Sunday was the feast for the assumption of Mary. This is one of those services I've missed consistently for the past few years, so I was excited to find out more.
So, what's up with Mary? She is adored by so many, to the point where outsiders have accused some of "Mary worship." How many Mary candles have you seen at the grocery store, those Mary de Guadelupe beach towels, little Mary statues etc. She really does have quite the merchandise line. Besides the accessories, Mary has a unique spiritual appeal.
At the service, the priest described Mary as a "lowly woman," a humble woman from ordinary circumstances. She was chosen to be a great servant, to carry Jesus and then raise him into adulthood. That's quite an honor but also quite a responsibility. Could you imagine if she'd accidentally let him run into the coffee table or dropped him as a baby? Yikes!
She was called to stand up and serve, to be a mother. This can be viewed as a really simple calling: millions of women do this everyday. So, again, what makes Mary so special? To me, she appears to be the archetypal good woman, someone to be inspired by, and someone to call upon. Many people, whether close to their mothers or other mother-figures, can always use another woman to look up to.
Still, Mary is more than just a spiritual role model and a figure that is transformed into art. She was a servant, and Christians are always called to serve, to share their gifts with the world in whatever way they can. She was a mother and a good cousin (at least that one time when she went to visit Elizabeth...I can't say I've read very much else about her life).
Words are eluding me as I write this before dawn (can't sleep), but I'm convinced that Mary is an important figure. I think learning about Mary helps me connect to the human-ness of Jesus, that he was a baby and a toddler once, and that he had a mother who loved him.
