Greetings, SBT Readers!
Just a brief commentary this week as I'm on vacation with my daughter and her family. As I reflect on the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, I think of Carl Jung's assertion that the papal proclamation of the dogma of the Assumption (1950) was the "most important religious event since the Reformation." For Jung, this dogma placed the Feminine in the heavenly realm, along with the Trinity, thereby honoring a wisdom long-held by everyday Christians who turned to Mary as their spiritual Mother, comforter and intercessor. There are two more considerations we could add to this insight:1) at a time when, on a global level, the Feminine has never been so abused and threatened, the dogma asserts the value of women everywhere, regardless of culture or faith tradition; 2) at a time when, on a global level, "Mother Earth" has never been so desecrated, the dogma raises up the sacredness of the material universe. Though the influence of Greek thought gave Christianity an "other-worldly" aura, the dogma of The Assumption adds the much needed emphasis on the Sacred Feminine and its union with the Sacred Masculine. This is the Sacred Marriage out of which the ongoing process of salvation is born and all things will be made whole.
Many Blessings!
Elizabeth
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION
And Mary said:
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
and has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children forever.”
LK1:39-56
On this great Marian feast of the Assumption, it is interesting that the readings say more about God than they do about Mary. Like Hannah before her (1 Sam 2:1-10), Mary sings a song of praise acknowledging God's greatness. Hannah, once barren, dedicates her son Samuel to God's service in fulfillment of her vow; Mary, a virgin, acknowledges that through her Son, God's promises will be fulfilled. Hannah's prayer begins with an outpouring of joy: "My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn is lifted high." Mary's expression of joy is even more powerful: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior." For both women, joy goes beyond unexpected motherhood; rather, it has to do with their delight in serving God. God does "great things" for both Hannah and Mary, but this does not lead them to claim greatness or to consider themselves to be better than others. Instead, their response is one of humility: God is the source of their blessings and they are the vessels through whom the Divine Will will be accomplished. Having been insulted and scorned for being barren, Hannah is aware of herself as one of the lowly whom God has raised from the dust; Mary, on the other hand, is aware of the great privilege to which she is being called, even though to be an unwed mother in her society could be the equivalent of a death sentence. Both women share a similar understanding of who the Holy One is: For them, God is on the side of the poor and the oppressed, exalting the lowly ones, casting down the rich and arrogant; guarding the virtuous, condemning the wicked; feeding the hungry, sending the satiated away empty...
Mary's many names-- Stella Maris, Queen of Heaven, Mater Dei-- point to her almost divine status in the popular imagination. Traditionally, she is often represented with celestial symbols -- crowned with twelve stars, clothed in the sun, standing on the crescent of the moon. Moreover, feasts such as The Assumption, The Immaculate Conception, and the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe reflect her importance in many cultures, especially those in which she became the bridge between goddess worship and Christianity -- for example, she replaced the Aztec goddess Tonantzin, along with mother goddesses worshipped in Europe and the Near East.
But despite all her titles and festivals, it is Mary's humility that truly makes her great-- not the pseudo-humility of passivity, low self-esteem, self-depreciation or subservience, but the authentic humility of surrendering the totality of self to God. For some, this type of surrender may seem oppressive, even repulsive, but that is because it is so counter-cultural. Driven by ego, we in the West so value being in control and having our own way that the very idea of surrendering to God is terrifying. What if what we want and what God wants for us don't match? Suppose we have to give up our plans and head in a direction we could never have imagined? Suppose we have to let go of old habits, attitudes, and lifestyles? Suppose God wants to stretch us in ways that will force us out of our comfort zones?
To use a cliché, Mary certainly had to "let go and let God"; she was only able to do this because her will and God's Will were in perfect alignment:
“..Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me according to your Word” (Luke 1:38)
