[stephenkhoo]

Scripture Reflections
31 May 2013, Friday, 8th Week in Ordinary Time
REJOICING WITH THOSE WHO REJOICE

SCRIPTURE READINGS: ZEP 3:14-18 OR ROM 12:9-16; LK 1:39-56

The theme of joy runs through all the scripture readings in today’s celebration of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. What was the cause of the great joy of Mary? Was she filled with joy simply because of the fact that she would become the mother of the Saviour? Did she become so proud of herself that amongst all women she has been chosen to be the mother of the Redeemer? Was her joy centered on herself and her ego? Nay, her greatest joy was not because she was called to be the mother of Jesus! On the contrary, as the Magnificat shows, she did not count herself worthy to be the Lord’s handmaid for she said, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and my spirit exults in God my saviour; because he has looked upon his lowly handmaid.”

This is the first lesson we can learn from Mary. Joy cannot be centered on oneself. Joy is always outgoing and centered on others. We cannot bring joy to ourselves. But we can bring joy to others and as we give joy to others, we are filled with joy. So joy is the by-product of seeing others filled with joy, especially when we are the ones that have brought them joy. If Mary was filled with joy, it was because her hope and the prayers of Israel, her forefathers, have been answered. Through the coming of Christ, salvation would be given to her people. She rejoiced at the thought of the long awaited coming of the Saviour now being fulfilled before her very eyes. All the prophecies of the Old Testament prophets that expressed the deepest hopes and desires of Israel would now come to pass. Truly, “He has come to the help of Israel his servant, mindful of his mercy – according to the promise he made to our ancestors – of his mercy to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

Wasn’t this the yearning of Israel when the prophet Zephaniah prophesied about the Messiah to come? How wonderful indeed to know that the Lord is in our midst. When the Lord is with us, there is nothing to fear anymore. With the psalmist, we too can proclaim joyfully “God indeed is my savior; I am confident and unafraid. My strength and my courage is the Lord, and he has been my savior. With joy you will draw water at the fountain of salvation.”

Indeed, if Mary had set out so quickly to visit Elizabeth, it was because she wanted to announce, not so much that she was to be the mother of the Saviour, but that the Savior had come in their midst and salvation was near at hand. So caught up was she with the wonder and unimaginable mercy and work of God, she could not but be filled with joy.

Are we too like Mary, always filled with hope and never despair in life? In spite of difficulties, Mary never gave up hoping in God. This attitude of Mary is what St Paul wants us to cultivate and imitate when he wrote, “Work for the Lord with untiring effort and with great earnestness of Spirit. If you have hope, this will make you cheerful. Do not give up if trials come; and keep on praying. If any of the saints are in need you must share with them; and you should make hospitality your special care.” So now we can appreciate Mary’s joy, for her prayers and that of her people have been answered. They did not wait in vain. God is faithful to them and to His promises. She was truly one of the anawim, the poor and lowly of Israel who remained faithful to God, especially in times of trials.

Hence, this joy also came from the fact that amongst all women, the Lord had counted her worthy to be the mother of the Savior when she was only a lowly handmaid. She was a ‘nobody’. Pope Benedict XVI in a General Audience on 15 Feb 2006 said that the Magnificat “reveals in filigree the spirituality of the biblical anawim, that is, of those faithful who not only recognize themselves as ‘poor’ in the detachment from all idolatry of riches and power, but also in the profound humility of a heart emptied of the temptation to pride and open to the bursting in of the divine saving grace.” Indeed, instead of feeling proud about herself, Mary was filled with humility at the thought of being chosen to be the mother of the Savior.

Equally too, she was joyful because of her cousin’s joy. She had heard that besides choosing her to be the mother of the Saviour, the Lord had also chosen Elizabeth, her cousin, barren and in her old age, to miraculously bring forth the precursor of the Messiah, John the Baptist. Recognizing the joy of Elizabeth and that being old she would need help in her time of delivery, she quickly travelled “to a town in the hill country of Judah.” Without thinking of her own dignity of the divine motherhood conferred on her by the angel, the mother of God, without hesitation, went to visit Elizabeth and stayed with her for three months to assist her.

This, too, is surely a great lesson to learn from Mary. Rather than cherishing her new-found status, she was only concerned about others and wanted to share the joy with Elizabeth, for God had so graciously chosen two undeserving women to partake in the greatest event of salvation history. And truly again, to their surprise, when Mary greeted Elizabeth, she too was filled with the Holy Spirit and cried out with joy, “Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.” Not only did Elizabeth welcome Jesus and recognized Mary to be the Mother of the Lord but John the Baptist too leapt for joy.

How many of us can share the joy of others? Elizabeth was not jealous that her cousin, Mary was chosen to be the mother of the savior, whereas she was only called to be the mother of the precursor. No, both of them rejoiced with each other. Both supported each other and did not envy each other. They were genuinely happy for each other. Many of us cannot rejoice at the happiness of others and their success. How many of us can rejoice when we hear of someone being promoted, that someone has received some achievement, did well in their studies or has struck riches or found a wonderful spouse or friend? Instead of truly rejoicing with them, we are filled with envy and sometimes deep in our hearts we even curse them. That is why St Paul urges us to be like Mary. “Bless those who persecute you: never curse them, bless them. Rejoice with those who rejoice and be sad with those in sorrow. Treat everyone with equal kindness; never be condescending but make real friends with the poor.”

Just as God chose Mary and Elizabeth to be part of the plan of His redemptive work, we too are all chosen in our own way to be the messengers of the Good News, of joy to all peoples and nations. If only we are humble like Mary, trusting in the Lord, receptive to His will and grateful for whatever role He has chosen for us, we, too, would be filled with as much joy, gratitude and thanksgiving. It does not matter who we are or what we are called to do. What matters is that so long as we bring joy to people’s lives, we too will become recipients of the joy of God. Maybe, we are not so prayerful and contemplative like Mary and thus are unable to detect God’s will for us or be gracious enough to say, “Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word.” (Lk 1:37)

Following Pope Benedict’s exhortation, let us take heed of St Ambrose’s invitation to heart. ”May Mary’s soul be in each one to magnify the Lord, may Mary’s spirit be in each one to rejoice in God; if, according to the flesh, the Mother of Christ is one alone, according to the faith all souls bring forth Christ; each, in fact, welcomes the Word of God within…. Mary’s soul magnifies the Lord and her spirit rejoices in God because, consecrated in soul and spirit to the Father and to the Son, she adores with devout affection one God, from whom come all things and only one Lord, by virtue of whom all things exist” (Exposition of the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke, 2: 26-27: SAEMO, XI, Milan-Rome, 1978, p. 169).