A Homily for the Solemnity of the Assumption (C)
[Bernardo Daddi, The Assumption of the Virgin, ca. 1340]
Two men went fishing. One man was an experienced fisherman, and the other wasn’t. Every time the experienced fisherman caught a big fish, he put it in his ice chest to keep it fresh. Whenever the inexperienced fisherman caught a big fish, he threw it back. The experienced fisherman watched this go on all day and finally got tired of seeing this other man waste good fish. “Why do you keep throwing back all the big fish you catch?” he asked. The inexperienced fisherman replied, “I only have a small frying pan” (Adapted from Hot Illustrations, copyrighted 2001, Youth Specialities, Inc.).
Sometimes, like that fisherman, we throw back the big plans, big dreams, and big opportunities that God sends us, because our faith is too small. We laugh at the inexperienced fisherman for not figuring out that all he needed was a bigger frying pan, yet how ready are we to increase the size of our faith? God has big hopes for us – Assumption-sized hopes.
The foundation of Christ’s Kingdom has already been laid, but Jesus has not finished building it up yet. He is still extending the borders of the Kingdom and gathering more and more people into it. This is the work of the Church Militant, the Church on earth; to build up Christ’s Kingdom by bringing more people into His friendship so that follow Him and find the meaning of their lives.
But what will happen at the end of history? What will the Church become when the building of the Kingdom of God is complete? One of the important lessons of the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary is precisely the answer to that question. As Christians, we have always seen the Blessed Virgin Mary as an image of the Church. Mary brought the Infant Jesus into the world, took care of Him as He matured into adulthood, and accompanied Him as He fulfilled His mission. The Church has a similar relationship with the Mystical Body of Christ. The Church continually brings Christ into the world through her many works of charity and apostolate, and through bringing more Christians into the world through Baptism. With her teaching and the Sacraments, the Church cares for and accompanies her members as they grow to maturity and carry out their missions. And so, just as God assumed Mary into heaven, body and soul, at the end of her earthly mission, so God will lift the whole Church into perfect communion with Himself in heaven at the end of history. Mary’s Assumption is God’s promise to us. Every Christian who follows Mary’s path of humility and fidelity to God’s will can look forward to following her into the joys and glories of heaven. Seeing how God’s hopes for the Blessed Virgin Mary were so wonderfully fulfilled should help us increase our faith; it should stretch out our frying pan.
One of the practical repercussions of this truth is given special attention by today’s liturgical prayers. In the Preface to the Eucharistic Prayer for today’s Solemnity we hear, “Today the virgin Mother of God was taken up into heaven to be the beginning and the pattern of the Church in its perfection, and a sign of hope and comfort for your people on their pilgrim way.”
Why is it a sign of hope and comfort? Because earth is NOT heaven. Our lives on earth are often full of doubts, difficulties, pain and suffering. We often encounter obstacle after obstacle as we try to follow Jesus. At times we do not understand why God does not just fix things so that everything would go smoothly. We are traveling through life in the midst of problems, frustrations and troubles, and sometimes we cannot see the way out.
This is life in a fallen world. Our faith in Jesus Christ does not take away the cross, just as it did not take away the cross from Mary’s life. As Simeon prophesied, her heart was pierced by a sword. Yet the Mother of all Christians was snatched up into heaven at the end of her earthly journey.
When we lift our gaze to her, standing at the right hand of our Lord, we are given the assurance that our God is faithful. If we stay true to Him, He will be true to us. Mary’s Assumption gives us comfort and hope as we stumble through the hardships of life, enabling us to persevere through our trials, as she did. Like Mary, Assumed into heaven, let us rejoice in the Lord even when the world gives us trouble. [Inspired by “Your Homily for the Solemnity: The Assumption (C),” ePriest.com, 2007]
