The Entrance into the Temple of our Most Holy Lady, the Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary
Nativity Fast. A holy day of obligation.
Read
Hebrew 9:1-7; Luke 10:38-42, 11:27-28
Recently I preached on Luke’s version of the Gerasene demoniac, and I was struck by the conclusion of the gospel, where the formerly demon-possessed man, now healed, sits at Jesus’ feet. To sit at someone’s feet, both in the ancient world and in Luke’s gospel specifically, is the posture of a disciple. Just like that man, transformed from something like a wild animal into a disciple who is sent to preach the good news to his community, so is Mary the model disciple in today’s gospel. Rather than being subservient to the priorities of her culture (even the good ones, like hospitality), she realigns her priorities so that she can give herself totally to her teacher, listening to his words. The fact that the disciples, mentioned in the first verse of the gospel, have faded into the background further emphasizes how she is the ideal disciple. Throughout the gospel, she is silent, even when her sister complains to the Lord about her – she is content to let him speak the truth, and to soak it in. That’s when the passage jumps about 30 verses, to Luke 11, and concludes with Jesus’ words, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” Like Mary, the sister of Martha, and especially like Mary the Theotokos, we are called to be listeners and hearers. At the feet of the Lord, or secluded in the temple, these women emptied themselves, and as a result, they became “full of grace.” If we listen, we can become like them.