Mary teaches us how to let the power of her Son bring an end to an experience of exile
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Sometimes salvation history rhymes. That is to say: Events and characters don’t exactly repeat themselves, but they mirror and echo each other. When those rhymes happen, they usually contain a lesson not only about the past, but also for our life of discipleship. The readings for this week contain an excellent example of such a rhyme.
On Dec. 8, we celebrate the feast of the Immaculate Conception — how Mary was conceived without stain of original sin. The first reading for that day tells us about the effects of the fall on Adam and Eve. First, we hear about how Adam was hiding from God — a sort of relational exile. Then we hear how Eve “became the mother of all the living.” This sounds nice at first. But it means, in effect, that all the children of Adam and Eve (that is, all until Mary!) would be born into the state of metaphysical exile from God that we call original sin.
Following that, all week long, our first readings come from the middle section of the prophet Isaiah, starting in chapter 40. This is the time period when ancient Israel was being called back from the Babylonian exile. The metaphysical exile of original sin found an echo in the historical exile of God’s people.
And that’s the first place the rhyme scheme of salvation history matters for us: The metaphysical experience of Adam and Eve and the historical experience of ancient Israel find a spiritual echo in whatever “exile” we experience in our own hearts and lives.
So, might this rhyme scheme also have some wisdom for us about the way out of exile?
When we read the words of the prophet Isaiah this week, we recall how God did the work to bring about the end of the historical exile in Babylon. When we celebrate Mary’s Immaculate Conception this week, we recall how God did the work to bring about the end of the metaphysical exile of original sin. When we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe this week (Dec. 12), we recall how Mary brought Christ to the native people of Mexico to end their spiritual exile from fullness of the Gospel.
As we celebrate all those things, it can deepen our faith and hope that God will also work to bring about the end of whatever exile we experience in our lives. And it’s consoling to know — as a recent document from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith emphasizes — that Mary has a special role to play in bringing about the end of our exile. She is, as the document says, the mother of the faithful people of God.
One of the Psalm refrains this week captures this rhyme scheme beautifully: “The Lord our God comes with power.” God comes into history to end the Babylonian exile. God comes in the Incarnation to end the metaphysical exile of original sin. God can come into our lives, too, to end whatever exile we are enduring. As we move more deeply into Advent, don’t be afraid to turn to Mary, the mother of the faithful people of God. She can teach you how to let the power of her Son bring an end to your experience of exile.
