Mary was foreshadowed in the great mothers of the people of Israel: in Sarah, in Rebecca, in Hannah. But in the Office of Readings today St. Bernard's sermon on the Annunciation brought to mind another Old Testament woman who foreshadows Mary: Queen Esther.
Bernard writes: "We. . . are waiting, O Lady, for your word of compassion; the sentence of condemnation weighs heavily upon us. The price of our salvation is offered to you. We shall be set free at once if you consent. . . Tearful Adam with his sorrowing family begs this of you, O loving Virgin. . . Abraham begs it, David begs it. All the other holy patriarchs, your ancestors, ask it of you, as they dwell in the country of the shadow of death. This is what the whole earth waits for, prostrate at your feet." One can hear the plea of Mordecai, of the Jews, as they waited to know whether Esther would approach the king and beg for the redemption of her people.
Seeing Mary as typified by Esther allows new insight into her intercessory role. Her "yes" was an act of obedience to God, yes, but also one of compassion for the rest of mankind. By agreeing to bear Jesus - with all the anxieties and sorrows that such a life would entail for her - she was a more perfect Esther, who agreed to intercede for her people despite the threat to her life.
Obedience to God is inseparable from love of others. Compassion for one's fellow men, a willingness to descend into the "country of the shadow of death" in order to assist them. Esther used her position as Queen to protect her people: despite her initial wavering, in the end she cast her lot with those who dwelt in the "shadow of death," with the anawim, the bowed-down ones who prostrated themselves before her. Mary, though she is Queen of heaven, still bows down to us; she casts her lot with us who suffer and sorrow here on earth, she agrees to suffer and sorrow with us.
The image of all creation waiting breathlessly for Mary's answer: Why do you delay, why are you afraid? In this tender, loving exchange between angel and virgin, our eyes are trained on the virgin - and her quiet "fiat," uniting her mind and soul and body to the Lord, resounds throughout our hearts.
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"In my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink."
St Therese says that Jesus thirsts for our souls, our love. Do we give him, then, souls that are embittered and sour, like vinegar? Do we give him love that is impure, tainted, curdled? Let your soul be a sponge soaked in the fresh dew of the Spirit, so that when Christ comes to drink, you can raise up to him a heart full of living water.
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I wonder sometimes about the difference between Mary's "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" and Zechariah's "How will I know this, as I am an old man?" Mary is the one who is "blessed because she believes," but Zechariah is cursed for not believing - indeed, his curse is his "sign" that the messenger is from God.
Mary's question shows that her faith is not blind. I don't think God rejects our questioning into His workings - to understand how God works in the world. But I think we run into problems when we seek a sign to convince us that God is at work in the world. Perhaps that's the difference between Mary and Zechariah. Mary wanted to know how God would work in her life; Zechariah wanted to know that it was God at work in his life. Mary's faith consisted of seeing God at work in all parts of her life. May she help me to grow in that faith as well.
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