A wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveler who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without any hesitation.
The traveler left rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a full lifetime. But, a few days later, he came back to return the stone to the wise woman. “I've been thinking,” he said. “I know how valuable this stone is, but I give it back in hope that you can give me something even more precious. Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me the stone.” (Author Unknown)
On August 15th, we gather to celebrate, to remember and to affirm our belief once again in the passing of Mary into God’s embrace – body and soul. We gather to celebrate all that she had within her that enabled her to trust in Mystery, to walk in the holy darkness of questions and to ponder her experiences in the light of faith, to hope in God’s love amidst her joys and sorrows, losses and finding and the deaths and risings she encountered, and to live with courage as she responded moment by moment to the challenges and surprises that resulted from her “Yes, let it be done.”
The Assumption of Mary into heaven is one of the oldest feasts of Mary. It is easily traced back to at least the 5th century and some historians say it was even celebrated as far back as the 3rd century. The event is not found in Scripture, and there were no witnesses – the feast came before its definition– it came from the belief of the people, the heart of the people. It is written, that in 1946 Pope Pius XII sent an encyclical letter to all the bishops of the world and asked them to confer with their people about the mystery of the Assumption becoming a dogma of the Church. On the strength of their response and the testimony of history he declared the Assumption dogma in 1950. (What a great process – “confer with their people.” Maybe this should be considered once again.)
Most of what we know about Mary in Scripture comes from the Gospels of Luke and John. As a young Jewish girl, she grew into womanhood with an extraordinary faith. Oftentimes she did not understand what God was asking of her, but she believed with all her heart that it could and would be done, and she acted accordingly. It was enough for her to be called to move within holy mystery and gently hold the tension of all that was being asked of her. She did not seek answers, clarity or quick results – we are told that “she held all these things in her heart” and treasured them until their meaning was revealed a grace at a time!
In our Gospel today, Mary, a young pregnant woman went with haste to the hills of Judea to visit her older pregnant cousin, Elizabeth, who has lived the past six months no longer barren and with a quieted husband. Mary remains there for at least 3 months to be of help and to share the joy of expectation that most mothers-to-be experience.
In response to Elizabeth’s greeting, Mary proclaims a song of liberation for all people; one in which ideals are reversed and the household of God will be peopled by the poor, the hungry, and the ones with no power. These women, who stand pregnant in an embrace of joy, laughter, and praise for God’s marvels, will give birth to children of the Magnificat. These children in turn will one day stand together and sing a new song that will be revolutionary. John will sing his song of repentance and ring out the Good News that the Messiah is here. Jesus will sing his song of Beatitude that breaks through to the hearts of the poor, the oppressed, and the marginalized and beyond the laws of purification.
No doubt that after the Ascension, Mary grew in age, grace and wisdom as well. She, too, was filled with the Pentecost fire of the Spirit and would have received the same energy and power of the Spirit as the disciples. So how can this feast speak to us?
Mary not only witnesses to the action of God in her life, but she is a woman who was fully human, gifted with grace, truth, mercy, compassion, and faithfulness, on fire with the Spirit, generous in ministry, and centered in God. These are a few of the treasures that she had deep within her that enabled her to be a woman, wife, mother, sister, cousin, friend, disciple, prophet, and witness.
So let us ask boldly for all that she had within her that enabled her to be authentic, faithful, and trusting, so that we, too, will sing out our prophetic song of faithfulness and hope.
Let us ask boldly for all that she had within her to walk in Mystery, for we, too, have journeyed over these years, committed to the transformation of the world, the Church and ourselves promoting mutuality, inclusivity, and collaboration.
And let us ask boldly for all that she had within her to live with courage and to hold tensions creatively, always receptive to God’s grace and to stand tall in this time of liminality, living with paradox and contradictions, not running from mystery, while holding the precious stones of our stories as we proclaim, “God has done great things for us!”
Previously posted
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