Reflection - Glorious business of life

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/053117.cfm
Zephaniah 3:14-18
Luke 1:39-56

Though I didn't know it at the time, my reflection on this week's Scripture began at least a week before I read the text. In retrospect, the line of thought seems to have begun with an observation or comment regarding the wide disparity in opportunities available to people's throughout the world. Although the point being made at the time was quite specific and not just general, I can't remember the position the speaker was assuming. I can't even remember if the speaker was positive or negative in the thought expressed. I do know that it released in me a line of thought from which my mind had previously been barred. It was as if something always known now made sense. At the time, I had immediately, mentally jumped to the confusion of a friend who seems to frequently ponder the fact that he feels so blessed while so many others suffer. The speaker's comment, my friend's questioning and the answer to a query posed early in the Catechism all swirled around in my head, finally settling in what I considered an orderly and meaningful relationship.

In writing these reflections it sometimes happens that my thoughts are directed down a particular path in the days prior to the assigned reading. Consequently, when something  seriously engages my attention, I look to determine if it has some bearing on the Scripture text coming up. Since I had been engrossed by this particular thought, I turned to the day's reading looking for a connection. Initially, there didn't seem to be one. But further consideration changed my mind. 

The story from Luke begins immediately after the departure of the angel who had told Mary she was to conceive by the power of the Spirit and that her cousin Elizabeth was already in her sixth month. I knew this story. It is a popular one, often heard in the Christmas season. So, it was relatively easy for me to dismiss the possibility of a relationship between it and the understanding which still had only a tenuous foothold in my mind. But then something in Mary's behavior grabbed my attention and required further consideration. A bit of contrast will help explain what I had decided deserved further thought. It is a brief passage from a novel I'm currently reading. 

"The trouble with life, as far as Annie B. was concerned, was that it never gave you a clue about what was coming. When a terrible thing happened, life just charged at you, running full out, clobbering you, usually from behind. You were down then. You were left sick in your stomach and broken in your heart, trying to pick up your wits, your scattered pieces, and when you looked back, you saw that you didn’t have a clue, not one inkling."

Annie's observation in this passage reflects, I would guess, the manner in which most people might view 'life.' And, while Annie specifically refers to a 'terrible thing,' I would guess that we could comfortably substitute the words a 'serious thing' and not change the sense of her statement. The difficulty for me was in the fact that I can't imagine Mary being  "left sick in her stomach and broken in her heart, trying to pick up her wits, her scattered pieces." There's no question that "she didn’t have a clue, not one inkling;" To almost anyone the news the angel brought (just setting aside that it was brought by an angel) would have been disturbing to say the least, the kind of thing that could leave you feeling sick (and I don't mean morning sickness), worried about the reaction of the community, feeling like my well organized life has been shattered. Let's see: sixteen' not married and pregnant. Further, it would have been out of the question to name the father---who would believe that? But unlike Annie, who is sick in her stomach and trying to gather her wits about her, what does Mary do? She goes on with the business of her life. "Hmm. Elizabeth's in her sixth month. I'll bet she could use some help."

Now at this point I'm sure your wondering how all this connects to a speaker's comment, my friend's questioning and the answer to a query posed early in the Catechism. That's the hazard of following me on one of my mental journeys. So let me try and organize the pieces.

•      The speaker's comment was about the worldwide disparity in available opportunities.
  
•      The friend's puzzle was over his blessings when so many suffered.
  
•      The Catechism question asked "Why did God make you?" 
  

When I heard the speaker's comment, my mind immediately turned to my friend's puzzle because they are essentially the same. The radical differences in both opportunity and 'fortune' are evident only from a human perspective, looking at human goals and judging by human achievements. When considered in light of the answer to the Catechism question, there is no divergence in opportunity or fortune which comes into play. If we are truly created to "know, love and serve God in this world; and to be happy with him in the next" then life is, for all, an equal opportunity experience. No matter our achievements or opportunities, or good fortunes, or bad experiences, or joys or sufferings---in all God can be glorified. In fact, the very extremes in the diversity of individual lives means that God can be glorified in a greater number of ways. 

As usual, Mary is our model. She doesn't develop anxiety over her condition. Nor does she glorify herself for her unique and wonderful achievement. I doubt she is ignorant of the possible troubles to come. Neither is she blind to the presence of God. As one who is conscious of the fact that she is created to know, love and serve God, she simply goes about the business of glorifying God by living her life, all the while confident that his love will draw good from whatever happens.