Commentary

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Luke 1:39-56

The Lowly Servants who Carry the Lord

Elizabeth praises Mary as "blessed." She is blessed among women because she has been chosen to be the Mother of the Lord. The writers of the psalms in the First Testament and Jesus, in teaching the Beatitudes, both use the word "blessed" to speak of God's action and "the condition of righteous existence before God." [1]

Mary, in her response, humbly acknowledges hersef as the "lowly servant" of the Lord.

Mary's life and vocation is the best illustration of how God reverses the social and wordly orders. The lowly servant becomes the Mother of her Lord. God has bestowed on her the greatest blessing.

God's action in her life gives us a two-fold challenge:
1. To see people who may be considered lowly by our world as God's dwelling place. In them, the world continues to encounter its Savior, just as Elizabeth did when Mary came to visit her.
2. To see ourselves, no matter what we think of ourselves, or what others may think of us, as God's dwelling place. Like Mary, we are bringing God's Word-made-flesh into the world.

The Lord has done great things for us all. If we accept God's reversal order, we can all become the lowly servants who bring the Savior to the world.

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[1] Luke Timothy Johnson, The Gospel of Luke. Sacra Pagina Series. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1991; p. 41.