What happens when holiness encounters the holy?
In today’s feast, we find out.
On November 21, we celebrate a biblical story that isn’t in the Bible. It’s the story of the Virgin Mother entering into the Jerusalem Temple as a young child.
This story doesn’t appear in scripture, yet it’s an important part of our church tradition.
As an image, the Theotokos represents the church community. But this community is no longer centered around the Temple. Instead, it’s centered around the person of Jesus Christ.
Temple had been an important part of Israelite religion because it was the place where God dwelt. It was how God resided among his people.
But, beginning with Mary, this all changes.
Now, God is present among us through Jesus Christ, the one born of the Virgin.
Today, as Mary enters into the Temple, holiness encounters the holy and our experience of God changes!
The Reading
And as they journeyed on he entered a certain village; and a certain woman by the name of Martha received him into her home. And she had a sister called Mary who, sitting also beside the Lord’s feet, listened to his speech. But Martha was distracted by serving so much; and she came and said, “Lord, does it not matter to you that my sister left me all alone to serve? Tell her, therefore, that she should assist me.” And in reply the Lord said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and disturbed about many things, But there is need of one thing: for Mary has chosen the good portion, which shall not be taken away from her.” . . . And it happened that as he was saying these things a certain woman raised her voice and said to him from the crowd, “How blissful the womb having borne you and the breasts from which you sucked.” But he said, “Blissful, rather, those hearing God’s word and keeping it.” (Luke 10:38-42; 11:27-28)