Jesus Welcomes His Mother At Heaven’s Gate
Sometimes it seems what the Lord is asking of us we almost have to die to accomplish. What I mean is that to complete a task, we have to let go of something we really like doing.
This week we celebrate Mary’s Assumption into heaven. This made me wonder about all the difficult things Mary had to endure to arrive at this remarkable moment. I began to wonder how Jesus thanked his mother for all she let go of for him while on earth.
Let’s look back and imaginatively reflect on the experiences of Jesus and Mary in the Scriptures to grasp their story.
To begin, Mary genuinely wanted to marry Joseph as she sincerely loved him. Every time she said his name she smiled in delight. She could not wait for her wedding day to dawn and, as with all brides, she and her mother, Anne, planned carefully every wedding detail.
Then, through the Angel Gabriel, God asked Mary to do him a favor. And that favor changed Mary’s life, as well as her dreams. Many years later when her son preached these words, “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat, but if it dies it bears much fruit.” From these words, Mary may have understood more vividly that her dream needed to die, and the fruits she bore might lead Jesus’ followers to live their lives more fully.
God undeniably wanted Mary to be the mother of his son. Mary sincerely realized the magnitude of the honor to be chosen. She lovingly knew her dreams of building a family with Joseph, her beloved, were to be revised as she accepted this gift. Yet, on this celebration today of the Assumption, Mary hears God’s words, thanking her: ‘‘Whoever serves me, I will honor.”
When she arrives, we imagine Mary hearing Jesus’ voice that is filled with love in his joyful greeting. As she arrives, Jesus says, “Welcome mother. You brought me into this world, not draped in majesty and splendor, but as a poor naked trembling babe. You clothed me in the warmth flowing from the love in your heart, and ever since I have longed to hold you again in my outstretched arms and heart.”
Jesus recounts then, “As I often preached: ‘where your treasure is, there your heart is,’ I never doubted the love I found in your heart and hugs. Your embraces never ceased, caressing me in the depths of that love, even when I was taken down from the cross.”
“Now mother,” Jesus continued, “you have a dwelling built from love in my Father’s kingdom to bask joyously in forever. My Father’s house, a place where the human imagination can only dare to dream, is now yours.”
He continued, “This heavenly home is yours now and it holds your love. But, as only you can understand, it has room enough to share all your love for those that will come after you. My father takes and stores all the love he created, with those who share that love with those he entrusts to their care.”
Finally, as Jesus and Mary walk inside the gates, Jesus turns and says:
Remember this on the last day – one thing alone stands out, God, our father, will judge everyone solely by the love he discovers in their hearts!
