August 15, 2010
This weekend the Church honored Mary, the mother of Jesus, in the feast of the Assumption. The Gospel passage in Luke is from when the angel Gabriel has announced to Mary that she will give birth to a Son. Mary goes to visit her kinswoman Elizabeth and sings this song of praise to God (the Magnificat):
My soul proclaims the greatness of our God, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;
who has looked with favor on this lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
You O God have done great things for me, and holy is your Name.
You have mercy on those who fear you in every generation.
You have shown the strength of your arm, and have scattered the proud in their conceit.
You have cast down the mighty from their thrones, and have lifted up the lowly.
You have filled the hungry with good things, and the rich you have sent away empty.
You have come to the help of your servant Israel, for you have remembered your promise of mercy, the promise you made to our ancestors, to Abraham and Sarah and their children for ever.
Luke 1:46-55
The Magnificat begins with words of consolation but then offers words that challenge us — the proud are scattered, the rich are sent away empty, the mighty are cast down as God remembers the promise of mercy. This passage though is not about retribution or vengeance. It is a recognition of how God comes to us, enters into our lives, and offers us hope: in vulnerable love. God comes to us through a single, young, poor, pregnant woman, turning expectations about the awaited Savior upside down. That is good news for us; we don’t have to be perfect for God to work through us. In fact, as songwriter Leonard Cohen writes, “There is a crack in everything–that’s how the light gets in.” It is in these vulnerable places of our lives that God can enter. Nadia Bolz-Weber notes, “We’ve got plenty of daily bread and seem to be able to handle most stuff that comes our way. But the truly hungry carry none of these illusions of self-sufficiency. It is our hunger which God feeds, not our fullness.” Patients and residents and those who seek healing from us are forced into knowing this–they are dependent on us for compassion, care, respect, and love.
Mary bore the light of God to the whole world in giving birth to Jesus. She said “yes” to God’s call to allow God to work through her, though she wasn’t the most powerful, famous, or wealthy person. We don’t know much more about her life. Besides the song of praise in the Magnificat, the only other words Scripture records her as saying are, “Do whatever he tells you,” when Jesus is at the wedding reception in Cana (actually good advice for us today as well). We too can bear light to the world through the cracks of our own pain, loneliness, sorrow, and vulnerability.
Would you be willing to tell us about one of your colleagues whose work here allows the light of Christ into the lives and hearts of our patients and residents? Nominate someone for the St. Marguerite d’Youville Awards for employees who best represent one of our four core values of respect, excellence, compassion, or stewardship. Forms are available on e-bits and nominations are due August 27.
Elizabeth Keene
Mission Effectiveness
Tags: Feast of the Assumption, Luke, Readings, St. Mary's Pastoral Care
