HOM Assumption 2021 B August 15 (20th Sunday)

Today’s Scripture readings have been well-chosen by the Church for the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This Solemnity of Mary and its Scripture readings take the place of the Mass and readings for the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

In his homily for today, Bishop Robert Barron refers to the Blessed Mother as ’S WARRIOR QUEEN. (I’ll bet you’ve never heard that title for Mary before, not even in Marian novenas. I haven’t.) However, Bishop Barron uses that title or image based on the readings for the two Masses for the Assumption, the Vigil Mass and the Mass During the Day. Specifically, he has both FIRST readings in mind which mention the Ark of God or the Ark of his Covenant.

The Church has always seen a connection between Mary and the , which is that ornate, gold chest-like container in which were kept the stone tablets with the Ten Commandments that God had given . Along with those stone tablets, in the Ark was the staff of Moses’ brother, , who was a , and a morsel of manna as though to make a prefigurative statement about how the fulfillment of God’s commandments would require the priesthood of Christ and the Eucharist.

Like our tabernacles in church which are especially sacred because they contain the Eucharist, God’s most special presence among us -- His substantial presence -- the Old Testament Ark was especially sacred because it held God’s most special presence at that time, namely His Law. The Ark was kept in the Dwelling Tent – meaning God dwelling in the tent – just as tabernacles are kept in our churches – where God also now dwells substantially in the Eucharist. Also, during the ’ desert journey from to , God’s presence in the Dwelling Tent in the Ark of the Covenant was manifested by a holy cloud, called the shekinah, which enveloped it and appeared as a pillar of fire at night. Only when the shekinah moved ahead toward Promised Land, did the people also advance.

A little more background on the Ark of the Covenant: when the Israelites entered the Promised Land of Canaan after their 40-year desert journey, they were led by Jewish carrying the Ark. When the priests stepped into the with the Ark, the flow of water stopped, and the people were able to cross the river dry-shod.

Having entered, they next had to take the city of . Here again, the Ark led the way, as God had ordered . On each day, for six days, the priests marched around the city carrying the Ark. On the seventh day, they marched with the Ark seven times around the city, blew their ram horns, and the walls of the city collapsed.

Eventually, the Ark was kept at Shiloh in the Dwelling Tent under the care of the priest, Eli and his two sons. However, Eli grew old and his sons were corrupt, and the Ark was not properly cared for. So, God allowed enemies of the Israelites, the Philistines, to conquer Shilo, kill Eli’s two sons, and carry off the Ark. They put it in their Temple to their no-god Dagon, but the next morning, the statue of Dagon was prostate before the Ark. So, they stood it upright and the next morning the statue of Dagon, had again fallen face down on the floor before the Ark and was broken into pieces with its head off. In dread, the Philistines returned the Ark to God’s People. It was then kept at a place call Keriath-jearim for twenty years. During that time, the Israelites of that region who had previously turned to false now turned back to the Lord.

When became King, he arranged for the Ark to be brought to . Note here that, when moved, the Ark was to be carried on poles by Jewish priests, and it was not to be touched, except by priests and at certain times. In addition to having figures of cherubim in worship posture at its sides, the Ark had heavy brass rings on the top corners so that poles could be inserted through them and the Ark could thus carried by priests shouldering the poles. Instead of being held aloft on poles carried by the priests, however, as prescribed by the Lord, it was placed on a cart and transported in a rather undignified manner. Along the way, on uneven ground, the Ark began to tip and one of the drivers of the cart, Uzzah, reached out to steady it, and was struck dead – an unmistakable statement that no one but the Jewish high priests on certain occasions were allowed to touch the Ark.

David then feared the Lord and had the Ark diverted to the house of Obededom. It remained there three months and the Lord blessed Obededom’s whole house. Learning of this, David then had the Ark brought to Jerusalem, carried by the priests bearing it on poles, as recounted in that first reading (for the vigil Mass). Notice in that reading how King David danced before the Ark, prefiguring as we can now see the pre-born leaping for joy in his mother’s womb in the presence of the pre-born Jesus in Mary’s womb. The Ark remained in the Dwelling Tent in Jerusalem until David’s Son, King , built the Jerusalem Temple, The Ark was then kept in the central most area of the Temple called the Holy of Holies.

Fast forward now four hundred years from about 1000 BC to 597 BC. Because of the Israelites infidelities, God allowed the Babylonians to conquer and destroy Jerusalem and the Temple, and the Ark of the Covenant is never see again, although the prophet Ezekiel had a vision of God’s Presence – His Glory -- leaving the Temple, born aloft by . This was probably the Ark of the Covenant, and its ascend in the hands of angels probably prefigures the Blessed Virgin Mary’s Assumption into Heaven because as we shall see next, Mary is the Ark of the New and Everlasting Covenant which fulfills all of the precursor covenants.

From 597 BC, fast forward again another 700 years to about 100 AD. The apostle John, writer of the fourth , three Scriptural Letters, and the last book of the , the Book of Revelation, has a vision of God’s Temple in Heaven opened, and the Ark of the Covenant could be seen in it. In our second reading (Mass during the Day), John described the Ark he saw as “A woman clothed with the Sun with the moon under her feet and on her head a crown of twelve stars.” The Church has always understood that woman to be Mary the true Ark of God’s Covenant – His New and Everlasting Covenant -- because she carried within her God Himself – Jesus Christ.

Think about it. When the Old Testament Ark of the Covenant led the Israelites into the Promised Land, it was prefiguring Jesus and Mary leading God’s People, the Church, into Heaven. When the deity, Dagon, lay prostate in pieces with his head broken off before the Ark, it prefigured Jesus and Mary striking the head of the . When, Uzzah, was struck dead for touching the Ark, it prefigured God’s divine protection of Mary as His Spouse and the Virgin Mother of His Son.

In the Assumption of Mary into Heaven, defined as a dogma of our faith in 1950 by Pope Pius XII, we see that inseparability of Jesus and Mary that began with Jesus’ Incarnation at the Annunciation, was lived for the 33 years of Jesus’ time on earth, mostly in Nazareth, was perfected at Calvary, and continued into Heaven with Jesus’ Resurrection and Ascension to the Father and Mary’s Assumption there shortly after in her incorrupt human body.

O Death, where is your sting, St. Paul asks, when we are united to Jesus, like Mary. Jesus is the firstborn from the dead – raised to Heaven -- the first fruits of his saving oblation – and Mary is next – in oneness with Him. All who live in communion with Jesus, aided by Mary, will follow.

But what else does John’s vision of Mary as the Ark of God’s New and Everlasting Covenant tell us? Notice the red dragon in that vision, ready to devour Mary’s child as she wails and labors to give birth. The Child is taken to Heaven, but the dragon angrily pursues the protected woman (Mary) and (reading further) her offspring, namely, the Church. From her place in Heaven, however, Mary continues her enmity with the through the members of the Church, enabling them – US -- to join Jesus and her in doing God’s will in humble, loving obedience, and so vanquishing the serpent – striking decisively and conclusively at its head.

These are the only weapons that defeat the devil – humble, loving obedience to God’s will. And Mary, our Warrior Queen, gains these for us. She wins for us the grace of humble loving obedience to do God’s will in oneness with Jesus as she did. She inspires and enables us to offer ourselves as she did to the Father’s love and will in oneness with Jesus unto the Cross of obedience and love and into heaven. In doing this she is fulfilling her work as Mother of the Church and the Mother of each person united to Jesus, and all those willing to join Him in doing God’s will.

She is truly God’s Warrior Queen and ours. Who would not be willing to engage in spiritual battles to overcome personal sin and defeat cultural evils and repair Church brokenness under her leadership? She is pleased when we agree to do so by praying these words silently and sincerely at Holy Communion: I am all yours, O most loving Jesus, through Mary your Mother…with the help of St. .