Saturday – Feast of the Assumption of Mary

Gospel – Luke 1: 39-56

The Long and Winding Road

Church of the Dormition, Jerusalem

Ever had something you really wanted?  Maybe it was a bike or a new baseball glove or a new gaming system!  But it wasn’t going to be a gift; you had to work for it.  Maybe you spent all summer mowing lawns or working for the park district for the money.  Maybe it was that dream career that you had to spend years in school and internship in order to get it!  It was Work!  No gift on a silver platter!  You had to work for it.  And then when you got it, well the joy was immense!

Joy comes spilling out of today’s Gospel!  It is expressed by 2 women: Mary and her cousin Elizabeth. It’s a joy that can’t be contained; it rushes out like a torrent of water in their words and their actions.  Two cousins, both pregnant, embracing each other with happiness over each of their impending births!  Each of them praising God for not only the miracle of new life but the promise of redemption and salvation!  Even John jumps for joy in the womb!  And Mary bursts forth with the Magnificat, the Canticle of Mary, which as deacons we pray every evening as part of the Liturgy of the Hours!  It is a praise of God for all He has done and all He will do through Jesus, Mary’s child.

Tradition tells us that Elizabeth probably lived in Hebron in Judah, a distance of some 90-100 miles from Nazareth.  Mary is newly pregnant and she travels to see her cousin, probably on her own (although in a caravan), and most definitely on foot.  It would have been a difficult and tiring journey of 5-7 days.  It would have demanded much of Mary in physical endurance and patience.  She stays for about three months and then makes the return journey to Nazareth.  Whew!  But consider the joy she experiences when she and Elizabeth meet!  Well worth it!

We celebrate today the Feast of the Assumption of Mary; we celebrate her being taken up into heaven, body and soul.  It truly is a day of great joy.  Mary suffered much throughout her life: that long tiring trip to Bethlehem, left alone while He began His public life of preaching, and watching her Son being tortured and put to death on a cross.  But this is a day of great joy because it is a reminder to us all of what we hope for, live for – resurrection and reunion with Christ.  That is the importance of today!  Mary has been raised and is now together with her Son!  This is the Joy we are all working toward! Far beyond the joy of any Christmas present, this is a Joy that lasts forever!

Some of us might say – I shouldn’t feel joyful; I should feel guilty!  With all that is going on in the world – violent weather, forest fires, the staggering loss of life throughout the world from random acts of violence, the daily struggle to manage higher costs to put food on the table!  What have I got to be joyful about?   I should hide the joy within me.  Let Mary be our model today.  May she remind us that life is a journey, tiring and exhausting, full of detours and hills, roadblocks and hurdles.  But there is also joy at the end of that journey!  So let the joy burst forth in words of praise and song!  Joy for all that God has done for us through Mary’s Son Jesus!

Creator of all life, teach me to respect and appreciate all life.  Help me to see You in every leaf, every flower, every child.  Help me to see Your Spirit in every living thing and to treat others not only with respect but with love and joy!

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