The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary – July 2, 20251 Samuel 2; Song of Solomon 2:8b-14St. Luke 1:39-56
In the Name of the Father, and of the +
Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
When the Blesséd Virgin Mary enters the
home of Zacharias, she is greeted by her relative, Elizabeth, with a blessing,
“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!”[1]
Some have understood this blessing as strictly referring to the child in Mary’s
womb. Mary is blessed because her Son is blessed. And there is certainly truth
in that understanding, truth that I will address in a minute. But where I think
such an understanding is lacking is that it does not give attention to the dual
nature of Elizabeth’s blessing. She is praising God and imparting a blessing on
both the mother and the child, something that is worth a bit of our
attention.
In what ways is Blesséd Mary blessed? First,
she is blessed in the way all mothers are blessed. Children are a heritage from
the Lord and a blessing to mothers and fathers, alike. They are the
continuation of your lineage and of all the blessings given to you in this
life, they are the only one you can take with you into heaven. They are bone of
your bone and flesh of your flesh, not joined into one flesh by God (as with
holy marriage), but being generated by your own being. God is certainly the
cause of children, but He does not take two formerly distinct persons and join
them into one flesh but rather takes what has been joined in holy marriage and
brings forth from this united flesh a new person.
Yet this is the least of the blessings
to which Elizabeth is referring. She says, “Blessed are you among women,”
meaning, “You have received a greater blessing than all other mothers.” Elizabeth
recognizes that the child in Mary’s womb is the God-Man, God Incarnate. Of all
the women in all creation, from Eve down to the last little girl to be born
before the end of the age, Mary holds a unique position. She is the mother of
God. It was given to her to bear the Christ. She is the ark of the Old
Testament, bearing in her womb the very presence of God, wrapped in flesh. She
will give her bone and her flesh to the Christ, who will take away her sin and
the sins of the world. This is a higher blessing and honor than that given to
every other mother in the world.
Such a statement shouldn’t bother you, though it might. The Marian errors of the Roman Catholic Church shouldn’t prevent you from the truth of the Scriptures, “Blessed is Mary among women.” Just as not all men are called to be kings yet David was king after God’s own heart; just as not all men are called to be translated body and soul into heaven prior to the resurrection yet Enoch walked with God; just as not all men are called to build a Temple for the earthly dwelling of God yet Solomon did just that; so too, not all women are called to bear the Christ yet the Blessed Virgin Mary is the mother of God.
And that was not on account of her
greatness. It was not on account of her particular holiness or sinlessness. It
was not even on account of her heroic faith, as though it were a virtue she had
worked hard to strengthen over the early years of her life. It is a mystery as
to why this specific maiden was chosen to be the mother of God. What we do know
is that it relates to the fact that she was of the lineage of David and that
she was of no great status. She was a lowly handmaiden, signifying in her
sinful flesh the exact “type” of people for whom the Christ came. You should
never reduce our forefathers and foremothers in the faith to paper cut-outs of the
“everyman,” because they are real people. This is important because if they are
real people, then Christ came to save real people. And if Christ came to save,
to visit, to dwell with real people, then He came to save, visit, and dwell
with you.
With
that clearly understood, then we can also understand how Mary is blessed
because the Child in her womb is blessed. He is the source of every grace and
blessing. This blesséd child is the source of Mary’s own blessing. How is the
fruit of Mary’s womb blessed? “Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is
within me, bless His holy name!”[2]
God is the most common recipient of blessing in all of the Scriptures. A very
wooden translation of this word, “bless,” would be “good words are spoken of”
the one being blessed, but that translation only goes so far. These “good
words” are praises of eternal good, not merely temporal benefits. To be blessed
speaks of being rightly ordered according to God’s holy will and to be one who
dwells in the light of Truth. To bless God is to praise His very divinity and
to be blessed by God is to be drawn into the same.
Now, blessing Mary and her Son was not
the only thing Elizabeth said. She followed her blessing with these words, “But
why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”[3]
This question is as important as the blessing. It is a statement of Elizabeth’s
humility and is in keeping with the song of Mary, the Magnificat. Both women
are keenly aware that they are not worthy to be in the presence of the Almighty
God, wrapped in the flesh of Mary’s womb. This humility is not self-abasement
nor a virtue signal as though they are just saying the right words that were
expected by God. Elizabeth and Mary know the sinfulness of their own hearts.
They know that the Creator of Heaven and Earth deserves to sit not in the womb
of a lowly virgin or visit a dusty hut in the hill country of Judah, but to sit
enthroned in the great majesty of the Temple in Jerusalem, surrounded by kings
and priests.
It takes a great act of humility to confess your sins and your sinfulness. It takes an honest reflection on your own soul to admit that you have not kept the Word of God purely; that you have treated your neighbor with disdain; that you have hated the very gifts which God has given you. Such humility is necessary in all who would be called by the name of Christ, that is, all Christians. It is necessary because Christ came to save sinners. He who is without sin is without the need for a Savior. There will never be a time on this side of glory when you have no need of humble repentance.
This is why the Son of God descended
into the flesh of a lowly maiden. It is why this humble maiden visited her
elderly relative in a backwoods, hill country village. The mighty are put down
from their thrones but the lowly are exalted. The personal suffering of the
Christian is given by God to tear down any thought that she can rely on herself
in this temporal life, let alone in eternal life. The original sin in the
garden was an act of self-sufficiency, explaining why self-reliance is such an
enduring, perpetual temptation. Wallowing in self-pity and blaming God for your
circumstances is another way of saying, “God, I’ve done my part, why aren’t you
blessing me more?” Notice how that is the opposite of what Elizabeth says, “Why
is this great blessing granted to me?”
What you can do, is attend to the
vocations you’ve been given. Now that might require a change of thought or a
change of habit, or a dedicated effort to do those things you’ve neglected. But
at the end of the day, faithfully attending to your vocation may not change the
circumstances of your suffering. If it did, there would certainly be a
temptation to think that it was your work to improve yourself that relieved
your suffering. That is not a condemnation of self-improvement, it is a warning
against any thought that your work makes the world better. All glory is given
to God. “Why has this been given to me? I am but a lowly mother, father,
sister, brother, wife, husband, worker, employer, etc.”
What a great joy and blessing it is to
be here with all of you tonight. You are in the house of the Lord, hearing His
Word and receiving His visitation. Why is this granted to me, a sinner, that
the Lord should come to me in this place, giving me His eternal inheritance
when I am nothing but a lowly servant? The Lord has kept His promise to Abraham
and to our fathers, helping His people, Israel (the Church), in remembrance of
His mercy. Why has this been granted to me, that the Son of God would visit,
dwell, and save a sinner such as me? What a glorious mystery to celebrate with
all of you.
In + Jesus’
name. Amen.
