Saint Mary the Virgin, Mother of Our Lord (Transferred), 17 August 2014
Isaiah 61:10-11
Psalm 34
Galatians 4:4-7
St. Luke 1:46-55
Background: Our Lady of
Walsingham
Just to get you in the mood, I recommend clicking on the link to Blake’s
poem known to us in the hymn Jerusalem. The connection of England to Our Lord and to
his Mother goes beyond confessional or personal belief. This is most profoundly seen in the cult and
image of Our Lady of Walsingham. In
around 1061, Richeldis de Faverches had a vision of Mary, and built then a Holy
House, which was soon a place of pilgrimage and a shrine to the Blessed Virgin
Mary. In the twelfth century a priory was built there until it was suppressed
during the English Reformation. In the
last century there has been a revival of the pilgrimage which finds both
Anglican and Roman Catholic shrines at the site. In 1922 a new statue of Our Lady of
Walsingham was set us in the Anglican parish church, and regular pilgrimages
followed.
Isaiah 61:10-11
I will greatly rejoice
in the LORD,
my whole being shall
exult in my God;
for he has clothed me
with the garments of salvation,
he has covered me with
the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks
himself with a garland,
and as a bride adorns
herself with her jewels.
For as the earth brings
forth its shoots,
and as a garden causes
what is sown in it to spring up,
so the Lord GOD will
cause righteousness and praise
to spring up before all
the nations.
In this passage from so-called third Isaiah we have the final verses of
a section called “The Seed that YHWH blesses”.
Where second Isaiah would have the whole community sing praise and blessing
to God, here we have an individual who hymns that praise. It is a close connection then to the
intentions of the Magnificat (see the Gospel below) where Mary sings such a
hymn. The other motif, evident in verse
11, is that of the growing garden, "for
as the earth brings forth its shoots.” The prophet sees salvation as a
plant that “springs up” in our midst,
a sign of God’s redeeming love. This
melds nicely with the notion of Jesus as a “shoot of Jesse”. The closing line delimits the effect of this
salvation/garden, for it is a gift that springs up, “before all the nations.”
Breaking open Isaiah:
- How is your faith like a garden?
- Are there weeds – what are the weeds?
- What has sprung up that surprises you?
Psalm 34 or 34:1-9 Benedicam Dominum
I will bless the LORD
at all times; *
his praise shall ever
be in my mouth.
I will glory in the
LORD; *
let the humble hear and
rejoice.
Proclaim with me the
greatness of the LORD; *
let us exalt his Name
together.
I sought the LORD, and
he answered me *
and delivered me out of
all my terror.
Look upon him and be
radiant, *
and let not your faces
be ashamed.
I called in my
affliction and the LORD heard me *
and saved me from all
my troubles.
The angel of the LORD
encompasses those who fear him, *
and he will deliver
them.
Taste and see that the
LORD is good; *
happy are they who
trust in him!
Fear the LORD, you that
are his saints, *
for those who fear him
lack nothing.
The young lions lack
and suffer hunger, *
but those who seek the
LORD lack nothing that is good.
Come, children, and
listen to me; *
I will teach you the
fear of the LORD.
Who among you loves
life *
and desires long life
to enjoy prosperity?
Keep your tongue from
evil-speaking *
and your lips from
lying words.
Turn from evil and do good;
*
seek peace and pursue
it.
The eyes of the LORD
are upon the righteous, *
and his ears are open
to their cry.
The face of the LORD is
against those who do evil, *
to root out the
remembrance of them from the earth.
The righteous cry, and
the LORD hears them *
and delivers them from
all their troubles.
The LORD is near to the
brokenhearted *
and will save those
whose spirits are crushed.
Many are the troubles
of the righteous, *
but the LORD will
deliver him out of them all.
He will keep safe all
his bones; *
not one of them shall
be broken.
Evil shall slay the
wicked, *
and those who hate the
righteous will be punished.
The LORD ransoms the
life of his servants, *
and none will be
punished who trust in him.
It is in the Gospel of Luke that Mary sings her song, the Magnificat,
and it may be the themes of that composition that compelled the framers of the
lectionary to choose this psalm for this day.
In Luke’s Gospel there is a pronounced focus on the “lowly”, of which
Mary sees herself a part. Here it is,
oddly enough, David, who is the lowly one.
The superscription gives us a clue as to why this connection is made, “For David, when he altered his good sense
before Abimelech who banished him, and he went away.” One of the themes
that drives the poem is the idea of “hunger” and several passages comment on
it: “O taste and see that the Lord is
good,” “Lions are wretched and hunger, but the Lord’s seekers lack no good.”
The joining of hunger and the lowly is not only poetic but also real. It is the
lowly that hunger in our world. God is
seen as the one in whom the lowly one “finds shelter”. Other aspects of the Magnificat seem to find
their root here, “The face of the Lord is
against those who do evil.” “The Lord is near to the broken hearted.” “The Lord
ransoms the life of his servants.” Rather than reflecting on the “beauty of
Mary” as is evident in the lectionaries for other days honoring her, this psalm
relies on God’s work done through her in her Son, Jesus Christ.
Breaking open Psalm 37:
- What do you see in the humility of others?
- Is Mary an image of humility?
How?
- How is Jesus humble?
Galatians 4:4-7
When the fullness of
time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order
to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as
children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into
our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave but
a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.
In honoring Mary on this day we come up against the truth that in Christ
we are all sons of God. Like Jesus we
are all “born of a woman, born under the
law.” It is our adoption as children of God, however, that removes us from
that state “under the Law” to a life of Christian freedom. Thus Paul makes it clear to his readers that
they are no longer “slaves”, but a child and an heir – through God. Mary’s place seems minor and ordinary, until
we consider the phrase, “When the
fullness of time had come.” It is there that we see God’s plan and her role
within that plan. Thanks be to God.
Breaking open Galatians:
- What does it mean to be “born under the Law?”
- What does it mean to be a slave?
- What does it mean to be an heir?
St. Luke 1:46-55
Mary said,
"My soul magnifies
the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices
in God my Savior,
for he has looked with
favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all
generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has
done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those
who fear him
from generation to
generation.
He has shown strength
with his arm;
he has scattered the
proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the
powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the
lowly;
he has filled the hungry
with good things,
and sent the rich away
empty.
He has helped his
servant Israel,
in remembrance of his
mercy,
according to the
promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his
descendants forever."
You might want to read I Samuel 2:1-10, The Song of
Hannah, to see the hymn upon which Luke may have modeled Mary’s song. Some versions of the Gospel assign this hymn
to Mary’s cousin Elizabeth, and indeed, the words of Hannah’s song and her story
speak well to that idea. All of the
Greek manuscripts, however, attribute the song to Mary. In the hymn we see Mary’s condition as a “handmaid to the Lord.” And we begin to
see Luke’s program of extolling the poor and lowly. His choice of phrases and
verses from other psalms and biblical literature are selected to “lift up the lowly.” Mary’s vision sees
God active not only in the present but in the future as well; as she
anticipates the role her Son will play.
Thus the “handmaid” becomes the mother of the “Servant,” and it is this
theological understanding that will underscore Luke’s themes, and indeed Jesus’
own words. If it reaches back to the
past, “the promise he made to our
ancestors,” it also stretches into the future, “from now on all generations will call me blessed.”
Breaking open the Gospel:
- Whom do you know who is “lowly”?
- How has God “lifted them up?”
- How has God lifted you up?
After breaking open the
Word, you might want to pray the Collect for Sunday:
O God, you have taken to yourself the blessed Virgin Mary, mother of
your incarnate Son: Grant that we, who have been redeemed by his blood, may
share with her the glory of your eternal kingdom; through Jesus Christ our
Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God,
now and for ever. Amen.
Questions and comments copyright © 2014, Michael
T. Hiller
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