistically speaking. This divine interruption was radical. It marked the beginning of God’s covenant with him, promising to make him the father of many nations. Abram’s willingness to obey without hesitation underscores the importance of trusting God’s plan, even when it disrupts our routine or comfort.

In Exodus 3, Moses was tending his father-in-law’s flock when he noticed a bush that was on fire but not burning up. When Moses approached, God spoke to him, calling him to deliver the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. This interruption came when Moses was living a quiet life in Midian, far removed from his earlier years in Egypt. God’s call redirected his life toward a mission of liberation and leadership. Moses’ experience shows that God’s interruptions come when we least expect them, leading to responsibilities and purpose.

In Acts 9, we read about Saul (later known as Paul), a zealous persecutor of Christians, being interrupted on his way to Damascus. As he travelled, a bright light from heaven flashed around him, and Jesus spoke to him, asking, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” This divine interruption completely changed Paul’s life. From a persecutor of Christians, Paul became one of the most influential apostles, spreading the gospel throughout the known world. His story reminds us that God can intervene in even the most unexpected moments, redirecting us from destructive paths to ones filled with purpose and transformation.

In Mark 5:25-34, while Jesus was on His way to heal Jairus’ daughter, He was interrupted by a woman who had suffered from a bleeding condition for twelve years. She believed that if she could touch His cloak, she would be healed. When she did, Jesus felt power go out from Him and stopped to address her. This interruption not only resulted in the woman’s healing but also displayed Jesus’ compassion and willingness to be interrupted. It shows us that divine interruptions are often opportunities for healing, restoration, and deeper connection with God.

This morning, it seems like a day when everyone is ‘rushing’ out. First, my nephew; then my wife. She was heading to an unfamiliar address guided by the map sent by an acquaintance. I interrupted, to her chagrin, to help set the map on the phone. She said she would do it on the way since she was late. My normal reaction when I am trying to help and it seems like an intrusion is to shrug my shoulders and walk away.

Knowing my wife’s custom of multitasking while driving, which sends shivers through me, I insisted on setting the map on the phone. In the process, I noticed the phone was on life support. The consequences are clear. With the phone on the blink and no map, my wife would be driving blind. She would not be able to multitask either – small mercies. Nor would she return with the relative she was going to fetch. With timely interruption, my wife came home with the relative, safe and sound.

Like interruptions, perceived disruptions in our lives when relationships go wrong are a time for introspection, not action. We need to go to basics. The issues in our sacramental marriage, raising children, or home or workplace responsibilities. These are priceless gifts from God. Matters may not go our way because of differing expectations, but a sacrament must be honoured, not our selfish ego.

God intervenes if you let Him. He will if you’re open to His will. He knows who is open to His will. They come to Him in the morning. Others He has counted the times He has tried to help. We went our own way and learnt the hard way. We returned, achieving nothing. Remember the Prodigal Son?

-        Mathew Anthony