A PROBLEM AND A CONFLICT
Born in AD 85 Marcion is perhaps best remembered as a heretic. Having problems reconciling the Old Testament with the teachings of Jesus, he dispensed with the Old Testament completely. St Augustine’s observation, ‘The new is in the old concealed, the old is in the new revealed’ gives us the key that Marcion lacked for understanding the New Testament: that the Old Testament is the first act in a two-act drama: leaving or arriving only at the interval will provide an incomplete narrative. So, how is the Old Testament revealed in the New Testament with respect to Mary and will this justify the veneration and honour accorded to her by the Orthodox and Catholic Churches with feasts such as today’s celebration of the Assumption (or Dormition in the Orthodox church)?

A SUDDEN SHIFT OF SCENE
Our first reading takes us to the heavenly sanctuary where we see the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark was a box made of acacia wood, it was beautifully decorated with carvings and covered in gold, both inside and out. It was the single most precious object to the Israelites, but it wasn’t the box that was precious; it was what it contained. In the Ark were three things from the Israelites’ time in the desert: the stone tablets of the law (the Ten Commandments); the priestly rod of Aaron; and a vial of manna – the bread from heaven.
In the Old Testament we find David who brought peace and prosperity to his people, but he had to secure this on the battlefield. To ensure his victories the Ark of the Covenant went before the Israelites into battle. In one battle the Ark was captured by the Philistines, but it didn’t bring them the good fortune for which they’d hoped. Instead, they were plagued by famine and disease, so they abandoned it in Ephrathah, in the hill country of Judah, where the Israelites recovered it.

WELCOMING THE ARK
David was not just King; he was also priest. As the Ark was being returned to Jerusalem David put on the ephod – the garment of priests – and heralded its homecoming by leaping and dancing in front of it.
Now, let’s fast forward from the Old Testament to our Gospel reading: ‘Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth’. Elizabeth came from the line of Aaron (the tribe of Levi) and Zechariah, her husband was a Temple priest. Elizabeth’s child, John the Baptist, was born into this priestly caste. Luke continues: ‘when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in
her womb’.
One of Mary’s titles is ‘Ark of the New Covenant’. Compare the Old Testament Ark, which contained the law, the priestly rod of Aaron and manna, with what Mary contained: Jesus who is the new law; the new high priest; the new bread from heaven. Just as David as priest leaped and danced before the Ark, Elizabeth’s child, John (descendant of priests) leaped in her belly before the Ark of the New Covenant – Mary. And this happened – where else? – but in the hill country of Judah, just where the Old Testament Ark was discovered!
Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, addressed Mary as ‘the mother of my Lord’. ‘Lord’ in Luke’s Greek is Kyrios. Romans would burn incense in honour of the reigning Caesar while uttering the words Kaiser Kyrios: Caesar is Lord. Far from being a casual, throwaway remark, ‘the mother of my Lord’ is incendiary language because it challenges the world order and this cuts straight to the heart of what is at stake: Jesus is Lord. He is not just a philosopher, a sage or teacher. Jesus is Lord; Lord of all.

GOOD NEWS AND AN URGENT TASK
What may seem, at first sight, random threads that weave through the Old and New Testaments closer inspection reveals to be a beautiful tapestry with Jesus at the centre. There’s the good news for us! The Holy One of God, the anointed one, Jesus the Christ is the fulfilment of the Old Testament prophecies and has come to bring us into his fold; to secure for us our salvation; to re-establish our relationship with God.
In imitation of Mary, who ‘arose with haste’ we, too, should not delay to be the heralds of the coming of Jesus; and like Elizabeth, we should proclaim his Lordship over our lives – and that means our whole lives: in our homes, in our workplace and, yes, even in our bedrooms. We speak volumes in our actions performing the works of mercy; in the way we live our moral lives; in the way we speak up for truth. When asked or challenged about why we live and think the way we do, we should not shrink from preaching the gospel. Each one of us can make the Christ child present in today’s world, which, even though it may be unaware of it, is a world crying out desperately for Christ.