The passage from the Book of Revelation begins with the description of a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. These verses loosely correspond to a dream that Joseph, son of Jacob, describes in the Book of Genesis. In that dream, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars bow down to Joseph who is himself the twelfth star. While the story from the Book of Genesis speaks of the twelve tribes of Israel, the description from the Book of Revelation shows us that the woman is giving birth to a new Israel.
The passage from the Book of Revelation tells us of the woman in the throes of labor who gives birth to a son. We are told of a monster or dragon who lies waiting for the birth of the child and intends to devour the baby once she gives birth. This story corresponds to a widespread myth throughout the ancient world that a goddess pregnant with a savior was pursued by a horrible monster; by miraculous intervention, she bore a son who then killed the monster. The similarity between this passage and the ancient myth cannot be denied. Jesus did, in fact, defeat the dragon, a personification of death.
After she gives birth, the woman flees into the desert where God has prepared a special place for her. Today we celebrate the fact that Mary, the Mother of God, has arrived at that special place because God could not allow the body of the Virgin mother to suffer corruption after that body had harbored the very Son of God.
The Church’s dogma about the Assumption presumes that we understand the Scriptural basis for this doctrine. This dogma is not born out of sentimentality or out of a sense of privilege for the Virgin. It is based upon the Scriptures which teach us that just as Mary gave birth to Jesus, ancient Israel gave birth to the Church, the New Jerusalem. The Scriptures do not spend a great deal of time telling us about the woman herself. She is simply described as a young maiden of Nazareth. When she opens her mouth to sing God’s praises, she lifts the words directly out of the Hebrew Scriptures and the song that is sung by Hannah, the mother of Samuel, in the opening chapters of the Book of Samuel. Mary is the model of the new Israel.
The dogma also tells us something about ourselves. We will go where Mary has gone before. St. Paul tells us that death, which came through Adam, will visit us all. However, because Jesus has been raised from the dead and is the first fruits of God’s plan of salvation, all who place their faith in Jesus will follow where he has led his mother and his disciples. We are all destined to find that secret place in the desert where our hopes will find fulfillment. So, like Mary, we too proclaim the praises of our God who has loved us so much and so well that we will live forever with Jesus and his Mother.
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator