Blessed battle banner bearer?

Sermon for the Sunday in the Octave of the Assumption of Our Lady 

A nervous young man,

enflamed with love,

turns to his beautiful girlfriend,

looks her lovingly in the eye,

and, barely concealing

the passion for her 

that causes

his heart to beat faster,

opens his mouth and says,

"Ee Luv,

yer like a big, frightening

formation of Sherman tanks!"

It kills the moment, rather,

don't you think?

Ladies, 

how often does your man

compare you to

military manoeuvres?

Do you take it 

as the complement 

intended?

Or is he saying,

"Yer a reet battleaxe,  Luv?" 

And yet,

in our most passionate book

of the Bible 

we hear the Great Lover

say of His Shunamite Bride,

"Who is she 

that looketh forth as the morning, 

fair as the moon, 

clear as the sun, 

and terrible 

as an army with banners?"

And whatever you think

of the failings

of Ancient Israelite courtship,

this verse is consistently applied

to Our Lady.

In our liturgy,

the Blessed Virgin,

Queen of Heaven,

full of grace 

is described as being

as terrible as an army 

with banners!

Our Lady the battleaxe?

[PAUSE]

Seeing Our Lady 

as a cosmic Nora Batty

is an image that belongs to our culture

not to the culture of Bronze Age Israel.

Imagine

a young man

beset by the turbulence of life

an uncertain future,

tormented by

the same demons

that beset us today.

Yes, the same demons

who try to turn us from God

with enticements to sin,

and despair,

demons that show us

that we are worth nothing

demons that makes us feel laughed at

ridiculous, 

hated.

Imagine that young man

surrounded by this army of misery

look up into the eyes

of his girlfriend

and see in those eyes,

love,

the love that makes Him

feel seen, appreciated and cared for,

the love that drives those demons away

howling and screaming. 

One woman

routing the Army of Darkness

with a kiss.

How terrible as an army with banners!

[PAUSE]

It is said that 

the Powers of Hell

fear Our Lady in the same way.

It's not that she possesses

a Divine Nature,

but rather that,

through her and in her

the Divine Nature of Our Lord Jesus

shines forth.

Our Lady is not our Redeemer

but she certainly plays a vital rôle 

in our Salvation 

just as much

as the person who dials 999

plays a vital rôle in saving the life

of a heart-attack victim.

All who know her,

who see her,

who talk to those that have met her

know that she is indeed without sin.

She needs Salvation nonetheless 

because no-one can be raised

from Earth to Heaven

without Christ.

No-one can participate 

in the Divine Nature

without the Divinity

of Christ taking on

our Humanity.

And Our Lady

participates in 

the Divine Nature of Christ

by saying "Yes!" 

to bearing Him from embryo to foetus to baby

bearing Him to infant, to boy, to teenager, to man

bearing Him to ministry and miracle

to suffering and crucifixion, 

bearing Him to death

and bearing Him

to resurrection.

The whole of His Holy Incarnation 

is borne in the person 

of one sinless virgin.

All of our Salvation

is borne in the person

of one sinless virgin.

And the demons know it.

And they tremble. 

At the sight 

of a lady, 

so little and gentle

the armies of darkness flee,

because of the Christ

Who shines in her.

Yes,

Our Lady is as terrible

as an army with banners

but an army

that fights for us,

formidable and strong 

and yet 

wins its battle 

with a kiss,

a gentle word,

a look of love and compassion,

a warmth that tells us in our misery,

"you are not forgotten."

This is why Our Lady 

is assumed into Heaven,

soul and body.

Where else should she be?