Journey from Nazareth to Judha; From the Altar to your Home

 

Today's Gospel begins like this: “In those days…”. This means that in the days immediately after the Annunciation or as soon as the word became flesh, or God became man, “Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country”. Look at the journey: from Nazareth to Judah. Nazareth is a very fertile and green city. On the other hand, Judah is mountainous, deserted and arid land.

It is not an easy journey, but Maria is happy to undertake it. What would have prompted Mary to take such a risk? The word of God, faith in the word of God announced by the angel Gabriel. So, the first lesson is that it is the word of God that makes man happy in the midst of all the sufferings. We began the advent by mentioning the bad governors and the priests who oppressed the people of Israel. People are desperately waiting for a messiah. Amidst all the sufferings and oppressions, the word of God gives happiness first through John the Baptist and today through Mary. In fact, even today it is the Word of God that gives us hope and consolation. In the psalms we read " How sweet are thy words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" (Ps 119: 103)

That faith and the hope in the word of God announced by Gabriel make her hurry on a long journey to visit her cousin. On almost all the occasions in the Bible, people who receive God's word and His love positively act quickly. Why? I think that by acting quickly, human reason never has time to think differently and therefore does not supersede the divine reason. So, today's readings invite us to have faith in the word of God.

Mary's journey and her visit to Elizabeth allude to one of the greatest events in the Old Testament - an important journey made by the Ark of the Covenant. (2 Sam 6).

As Mary "leaves" for the mountains of Judah, so David goes up to the mountains of Judah to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem (Luke 1:19; 2 Samuel 6: 2). Along the way, David was in awe of God’s presence and power in the Ark, saying, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” (2 Sm 6:9). Elizabeth says the same thing: " why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?" (Luke 1:43; 2 Samuel 6: 9). The Ark remains in the house of Obed-Edom for three months (2 Sam 6.10-11), after which it is taken to Jerusalem in a grand procession with people rejoicing and shouting in praise of God (2 Sm 6:15) and with king David leaping and dancing before the Ark of the Lord (2 Sm 6:16). As the Ark stays three months in the "house of Obed-Edom", so Mary stays three months in the "house of Zechariah" (Lk 1,40) (Lk 1,56). As David leaped and danced before the Ark of the Lord, so John the Baptist leaps in Elizabeth’s womb when Elizabeth hears Mary’s greeting (Lk 1:41). As the people welcome the Ark into the city with shouts and joy, so Elizabeth exclaims with great joy when she greets Mary (Lk 1:42).

This biblical connection between Mary and the Ark of the Covenant makes sense. Like the Ark of old, Mary bears the presence of God in her womb. Just as the Ark held the manna, so Mary carries in her womb the one who will call himself the true Bread of Life (cf. Jn 6:48-51). Just as the Ark contained the Ten Commandments, so Mary bears the one who is the fulfilment of the Law (cf. Mt 5:17). And just as the Ark carried the staff of the high priest Aaron, so does Mary carry in her womb the true High Priest, who will offer his life on the Cross for our sins (cf. Heb 8:1-7).

The biblical revelation of Mary as the Ark of the Covenant can also point to her importance in the Christian life. Two spiritual reflections could be drawn from this image. First, drawing near to the Ark of the Covenant meant drawing near to the holy presence of God. The Israelites drew near the sanctuary where the Ark resided, camping around the Tabernacle that housed the Ark during their journey through the wilderness and coming to the Jerusalem Temple where the Ark later resided to worship God. The Ark was not God, of course, but played an important role when people wanted to draw near to the Lord’s presence. Similarly, if Mary is the new Ark of the Covenant, then she, too, plays an important role in helping people draw near to God’s presence today. Because through her God wanted to enter the world. How close we are to Mary so much we can also be close to Christ.

Second, the Ark of old was used in some of Israel’s greatest battles. The Levites carried the Ark seven times around the city of Jericho before the trumpets were blown and the city walls miraculously fell down. As the new Ark of the Covenant, Mary can be seen as going before us in our spiritual battles today—our struggles with our own weaknesses and sins—helping us gain victory through her powerful intercession for us.

Because she is the queen who intercedes before Christ, her queenship is also evident in today's Gospel. Elizabeth greets her saying: " why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?". Here "Mother of my Lord" has two meanings: mother of the king and the mother of God. The two invocations are right because Jesus is God and at the same time a king. He was born in the tribe of Judah as a descendant of King David. Since He is king His mother is Queen, because in Israel the mother was queen.

What does Mary's queenship teach us?

Her role as queen is understood not as a triumphalistic or aristocratic privilege, as is often found in the kingdoms of the world but is seen in the way she imitates Christ’s reign through humble service, obedience to God, and persevering faith. Thus, she confirmed that she was a true ‘disciple’ of Christ, who strongly emphasized that his mission was one of service: the Son of Man ‘came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many’ (Mt. 20:28). In this way Mary became the first of those who, ‘serving Christ also in others, with humility and patience and becomes a perfect disciple.

Therefore, she is a model for us to imitate. As Mary begins her journey as soon as she has received Jesus in her womb, so too, by receiving Jesus in our hearts, we go to serve the needy. In fact, after the mass when the priest says " Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life" means starting from there at the foot of the altar our journey towards the mountainous land of Judah, towards our homes where new Elisabeths of today are found. There from our families must begin our service, serving our mothers, fathers, grandparents and relatives as Mary began her service from her cousin. So that our mere presence brings Joy to others. That is what all about Christmas, the feast of joy, bring joy to the world.

This act of charity is very important. Charity is the manifestation of our love. When there is no charity, it means that there is no love. St. Paul says: “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing” (1 Cor 13:1-2).

So let us pray: Lord, I would like to receive you with the purity, humility and devotion with which your Most Holy Mother received You and to serve you in our brothers with the same humility. Amen.