The
other day, my neighbor Alice stopped by with her two-year-old granddaughter Harper. Harper was feeling a little shy. At one
point, when all of the new faces became overwhelming, Harper turned to Alice and
said, “Up, up!” She wanted to be lifted
up, held in her G-ma’s loving arms; she wanted to be supported and comforted;
she wanted to feel safe. I’ll bet we all know exactly how Harper felt, both
before and after Alice picked her up.
Sometimes we just need to be raised up.
Today is the Solemnity of the
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the day we celebrate Mary’s Assumption
into heaven. Catholics believe that because
of the special grace accorded to Mary by God – to be conceived without original
sin – and because of her steadfast fidelity to God’s will, her Son’s redemptive
work and the promptings of the Holy Spirit, Mary was assumed into heaven body
and soul when the course of her life on earth was finished.[1] Now the Assumption of Mary should not be
confused with the Ascension of Jesus. In
the Ascension, Jesus, whom we believe to be fully God, ascended into
heaven. He didn't need help. No one did it for him. He did it, as God. But Mary is simply human, like us. She was assumed into heaven by the power and
grace of God. She was raised up. We hope for the same for ourselves.
But in order to be raised up by God,
we need to let ourselves be raised up.
We have to accept that we are creatures – we are not the Creator. We have to understand that there is One
greater than we are – we are not all powerful.
We have to admit that we need help – we can’t do it alone. Simply put, we have to be child-like; we have to be humble. And Mary is the perfect example of this humility. In the Magnificat,[2]
Mary “proclaims the greatness of the Lord” because “he has looked with favor on
his lowly servant.” Mary also attests to
God’s willingness to raise us up, praising God for lifting up the lowly, for filling
the hungry with good things, and for coming to the help of his servant, Israel.
Mary understood that it is God who
raises us up, and that we need God to raise us up.
Mary also understood that in our “yes” to God, we are raised up by becoming God’s
instruments of grace. We are God’s hands
and feet on earth. We help God lift up
the lowly, fill the hungry with good things and come to the help of his
servants. Over the past few weeks, I've been a blessed witness to so many
wonderful examples of God raising us up through the good works of others:
╬ God lifted up the lowly when friends and family supported us through
sickness and mourning;
╬ God filled the hungry with good things when 60 volunteers and countless
donors provided backpacks of school supplies for local children whose parents can’t
afford them; and
╬ God came to
the help of his servant when 20 people dedicated their time and strength to
helping a parishioner move from her home.
God raises us
up when we love him by loving our neighbor.
And in raising us up, God gives us the strength and courage to do the impossible. In raising us up, God supports us, comforts
us and makes us feel safe. In raising us
up, God helps us become fully human; he helps us become more than we can be.
You raise me
up so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me
up to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong
when I am on your shoulder;
You raise me up to
more than I can be.[3]
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