Filled with the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth proclaims Mary as ‘The most Blessed of all Women’. Yet while her first instinct is to give thanks to the God for whom ‘nothing is impossible’, Elizabeth also praises Mary for her faith, her trust in the God who speaks and delivers on promises made. Mary is deeply connected to all who ‘hear the Word of God and obey it’. (Luke 11:27-28). She is not just the Mother of the Beloved Son of God. She is a disciple, adorned as the first and the best, who shows us how to be intentional disciples in our own days.
This experience of Grace, where the ‘Word of God’ and ‘human listening and obeying’ unite, is key to understanding Mary’s encounter with Gabriel. Out of her heart, Grace creates a song whose lyrics celebrate what God is doing, and how Mary is actively cooperating with this Sacred activity. God moves with love, faithfulness, and mercy to change the face of the earth. Anyone who does not have due reverence for the things of God, and who do not align themselves with Gods purpose will be scattered in confusion and loneliness. Even if now they sit on seats of great power and gorge themselves at feasts, they will be overthrown and emptied out. The injustices of the world are coming to an end, and those who align themselves to God’s purposes will have their part to play in this ending.
The transformation of the face of the earth is not only inspired and directed by God it will also be completed by God. This is known as the Great Assurance. Communities and individuals who act against God’s purpose are doomed to failure, but those who move in harmony with God’s purposes are being carried into a destiny whose beginning and end is God Himself.
It is worth looking at the values which dance in the heart of the singer of the Song. She is a person of openness, humility, questioning, courageous, consulting, faithful and just. More to the point, all of these values are cradled in her pondering heart. She does not shrink from the difficult work of discerning what is right. God speaks, and casts a lure which will maximise our commitment to love and justice. This Divine lure is a call to beauty. But the work of restoring the beauty of creation will inevitably bring turmoil and trouble. When this happens, we can lose our footing and begin to doubt the whole enterprise. And this is where the pondering heart comes into its own. By placing ourselves in a constant state of discerning we are less likely to want to impose our will on others, less likely to fight for our way and leave havoc in our wake. We listen with our assumptions (bracketed) for the something more that is on its way. We may not know what it is but we recognise it when it arrives.
Rachael Remen says this beautifully.
I’ve spent many years learning
how to fix life, only to discover
at the end of the day
that life is not broken.
There is a hidden seed of great wholeness
in everyone and everything.
We serve life best
when we water it
and befriend it.
When we listen before we act.
In befriending life
we do not make things happen
according to our own design.
We uncover something that is already happening
in us and around us
And create conditions that enable it.
Everything is moving towards its place of wholeness
always struggling against the odds.
Everything has a deep dream of itself and its fulfilment.
‘Finding our Way: Leadership for an Uncertain Time’. Margaret Wheatley, 2007, p.230
With this in mind, listen very carefully to the Preface to the Eucharistic Prayer for today’s Feast. Truly astounding!
