Sermon for the Sunday in the octave of the Assumption preached at the Cathedral Church of St Augustine of Canterbury
You have every reason to think
that the church had got
the wrong Mary.
Today we celebrate
the Sunday in the octave
of the Assumption of Our Lady,
the Blessed Virgin Mary,
Our Lord's Mother.
But the Gospel reading concerns
Martha and Mary
- that's Mary Magdalene,
not Our Lady.
There are so many Marys,
so maybe the writers of the Missal
got confused.
But it's the same in the Breviary,
the Roman Missal
and the Sarum Missal.
Clearly the Church
has something to say
about Our Lady's Assumption
through how Our Lord
treats Martha and Mary.
The cynical might say
that it’s because
the Assumption of Our Lady
is not in the Bible
that we've had to make-do.
Indeed,
there are many people
who say,
for that reason alone,
it didn’t happen
and that we are fools to believe it.
[PAUSE]
But there are facts
that cannot be ignored.
There are no relics of her body
anywhere.
Given how
the Church has carefully curated
the bodies of all the saints,
how is it possible
that Our Lady's body
is missing from reliquaries
the world over.
It's also the that,
after a brief mention in the Acts,
she simply disappears.
She probably goes
with St John to Ephesus
since Jesus tells him
from the cross
to look after her.
But there is no record of her.
Some people think
she is the woman
clothed in the Sun
in the Revelation,
and it's hard not to draw
that conclusion,
even though it can have
other meanings.
But there are no Acts of Mary;
no indication of a ministry of any kind.
There is certainly
no record of her celebrating the Mass.
Even if she is the Mother of God,
she is not a priest.
She does nothing!
[PAUSE]
And now we see
why the Church has given us
this episode of the Gospel.
St Mary Magdalene
sits quietly
at the feet of Our Lord
and listens to Him
while Martha is concerned
with the affairs of this life.
St Mary Magdalene
reflects Our Lady
by devoting her attention
solely to Jesus.
There is nothing that
she needs to do
other than think of Him.
And what a life Our Lady reflects on!
No one else has
carried God in her womb.
No one else has
nursed Him,
bathed Him,
clothed Him,
helped Him learn
to walk and talk.
No one else has
seen their child grow
into a man who
commands the power
of Almighty God Himself
and yet never forgets His mother.
She probably gives
St Matthew and St Luke
information about Our Lord's birth
for the Gospels
and we are told that
she treasures up the memories
of Our Lord
in her heart.
It's not that God has
no use for her after
He ascends into Heaven.
It's that her ministry
is a ministry of being,
not doing.
To be a mother
is a ministry of relationship,
of just being present
having brought a child
into the world.
Just as a small child
is comforted by his mother
simply being there.
So are we comforted
by the presence of Our Lady.
Wherever she is, He is.
[PAUSE]
This is the power
of Our lady's Assumption.
She is taken into Heaven
in a unique way
because she is unique.
In being assumed,
Our Lady shows us
the love of Our Lord
for His mother
by keeping His own commandment
to honour His Father and His mother.
Her ministry to us
is to be His mother:
she need do nothing else.
She founds no Church
because she presents her son
to every Church that loves her.
She writes no Gospel,
because the Lord has
written His Gospel on her very being.
She does not die
the glorious death of a martyr,
because the crucifixion of her Son
already makes her a martyr.
She leaves behind
no relic of her body
because her Son wants us
to see her incorrupt
and remind us
that we too will be incorruptible.
[PAUSE]
She leaves behind
no relic of her body,
but what of other relics?
Her veil perhaps?
Here, in this building,
we have a reminder
not only of Our Lady's existence,
but also of her presence.
And Our Lady's existence
points to Our Lord's existence.
Our Lady's presence
points to Our Lord's presence.
It means we can be sure,
every time we enter this holy place,
that we are in the company
of Our Lady and Our Lord.
[PAUSE]
The Church reminds us
of Mary and Martha
on the feast of the Assumption
so that we remember
to be Christians
and to live as Christians
at the feet of Christ
rather than be ruled
by the cares of this world.
God is with us
as He is with his Mother.
Nothing else
has any greater
claim on our lives.
Nothing else
will give us any
greater joy
than being with
them both in Eternity.
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