Solemnity of the Assumption
of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Isaiah, 61:10-11
Galatians, 4:4-7
Luke, 1:46-55

+ In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Where's the heart of Christendom? Rome? Istanbul? Canterbury? Moscow? Jerusalem? More and more, the stronger argument may be that it's Kampala, or Nairobi, or Lagos, or Accra. Then again, some may say it's South Korea, but only for another decade or so before it's China. Right now, more Christians in China attend services probably than in all of Europe. ⁽¹⁾ The Church has made more converts and grown more quickly in the last generation possibly than at any other time. The Church is as vibrant and healthy as ever, maybe more than ever.

A few hundred years ago, there were virtually no Christians in Africa. A couple of generations ago, there were virtually no Christians in China. Now there are millions in both Africa and China, even though many of them experience persecution and tremendous hardships. But we should not be surprised about this amazing reversal. In the first century, Christians were an obscure sect of an insignificant and despised religion. The early Church endured wave after wave of persecution and oppression. And yet within a few hundred years Christianity dominated the Roman world. Adversity nurtured the Church. Adversity propagates the faith. Consistently in the life of the Church, expectations are turned upside down.

"He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree." Reversal of fortune is the way God operates. A prominent theme in S. Luke's gospel is God's concern for the poor and lowly, the oppressed and forgotten. Ultimately, God will set things right, and those who seem to have made it, the rich and powerful, will switch places with the poor and powerless. In Luke's version of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus blesses the poor, the hungry, the outcast, the ignored, and he declares woe to the rich, the satisfied, the well-regarded. (Lk 6:20-26) Jesus tells the parable of the rich man, who is clothed in purple and feasts sumptuously, and Lazarus, who is poor and full of sores. Lazarus dies and goes to Abraham's bosom. The rich man dies, and from his torments in hell he begs for Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool the rich man's tongue. (Lk 16:19-25) Jesus said, "For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." (Lk 14:11)

We can be sure of what God promises to do for the poor and oppressed, because he has already done this in S. Mary. God raised up an unknown, poor, powerless, humble, young girl to be his mother. God gives hope to the world, he begins to break the grip of tyrants, the chains of slavery, the force of evil, through an anonymous teenager, living in a dusty, wretched corner of the world. Unlikely Mary becomes the greatest of all human beings. She becomes the means for God to reverse human fate, for God to make life instead of death.

Today's gospel, the Magnificat, expresses Mary's joy that God is acting so that ultimately mercy and hope and goodness and peace and love are victorious over vindictiveness and despair and evil and misery and hatred. Mary responds by praising God. She pours forth her gratitude to God. Here she is destitute, pregnant, un-wed - hardly a situation we'd welcome for our teenage daughters, and she is praising God, giving him thanks. Somehow she perceives that her vulnerable circumstances are a great blessing to her and to all the world, and she gives thanks.

It impresses upon me that the beginning of holiness and sanctity, the beginning of the new humanity, is a grateful heart. Nothing does more to reverse our fortunes. Nothing does more to transform our lives. Nothing does more to know God's love. To those who lack faith, to those who doubt God's existence, I can't convince you. No one can. Clever arguments and theological proofs will never convince anyone of God's existence, of God's love for us, of God's presence with us.

The way we know God is by how we live, and the most important characteristic of a life connecting with God, of God being real to us, of a personal relationship with God, is giving thanks to him - at all times and in all places. It's seeing that every good thing in our lives we haven't done on our own or earned or deserved. Every good thing in our lives has been given to us. Life is a gift. "For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his Name." If we live life this way, ever mindful of our blessings, then we - like Mary - give birth to Jesus in our lives. He's with us.

Recently I read a Jewish folk tale about a young man who wanted to be holy.

After some time at working to achieve it, he went to see his Rabbi.

"Rabbi," he announced, "I think I have achieved sanctity."

"Why do you think that?" asked the Rabbi.

"Well," replied the young man, "I've been practicing virtue and discipline for some time and I have grown quite proficient at them. From the time the sun rises until it sets, I take no food or water. All day long, I do all kinds of hard work for others and I never expect to be thanked. If I have temptations of the flesh, I roll in the snow or the thorn bushes until they go away, and then at night, before bed, I practice an ancient monastic discipline and administer lashes to my bare back. I have disciplined myself so as to be holy."

The Rabbi was silent for a long time. Then he took the young man by the arm and led him to the window and pointed to an old horse which was just being led away by its master.

"I have been observing that horse for some time," the Rabbi said, "and I have noticed that it doesn't get fed or watered from morning to night. All day long it has to do work for people and it never gets thanked. I often see it rolling around in snow or bushes, as horses are prone to do, and frequently I see it get whipped. But, I ask you: is that a saint or a horse?" ⁽²⁾

Gratitude motivates saints. When I see a friend of mine, he usually asks me, "How is God blessing you?" Or, "How has God blessed you today?" Early in our friendship, I'd hem and haw, searching for an answer. With time, I learned to be prepared for it, and then would be disappointed if not asked. It's a great practice, a great spiritual discipline - always to be prepared to answer that question: "How is God blessing you?" "How is God blessing your family, your friends, your church, your work, your ministry?"

Most of us know what it's like to receive a lavish gift, a gift that we do not deserve, a gift that is way beyond proportion of anything we expected or could have imagined. It can be very hard to receive gifts. We get embarrassed when other people give of themselves too much. We know that to receive, to some extent, obligates us, commits us to the giver. We also know that another's generosity humbles us. So the more we appreciate God's goodness, the more real it is to us, the more committed we become to him, the more humble we become. Grateful people are holy people.

Have no doubt that the world conspires against us in being grateful. When our culture tells us to 'live life to the fullest,' it means go out and take what you're owed. The poor, the powerless, the un-regarded know that we are owed nothing. We deserve nothing. Everything, everything - love, family, friends, enthusiasms, interests, talents, beauty, peace, rest, sexuality, food, even the weather - everything is a gift. We take nothing for granted, because if we do, we fail to see the Giver behind the gift. ⁽³⁾ Deep holiness, deep faith, begins with gratitude. We sing with Mary, "My soul doth magnify the Lord."

+ In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

1. Nicholas D. Kristof, 'Where Faith Thrives,' The New York Times, 26 March 2005.

2. Ronald Rolheiser, The Shattered Lantern, Revised Edition, Crossroad Publishing (2001), pp. 179-80.

3. Rolheiser, p. 182.