(Please read the Scripture passage before the homily.)
We turn tomorrow to the Elijah cycle of books of Kings. Before we do this, we pause to take a last look at the book of the Acts of the Apostles. It is the first chapter of Acts. Just as in the beginning of Luke’s gospel we found Mary, so also in the beginning of Acts we find Mary, the mother of Jesus, at another beginning.
It was natural that Luke put Mary in the first chapter of Luke because Mary is the mother of the Christ. It is logical for him to put her in the upper room for the beginning of the life of the Church. Like the disciples, she had to await further instructions. This passage of Scripture is a basis for calling Mary the Mother of the Church: she was present for the infant Church as she was present for the Infant in her womb.
As a typical mother, Mary kept all the happenings about Jesus in her heart. If we are to learn anything about Mary. We should learn how to keep pondering things in the heart. This is the trait that Luke emphasizes about Mary, that she kept these things in her heart. To ponder is to learn; to learn is to become a disciple, a student. Mary was a student of Jesus and we should be a student likewise.
This is something that all must learn, and it is not easy to learn, but it is the scriptural way we should learn. Waiting and learning is the first step toward action. Action without the waiting and learning can be dangerous, foolhardy, or ineffective. Pondering helps us focus on the whole picture. The Scriptures call us to be disciples, or students, of the Lord. This is the example of Mary that we should imitate.