June 1, 2020, Monday of the Ninth Week of Ordinary Time         (today’s lectionary)
 In Mary’s footsteps
Today begins the second and longest period of Ordinary Time, beginning the day after Pentecost and ending at Advent. It is also the Memorial of Saint Justin Martyr. And in 2018 Pope Francis designated this day to be the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church.
In 2002 Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) wrote beautifully of the idea that the church is like Mary: “The Church is virgin and mother, she is immaculate and carries the burdens of history. She suffers and she is assumed into heaven. Slowly she learns that Mary is her mirror, that she is a person in Mary. Mary on the other hand is not an isolated individual, who rests in herself. She is carrying the mystery of the Church.”
Mary carries Jesus, bears him as a baby, raises him as a son, follows him as a disciple, grieves as a mother at the foot of his cross, and stays with his disciples even after he dies, is resurrected and ascends into heaven. She redeems Eve, the fallen woman, at least symbolically, as Jesus redeems Adam, the fallen man. When Eve is tempted by the serpent to eat the fruit of knowledge and gain the “privilege” of knowing good and evil, Mary comes to redeem her.
Lonely, God calls out to Adam, “Wherefore art thou?” Adam comes out of hiding, clothed sort of, knowing something was very wrong. “I was afraid because I was naked. I ate that apple you told me to stay away from, and suddenly I knew I was naked and shouldn’t be.”
There had never been a “should” in his life, and suddenly there were shoulds everywhere. He tried to get away. “It was Eve’s fault. She made me eat.”
But Eve blamed the serpent. Not that we’re much better, but nobody in those early days seemed to know how to admit the truth, take responsibility, assume the position and accept the blame. God’s response gave them lots of room to learn those things, if they wanted to. “On your belly you shall crawl … I will put enmity between you and the woman. Her son will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel.” Now the man would sweat and suffer, the woman would bear children and suffer, and they would live their lives suffering outside the garden he had prepared for them, fending for themselves. Rather than receive and grow in the gift of dominion over all the earth, they would be afraid forever and strive to dominate each other. And then they would die anyway. Fending for themselves.
This was a very bad day for all of us.
Of course God did not exactly leave us alone. When we fended too far for ourselves, and began falling on our own swords, God would somehow make himself known. Before Jesus, and before Mary even agreed to bear the son of God and bring him into the world, there was Zion.
Not Eden, not even close, but something. “Of Zion they shall say: One and all were born in her, and he who has established her is the Most High Lord. All shall dance and sing, “My home is within you!”
And yes. The church is like Zion. But far more, the church is like Mary. In the bosom of Abraham, in the womb of God, O Lord as we sing and dance and praise you, carry us back to Eden, give us another chance to trust and obey, say no to the serpent, lose every should that ever was, and be happy. Warm our hearts with the Spirit of your son.
Not so fast. You don’t get something for nothing, do you?
Can you see them? Mel Gibson’s movie and others too, show Mary in tears, showered in her son’s blood, standing at the foot of the cross. Others were with her, women all but John, and they wept together. They looked up and saw Jesus looking down at them. “Woman, behold your son.”
See me, yes, but see John also. He is your son now. You are the Theotokos, yes, but you are also the Mother of the Church. “Behold your children. You are their mother now.”
Mary carried the body of the Christ. Through her, the body of the Christ inhabits Jesus, inhabits the Church, and inhabits the bread sanctified for us to eat in the Lord’s Supper. What more could we want? Shoulds must never rule us, only Jesus. The body of the Christ here and now. Life everlasting. The Garden of Eden. Redemption.
This is one of those really Good Memorial Days.
(Genesis 3, Psalm 87, John 19)
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