This feast is one of the older celebrations of Mary, built on a biblical text in Luke’s gospel.  The story is familiar – the young Mary has been visited by a messenger of God and not only invited to bear God’s child to the world, but informed that her cousin is also miraculously pregnant, with the child who, according to John’s Gospel, is destined to be the greatest of all the prophets of the original covenant.

The text from the Prophet Zephaniah is one of the return-from-exile prophecies to the people of Israel.  In this case, Israel is the paradigm for the entire world that is in exile from God because of sin.  We can rejoice now – all of us – because our exile from our own humanity, from the rest of Creation, and from God’s self, is finally coming to an end.  Salvation is about healing the three curses of Genesis 3: 16-24 that afflict us because of human refusal to allow God to be our God. This refusal is one of arrogance and, we learn from the gospel, that those that practice such an attitude will be restored to their humanity only by pulling them away from their false power or wealth.  (The mighty will be unseated and the rich sent away empty, Luke asserts).

The lowly are redeemed from their separation by being raised up to their true dignity.  Those who know the truth of their human condition are “happy” – that is, made righteous by God’s mercy and love.

This Gospel text is one of the most powerful announcements of Jesus’ authority and power as Lord (Hebrew word for God).  This evangelion or “Good News” is the mysterious heart of the saving work of God.  Embracing the fact that God, the unlimited source of all creation, placed the Divine Self within the womb of a human woman; a woman of a poverty-stricken people in an oppressed land.  God became that most vulnerable creature – a human infant.

Pope Francis, in his most recent apostolic letter on the call to holiness tells us, it is easy for us to adopt the heresy of Gnosticism, a world view within Christianity which refuses to accept the implications of the Incarnation.  He warns us that we cut ourselves off from any relationship with God when we refuse to accept for ourselves the humble reality that God chose in the Incarnation.  We who want to be rich, powerful, authoritative, famous, must know that such conditions are terribly dangerous because they almost always cause human persons to think they are a god not allowing God be God of their lives and worlds. This is the first and only real sin of humankind because all other behaviors that we consider sin are versions of this attitude.

The other grave danger that Pope Francis recently warned us against is Pelagianism. This is an attitude that we earn our own way to salvation rather than accept all creation and all our talent, resources and graces as gifts of God.  These are GIFTS that we may rightly use if given by God, but we must not take possession of them, or they will destroy us.  Self-righteousness springs from this attitude that I make myself perfect – whether it is from getting an A on an exam, achieving a certain position or honor,  or even asserting a certain image or idea about what God is or is like.  Even the deepest truths of our faith are developing as we understand more about ourselves and our world. – Either individually or together we will never figure it all out; we will never have all the answers. Anyone who thinks she or he is absolutely right, is most assuredly no longer a friend of God and the prophets and saints he likes to share His Spirit with.

In today’s Liturgy then, the whole of salvation is revealed in the Church’s memory of the visit of a young woman to an old woman cousin.  Both are pregnant outside of all cultural norms of what “ought to be” or “is possible,” because God has accomplished God’s desire in the love of the most vulnerable, the least, the most generous.  Both are women who wait, and women who love.

I asked myself what I could do to be more attentive to the mystery of God’s love revealed today.  I can visit a lonely family member, or receive a visit from someone who interrupts my life.

Or I can reach out to a young mother who doesn’t have enough resources to provide for the needs of the child in her womb, and discover something about her desires and hopes.

I could seek out a refugee or undocumented person – who is a paradigm of Jesus’ human condition and Mary and Joseph’s early family life – just to discover his/her world.

Or I might consider carefully which kind of wealth, authority, power or security – even security of doctrine – is separating me from my human condition of limitedness, and my dependence on God. 

I can ask God to separate me from my idolatrous throne - and find the condition of Divine joy in the poverty that results.

My mother has gone to God in the next stage of her life but, if your mother is still here, you could call her and thank her for allowing you to live within, and even feed from, her body, so that you have life.

Or . . . we can read the Gospel again and let the Spirit suggest what God plans for us.

If you decide to embrace this day and its message, then celebrate:  This is about Good News!