Is History Just an End-Credits Scene?
The Monday Mystery Part 20: The Coronation of Mary
“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” (Revelations 12:1)
Welcome to the final entry of The Monday Mystery. Each week I will write a reflection on a mystery (i.e. an episode in the life of Jesus or Mary) from the Rosary. My hope for this series is to provide fuel and inspiration for your own meditations. When you finish reading the reflection, I encourage you to do a ‘test run’ of the mystery by praying a decade of the Rosary (i.e. one Our Father, ten Hail Marys, and one Glory Be) while meditating on the mystery.
Twenty weeks ago I launched this series with a reflection comparing Mary’s Annunciation to the film Avengers: Endgame. Endgame was the culmination of an unparalleled decade-long build up; so many captivating stories and unforgettable characters came together to create the mother of all superhero movies.
After Endgame, Marvel was in the awkward position of having to make new stories (call them greedy, but not to do so would be pure financial insanity) knowing they could never top Endgame. Three years, ten movies, and over seventy episodes worth of spin off TV series episodes later, the results have been mixed. Can you list five of the past ten movies? Do you know anyone who has seen them all, let alone all of the spinoffs? Do you even know the name of the next Marvel movie?
For most people, the answers to those questions will speak for themselves. In spite of a few creative and financial home runs (Spider-Man: No Way Home was a top five movie theater experience for me), and an indefinitely reliable flow of income from hardcore fans, the Marvel series has been reduced to a shell of its former quality and cultural relevance.
You could be forgiven for seeing the history of Christianity in a similar trajectory. You can’t top Jesus’ story. I think that’s partly why many early Christians believed the end of the world was imminent. Compared to what Jesus did, and the way his life tied together everything of significance that came before him, the rest of history might as well have been an end of credits scene. Paul’s exploits were understandable as a fresh and lighter way to revisit the world and wind the narrative down. But after that, the story of humanity was ripe to have a bow tied on it.
Instead, human history has meandered and dragged on interminably, with an impossible-to-list number of spinoffs, reboots, and dutifully marketed sequels. Modern philosophers and historians are prone to the same cynicism many view the Marvel Cinematic Universe with. They will use words like “adrift” “aimless” and “absurd” to describe the human condition and our history. Our greatest story, if it was even real, is behind us.
But nihilistic secular philosophers and ammunition stockpiling end timers alike make the same mistake about Christianity: they view Jesus’ life as a one-time event - done and over with. Out story is “after” and “separate from” Jesus’ story. In their defense, the overwhelming majority of normal people in between agree with them - probably even the majority of Christians as well. Nevertheless, our faith reveals that the past, present, and future, while real and distinct, come together at once the person of Jesus.
Where does this idea come from? In Acts we read about Paul (then named Saul) traveling to the town of Tarsus to round up and imprison the Christians living there. In one of the most dramatic conversions in human history, Jesus appears to Saul and asks him “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 9:4).
What did Jesus mean by this? Jesus was no longer on Earth. He was and is in heaven, sitting at the right hand of the Father, enjoying all the bliss and triumph heaven had to offer. He could not be persecuted as such. So why did he accuse Saul of this? The answer is that as baptized Christians, we share in Jesus’ humanity. As Paul would later go on to teach, Christians as a whole form what is called the body of Christ (see 1 Cor 12). Therefore, we share in Jesus’ divinity and his communion with the Father and the Holy Spirit. As I’ve reflected on in other posts, when we live a life of faith and docility to God’s will, we allow Jesus to work in and through us.
All of those works which Jesus performs through us were and are immediately present to Jesus on the cross. As Jesus atoned for our sins in his death on the cross, he directly faced and conquered every instance of evil that had and ever would happen. What we experience as a gradual unfolding battle of good and evil over millenia, he experienced all at once as a single event. This is why he could say “it is finished.” And this is why we can unite our sufferings to his. Whatever you are going through, Jesus hasn’t been sitting around in heaven waiting for your suffering to happen so he could help you. He was and is experiencing his agony right alongside yours on the cross. Your pain is his pain. Your death is his death. But if you join yourself to him, his resurrection will be your resurrection, his glory will be your glory.
I want to conclude our journey through the rosary with this thought: Scripture teaches us that those who are faithful in small matters will be placed in charge of greater ones. In the first mystery of the rosary, we saw Mary given charge of the greatest matter a human being had ever been entrusted with. At every moment in her life she was faithful; when the chips were down, she never folded. She courageously took on the monumental task of giving birth to Jesus and mothering him into adulthood. She called forth his first miracle. And she was among the few to stand at the foot of the cross while the rest of his followers hid in fear.
Todays mystery reveals that Mary, faithful in the greatest of matters, has been placed in charge of the greatest of matters: the body of Christ. The body of Christ has Jesus as its head and king. It has God the Father as its father. It has the Holy Spirit as its soul. Finally, it has Mary as its queen and mother. Just as Jesus placed himself under her authority and into her arms, so the body of Christ places itself under her authority, and into her loving arms.
As you do your test run today picture Mary in heaven as queen. Place yourself in her presence. Jesus approached her with incomprehensible humility and love. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you follow in his footsteps.