Homily 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time - August 15, 2010

Saint Junia’s House ~ A Sacramental Christian Community
An Ecumenical Catholic Communion Ministry
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“The queen takes her place at your right hand in

gold of Ophir” (Psalm 45:10).
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

August 15, 2010
Reading 1: Revelation 11:19a, 12:1-6a, 10a
God’s temple in heaven was opened,

and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple.
Rev. Martha-Junia+ (M-J+) [Martha Rogers]

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Rogersmartha@sbcglobal.net
www.stjuniashouse.com
http://ecumenical-catholic-communion.org
A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun,
with the moon under her feet,
and on her head a crown of twelve stars.
She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth.
Then another sign appeared in the sky; Page | 2
it was a huge red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns,
and on its heads were seven diadems.
Its tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky
and hurled them down to the earth.
Then the dragon stood before the woman about to give birth,
to devour her child when she gave birth.
She gave birth to a son, a male child,
destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod.
Her child was caught up to God and his throne.
The woman herself fled into the desert
where she had a place prepared by God.
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

“Now have salvation and power come,
and the Kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Anointed One.”
Reading 2: 1 Corinthians 15:20-27
Brothers and sisters:

Christ has been raised from the dead,
the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For since death came through man,
the resurrection of the dead came also through man.
For just as in Adam all die,
so too in Christ shall all be brought to life,
but each one in proper order:
Christ the firstfruits;
then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ;
then comes the end,
when he hands over the Kingdom to his God and Father,
when he has destroyed every sovereignty
and every authority and power.
For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
The last enemy to be destroyed is death,
for “he subjected everything under his feet.”

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Gospel Reading: Luke 1:39-56
Mary set out

and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah, Page | 3
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”
And Mary said:
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;

my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
and has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children forever.”

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Mary remained with her about three months

and then returned to her home.
Homily
Page | 4
This is a day that our Roman Catholic friends observe as the Solemnity of the
Assumption of Mary, in which they believe that Mary did not die a death
common to humanity, but was taken up into heaven. While we respect our
RCC friends, this seems to me one of those doctrines that is non-essential
and poses its own problems. Across the Christian world, beliefs about Mary
range from the frankly cultic on one end of the RCC continuum to frankly
disparaging and dismissive among many Protestants and especially
evangelicals. I believe that Mary should be honored much more than she has
been among many evangelical groups in particular. Some RCC scholars
admit that “We celebrate this feast which is based partly on logic, on
devotion and on communal tradition…The Assumption is found nowhere at
all in Holy Scripture, but Catholics hold fast to God’s guiding revelation
through time and the human experiences of memory. We do believe in
Scripture of course, but believe also that God used more than the written
word to assist us in our search for peaceful living….We do not adore her, but
admire her….not until the middle of the last century was it made an infallible
dogma. This means it was, is and always will be held as true and
indisputable.”1
This raises several issues for us in today’s readings, chosen by Roman

Catholics as we have generally followed their lectionary. The passage in
Revelation has been understood by some to refer to Mary. But there are
actually several viable interpretations which may have more basis. Who is
the woman in this passage? She may be the old Israel, from whom the
Messiah came, who waits for his birth. There is a reference to Isaiah 66:7
which has become “Christianized” in its later interpretation.2 This kind of
appropriating Hebrew scripture for our own Christian views may be justified
in some cases but in other instances, it is more of a stretch. Perhaps we
should be more respectful and see what they have to say, because, after all,
their rabbis have been studying these passages intensively for 3,000 years!
1
Larry Gillick, SJ. The Center for Liturgy at Saint Louis University., 8/15/10.
2
The Tanakh reads: “Before she labored, she was delivered; Before her pangs came, she
bore a son.” In some RCC conceptualizations, this is said to refer to Mary who was said to
still be a Virgin even after giving birth, that she somehow did not lose her literal physical
status as a Virgin. Some writers say this is more of a Gnostic idea that began to emerge
after the 2nd century.
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Revelation has appropriated Hebrew Testament imagery, and if we allow for

this later imposed understanding, the woman in this passage could also be
the Church, or the new Israel, which may be supported by 12:17. It seems
that there are “other children” (other churches) who also belong to the
woman who “…keep the commandments of God and bear testimony to Page | 5
Jesus.” Perhaps we see here a faint indirect reference to the fact that there
were already multiple Christian traditions early on. Finally, beginning in the
middle ages, this passage was thought to refer to Mary. The Jewish Bible, the
Tanakh, interprets the Isaiah passage as a bereaved woman symbolic of
Jerusalem. We can see that there are layers and layers of scriptural
interpretation and traditions that are superimposed upon many of our
scriptural passages, where the meaning is extended, sometimes with scant
justification. We need to consider both the Jewish and Christian perspectives
when we read.
Our Second Reading is one which Protestants have used to argue against
the RCC dogma of the assumption of Mary, since it says that all of humanity
is in bondage to death; we will attain immortality through the resurrection
because Christ broke the bondage of death for us. So some say that this
passage proves that there could not be a prior resurrection of Mary. None of
this, however, denies an understanding of Mary’s continuing existence in
Christ along with all the Saints. We honor her along with the Saints who have
gone before us, and many think it is appropriate to honor her more highly.
We’ll address why that may be so as we go on here.
But parenthetically, it is admittedly difficult to unravel the place of Mary and

this is an area in which I am probably not the best person to interpret these
traditions as they are foreign to me, even as I have embraced a catholic and
sacramental spiritual path. And I am admittedly more conservative and
hesitant to add layers of theology when they do not seem to be essential to
faith. Frankly, some of the traditions that have evolved are not tenable to me
because they are just too far afield from a biblical mooring. Perhaps a
vigilant protestant spirit still lurks in my heart! This is something that others
may parcel out or experience differently. In the ECC, we hold that there is
room in our ecumenical house for spiritual diversity which need not be a
point of divisiveness with others with whom we share the early creeds of the
faith.
Our Gospel reading is one that has been revered as the beautiful Magnificat,
usually read as an utterance of Mary. But there are some manuscripts that
ascribe it to Elizabeth, not Mary, where the purpose seems to have been to
develop John the Baptist’s place in the scriptural story. It was similar to a
song of Hannah whose son was the prophet Samuel, a product of her
faithfulness (1:2 – 2:21). In her personal aspirations of being consecrated to
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God, Hannah represents the ability to hear the inner voice of the Holy Spirit.
She is both Elizabeth’s and Mary’s forerunner in the faith. In the Gospel of
Luke, the relationship between John the Baptist and Jesus follows a similar
motif, with John being the forerunner of Christ. So, too, we see that as we
are faithful to God’s purposes, we may be forerunners. Page | 6
Mary says that henceforth all nations will call her blessed [1:48]. The
Aramaic word, tova which has traditionally been translated as ‘blessed,’
means envy. Lamsa 3 says that this is consistent with her realization that she
would be envied as the mother of the Prince of Peace reigning forever, as in
the ancient Eastern tradition the highest ambition of a mother is to see her
son in an exalted position, so when the son is mentioned, it is coupled with
the name of his mother. For example in Kings and Chronicles, mothers of
kings are always mentioned. So perhaps this portion in the Gospel is in
keeping with that tradition.
An alternate reading of the Magnificat can be argued; since there is a switch

from first person singular to third person plural in the middle at verse 50,
perhaps it can also be read as symbolic. The mother figure is seen as the
representative of the true Israel, one who accepts her “low estate” and from
whom all nations would come to call her blessed. It is her openness to
hearing God and then trusting God to bring the Messiah into the world for
which she is revered.
Because she listened to God, Mary is raised to a high place. Throughout

scripture we see reversals between those in high places who are suddenly
brought low, and the true servant of God being raised from obscurity to
prominence. The message for us today may be not to think we are entitled to
nor to claim a certain position or place for ourselves in the world. This can’t
be the basis for finding our identities in the world. We are not the
centerpiece. As we stay focused on our identities as children of God, we will
be assured of our place in the world no matter what changes take place in
our circumstances. The Beatles’ song about Mother Mary who brings words
of wisdom, “let it be,” is still a profound message. Blessings flow when we
surrender to the reality to which God has entrusted us.
We can think about what Mary probably went through. In her era, being
pregnant while betrothed to Joseph could have resulted in her being stoned
to death. She went to visit Elizabeth and stayed for about three months,
possibly seeking a place of safety. Joseph thought he’d “put her away
quietly” but not allow any harm to come to her, but in a dream he was told
3
George M. Lamsa (1999). Gospel Light: A Revised Annotated Edition by George
Lamsa, edited by Janet Magiera. Covington, GA: The Aramaic Bible Society.

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to continue on and take her as his wife. So we have a story here of a saint
who listened to God’s guidance and accepted Jesus as his own son, achieving
a remarkable spiritual understanding for one living in the ancient world
where blood relationships were everything. Indeed, the punishment of
stoning of those who violated sexual mores was so severe because of the Page | 7
primacy of maintaining blood lines. Both Mary and Joseph receive the news
of her pregnancy as being chosen by God for a sacred mission. Whether one
interprets these passages as symbolic of Israel’s role in the world or the
personal account of the first “blended family,” the message is still viable and
important to each of us today. Whether we are coping with unexpected
pregnancy or other life events that suddenly intrude into our existence,
disrupting our preferred lifestyles, the role model of Mary and Joseph is to
praise God and accept our change in plans with grace. And we see the hope
of the future in the birth of a child. The child brings the new Israel, a
transformation and a paradigm shift for humankind.
Some will say that this kind of interpretation reduces all the mystery and
brings the message of Mary and Joseph down to the most common, even
banal, or “demythologized” interpretations. Not so! Not at all! If we fail to
live in the wonder and mystery of creation, of the very fact that we exist in
the universe, then we have lost the mystery! In our prayers, we may receive
a level of awareness that transcends human effort to conceptualize the holy.
We too are on a sacred mission as we live out God’s plan and accept it with
grace. Even if we are skeptical of some of the doctrinal layers that have
evolved over time, there is still a core spiritual reality that has been
recognized by Christians for generations. One view of dogma and doctrine
can be that it is a left brain (logical, linear, verbally based) attempt to
articulate a right brain (holistic pattern, experiential, non-verbally based)
mystical experience. Such a way of thinking may seem illogical and
unfounded to those who have not yet learned to trust their spiritual process.
We can recovery this mystery and find salvation (wholeness). In Mary’s life,
we are shown how to model openness before God and to accept the most
profound risks, changes, and losses.
O Beloved, let us pray with Mary -- be it to us according to your

word. May we come into complete awareness of the mystery and
wonder in which your creation unfolds in us and in our world. Amen.
Study Notes:
In the icon on the first page, we see a verse from Psalms that has been
paired with an image of Mary, as the Queen of Heaven. The Jewish Study
Bible, the Tanakh, disputes the translation in this verse as “queen,” stating
that the psalmist avoids the usual word for “queen,” choosing “consort”
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(“shegal”), a word that is considered rare and a loanword from the Akkadian
language. The entire verse thus reads: “Royal princesses are your favorites;
the consort stands at your right hand, decked in gold of Ophir.” This is said
to be a unique Psalm used for commemorating royal weddings. The Jewish
rabbi, Radak, wrote a long commentary against its Christian interpretation, Page | 8
describing the many ways the Psalm is consistent with other royal psalms
and does not depict the royal figure as God or divine. If this is a more
accurate context, then interpretation of this passage as referring to Christ
and the Church becomes more tenuous. Reading the entire Psalm gives one
a very different picture than this one partial verse in isolation. Perhaps this is
a lesson in the risks and limitations of reinterpreting Hebrew scripture and
importing Christian concepts into it. We would do well to look at how Jewish
interpreters have understood the passage as well as those from our own
tradition.
The Assumption of Mary is part of a very complex set of beliefs, and while
there is no biblical basis for it, the Roman Catholic Church holds that
tradition confirms their belief. Indeed, there is a biblical tradition of the
assumption into heaven of other important figures, but not Mary. In the
Hebrew Bible, it is said: And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God
took him (Genesis 5:24). And this idea is carried on into the NT: “By faith,
Enoch was translated so that he did not see death (Hebrews 11:5). Likewise,
the prophet, Elijah was said to have been taken: “Then it happened, as they
continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses
of fire, and separate the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into
heaven (2 Kings 2:11). We have mention in the early Church Fathers,
beginning with Irenaeus (180 CE) that Enoch and Elijah were taken up, and
again by Tertullian (210 CE), and Methodius (290 CE), Lactantius (320 CE), as
well as in the Apostolic Constitutions compiled in 390 CE. But Mary is not
mentioned among these.
There is another term you will see mentioned, the Dormition of Mary, which
is a Feast in the Orthodox Church. It commemorates the death, resurrection,
and glorification of Christ’s mother. They do not accept the doctrine of the
Assumption of Mary, which declares she was bodily received into heaven
without death. The Roman Catholic Church [RCC] also believes in the
Immaculate Conception of Mary, that she bore no trace of “original sin,”
because this was felt to be inconsistent with her designation as the
Theotokos (Mother of God) and she was a Virgin perpetually. These are all
obligatory dogmas in the RCC. Anglicans and Orthodox Christians do not
accept the Immaculate Conception or Assumption of Mary. Traditions vary as
to whether Mary is regarded as having been a Virgin all her life or whether
she had other children. An underpinning premise seems to be the concept of

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“original sin,” associated with some kind of a sexual taint, which some have
disputed as a viable doctrine.4 The Immaculate Conception was declared by
Pope Pius IX in papal bull, Ineffabilis, in 1854, and that along with a dogma of
papal infallibility was what brought about the break of the Old Catholics in
Europe from the RCC. Our apostolic lineage in the ECC is derived from the Page | 9
Old Catholics among others.
There is a progression over time in RCC dogmas concerning Mary. She was
said to be immaculately conceived. Mary was said to be sinless. She was said
to be perpetually a Virgin. She was bodily assumed into heaven, a dogma not
declared until 1950 when the RCC proclaimed infallibly that she had been
immune from the corruption of the tomb. She was venerated as Mediatrix, a
mediator of grace and “Queen of Heaven.” The arguments for these beliefs
are largely from tradition, and most of the strands that are used are post-
biblical and date from after 400 CE. Certain scriptures are used to provide
tenuous support for some of these ideas, but the arguments stretch exegesis
and interpretation so much that many of the RCC’s own theologians admit
there is scant historical or biblical support.
I am not a biblical scholar with any authority in these matters, but based on
my studies, I speculate that early on, the prominence of Mary Magdalene
began to be replaced by elevation of Mary’s status in the Church. Possibly
Mary was presented as a more acceptable figure which did not rile or
challenge the male apostolic line of authority. Ann Graham Brock (2003)5
noted that in certain Syriac and Coptic manuscripts of the Gospels that Mary
Magdalene was replaced with Mary at the first resurrection scene in the
garden. In some Coptic manuscripts, Mary Magdalene is also replaced by
Peter. Brock says that this occurs so often that it appears to be “deliberate.”
It occurred four times by Ephrem in the Diatessaron, an early compilation of
the Gospels dating from 3rd century. There was conflation and confusion of
Mary of Bethany, Mary Magdalene and the sinful woman which developed
over time, but in earliest Church manuscripts by Origen, Chrysostom and
4
Matthew Fox (1983). Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality. Sante Fe,
NM: Bear & Company. Out of print but still available as a used book. Fox, a former RCC
priest, argues for a creation theology, not an inherited sin-based account of our place in the
world.
5
Ann Graham Brock (2003). Mary Magdalene, The First Apostle: The Struggle for
Authority. Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard University Press for Harvard Theological
Studies. I have compiled a timeline of references to Mary Magdalene and other NT figures in
a document that can be found on my webpage under Books, Seminars, and Articles. It
doesn’t substitute for reading Brock, but it is useful in tracking how she develops her
hypotheses.

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Eastern Orthodox writings, they were quite separate figures. And Peter never
achieved the ascendancy in the East that he was afforded in the West. Pope
Gregory the Great [560-604 CE] institutionalized this confusion about Mary
Magdalene which has taken centuries to unravel where she can begin to
assume her rightful place as a disciple of Jesus and an Apostle. Page | 10
As someone who “grew up evangelical,” depictions of Mary somehow
seemed other-worldly and unreal to me. I could not identify with her,
because she was depicted as without any trace of sexuality. A sexless being
seemed to be the preferred model of holiness. The doctrines that have
evolved about her seemed to intend -- from an admittedly biased protestant
point of view -- to eliminate her humanity and to border on depicting her as
equal to God. Yet, even in my skepticism about the doctrines that have
accrued around her, I was still somehow drawn to her.
When I began to set up my Chapel in 2006, I searched for statues of her,

rejecting those other-worldly depictions. I happened upon one that is named
“Kitchen Madonna,” which shows her in movement with all her kitchen
utensils and containers, which allowed me to begin to meditate on the
human being of Mary. We do have fairly solid evidence for some aspects of
her life. Mary who lived through the time of her son’s conception to his
crucifixion has much to teach us and needs to be brought to her rightful
place among the Saints. She was upset and stressed when Jesus disappeared
in the Temple at age 12. One gains insight of a woman whose understanding
of her Son’s role in the world was probably a progressive revelation. Jesus
presents her to John as John’s mother and John to her as her son at the time
of the crucifixion. The point is made again and again by Jesus that a
“blended family” is our model -- that blood relationships are less important
that true commitment and bonding with others in the human family. Jesus
said that doing the will of God connects us more than being blood relatives.
I think Mary still has something to share with us, and one need not accept all
the dogmas about her to discover her. Let her speak her words of wisdom to
us. If you’ve never prayed the Rosary, take a chance and see what she has
to say to you.6
Announcement
6
One need not accept some of the wordings of this prayer if one finds them doctrinally
objectionable. See Fr. Michael Adams (2001). Rosaries of Divine Union, Third Edition,
which is available free on line. My favorites are the Rosary for Divine Healing and the Union
of Saint Symeon.
.http://www.livingrosaries.org/Rosaries%20of%20Divine%20Union%202001-3rd
%20edition.pdf
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On August 11, I received a letter from Bp. +Peter Hickman welcoming me

into the Ecumenical Catholic Communion as a presbyter (priest). The date of
the official rite of incardination is yet to be set. Given all that is going on, I
expect it will be early to mid-September and I will keep you informed. I am
very grateful for all the support I’ve received from you, my fellow St. Junia’s Page | 11
House friends, and our extended relationships with friends from other
Christian communities. The love and support of people at St. Matt’s and in
the ECC at large has been awesome. So let us press forward to serve the
Lord together.

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Saint Junia’s House ~ A Sacramental Christian Community

An Ecumenical Catholic Communion Ministry

“The queen takes her place at your right hand in

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading 1: Revelation 11:19a, 12:1-6a, 10a

God’s temple in heaven was opened,

Rev. Martha-Junia+ (M-J+) [Martha Rogers]

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

Reading 2: 1 Corinthians 15:20-27

Brothers and sisters:

Rev. Martha-Junia+ (M-J+) [Martha Rogers]

Gospel Reading: Luke 1:39-56

Mary set out

And Mary said:

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;

Rev. Martha-Junia+ (M-J+) [Martha Rogers]

Mary remained with her about three months

This raises several issues for us in today’s readings, chosen by Roman

Revelation has appropriated Hebrew Testament imagery, and if we allow for

But parenthetically, it is admittedly difficult to unravel the place of Mary and

An alternate reading of the Magnificat can be argued; since there is a switch

Because she listened to God, Mary is raised to a high place. Throughout

Rev. Martha-Junia+ (M-J+) [Martha Rogers]

O Beloved, let us pray with Mary -- be it to us according to your

Rev. Martha-Junia+ (M-J+) [Martha Rogers]

Rev. Martha-Junia+ (M-J+) [Martha Rogers]

When I began to set up my Chapel in 2006, I searched for statues of her,

On August 11, I received a letter from Bp. +Peter Hickman welcoming me

Rev. Martha-Junia+ (M-J+) [Martha Rogers]

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