Professor Hahn brings the analogy of Mary and the Ark to its natural conclusion. We know that although the ark was beautiful and majestic what made it important and holy was the fact that it contained the covenant - "The Word of God inscribed by the finger of God."
So if the ark was holy and special for carrying the Old Covenant, Mary was even holier, for she contained within her body "The Word of God enfleshed."
If the first ark contained miraculous bread from heaven, Mary's body contained the very Bread of Life that conquers death forever. If the first ark contained the rod of the long-ago ancestral priest, Mary's body contained the divine person of the eternal priest, Jesus Christ.
What John was in the heavenly temple was far greater than the ark of the old covenant- the ark that had radiated the glory cloud before the menorah at the heart of the temple of ancient Israel. John saw the ark of the new covenant, the vessel chosen to bear God's covenant into the world once and for all.
And that vessel was Mary.
I hope that readers who are unfamiliar with why Catholics venerate the Blessed Mother so much are starting to come to some understanding of how First Century Christians and really all of Christianity up until modern times viewed Mary. Understanding Mary in relationship to the Ark of the Covenant is the first part in understanding Mary's role in the life of the church.
Starting tomorrow we will start to look at Mary's rightful place as Queen Mother.
No comments:
Post a Comment