Happy solemn feast of the presentation of the Most Holy Virgin in the Temple! (The Ark of the New Covenant returns to the Temple) What Makes Mary the Ark of the New Covenant? The Ark of the Covenant was the sign of God’s real presence among His people. In Jesus Christ, born of Mary, God was really present among his people in an even more direct way. The Ark held the Word of God written in stone. Mary bore the Word of God in flesh The Ark held the bread from heaven, a foreshadowing of the Eucharist (see 1 Corinthians 10:1-4). Mary bore the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ (see John 6:48-50). The Ark contained the rod of Aaron, symbol of his priesthood. Mary bore Jesus Christ, our High Priest (see Hebrews 3:1). If the Ark of the Covenant was holy, then by the same standards Mary is even holier. As Mother of God, she is the Ark of the New Covenant, bearing Jesus Christ, the Word of God, the Bread of Life, our great High Priest. That is not a re-interpretation of the Gospel: it is a truth made clear by the New Testament writers themselves. David’s Journey and Mary’s Visit “In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth” (Luke 1:39-40, Revised Standard Version; compare the New American Bible translation). We remember how “David arose and went” to a city of Judah to bring out the Ark of the Covenant (2 Samuel 6:2, Revised Standard Version; compare the New American Bible translation). “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb” (see Luke 1:41). In the same way, David “leaped and danced” before the Ark of the Covenant (see 2 Samuel 6:14-16). When she felt her child leap in her womb, Luke tells us, Elizabeth was “filled with the Holy Spirit” (see Luke 1:41). “And how does this happen to me,” she asked, “that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (see Luke 1:43). Her words almost repeat what David said about the Ark of the Covenant: “How can the ark of the LORD come to me?” (see 2 Samuel 6:9). Finally, after her glorious hymn of praise to God (which we know, from its first word in Latin, as the Magnificat; see Luke 1:46-55), “Mary remained with her [Elizabeth] about three months and then returned to her home” (see Luke 1:56). The Ark of the Covenant “remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite for three months” on its way to Jerusalem (see 2 Samuel 6:11). Luke piles these parallels one on top of another, so that we can’t help noticing the similarity between the Ark of the Covenant’s trip to Jerusalem and Mary’s trip to Zechariah’s house. To drive the point home even more, Luke makes an interesting word choice in Luke 1:42: he tells us that Elizabeth “cried out in a loud voice” when she expressed her joy at Mary’s arrival. The word translated “cried out” occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. But it does occur five times in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, and every time it shows up in passages having to do with the Ark of the Covenant, describing the joyful noise God’s people made in celebration of His presence among them. Elizabeth lifts up her voice in praise of God in the presence of Mary, just as her ancestors (Elizabeth was a Levite and a descendant of Aaron the priest; see Luke 1:5) did in the presence of the Ark of the Covenant. All these parallels point to one startling truth: Mary is the Ark of the New Covenant. In the Old Testament, the Ark of the Covenant bore the tablets of God’s covenant, God’s word in stone. In the New Testament, Mary carries God’s Word in flesh, Jesus Christ, who will bring the New Covenant that Jeremiah foresaw so long ago (see Jeremiah 31:27-34). On this Feast of the Presentation of Mary in the Temple by Joachim and Anne, we are invited to make the choice to surrender our lives to the Lord. Parents are reminded of their solemn responsibility to present their children for Baptism. We are all challenged to bring this Feast to life in our age and thereby continue to participate in Gods unfolding plan for the whole human race.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 10:03:06 +0000