Amateur Arks

Finding shelter from the storm in Jesus and Mary

01/01/2021

Luke 2:16-21 The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them. When eight days were completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

A friend sent me an entertaining email entitled, “I Learned Everything from Noah’s Ark.” Here are a few of the funnier ones. One life lesson from Noah’s ark was, “Don’t miss the boat.” A second suggested: “We are all in the same boat.” Hasn’t this pandemic proven that everyone on earth is in the same boat? A third lesson stated: “Stay physically fit. When you are 600 years old someone may ask you to do something really big.” A fourth lesson was, “When you are stressed, float a while.” Feels like we have all been floating since March! A fifth lesson mentioned: “Remember: the Ark was built by amateurs, the Titanic was built by professionals.” So, choose your ships wisely. And a last lesson made me smile: “No matter the storm, when you are with God, there is always a rainbow at the end.” As we come to shore after the stormy seas of the year 2020, may God send us a rainbow of hope and peace in the new year 2021.

But did you know Noah’s Ark is not the only ark mentioned in the Bible? There are actually three arks in Sacred Scriptures. Like the email reminded us, Genesis 6-8 talks about the Ark that Noah built. That’s the first ark. Later in Exodus 25 Moses will build an Ark to carry God’s presence in the midst of his people: the “Ark of the Covenant,” you know, the one Indiana Jones and the Raiders discovered. That was the second ark. The third ark was not made of wood and human hands like the first two, but made of flesh and fashioned by God’s hands, namely, the Blessed Virgin Mary, who was immaculately conceived and full of grace. Where do we find Mary as the Ark in the Bible?

In Rev. 11:19 John sees the “Ark of the Covenant” in heaven, and in the very next verse (Rev. 12:1) he sees “a woman clothed with the sun.” John ties together these two images: the Ark and Mary and sees them as the same thing. Mary is the real “Ark of the Covenant” because she carried the Covenant himself, Jesus, in her womb. The Bible, therefore, presents three arks that are all created to provide shelter from the storm: Noah’s Ark protected his family from the storm of the Flood, Moses’ Ark which saved the people from the storms of the Sinai desert, and Mary’s Ark which saves us all from the spiritual storms of sin and death (the worst storms). These three Arks were built by amateurs but they were tougher than the Titanic built by professionals.

Every January 1st, we celebrate the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, which I believe is just another way of calling her the “Ark of the Covenant.” How so? In Luke 2:16 (our gospel today), we read: “The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger.” My hunch is that the shepherds are not only hurrying to Jesus, the newborn King, they are likewise rushing to Mary, the Ark that carried the Covenant. Why? Because they too lived in troubled times – politically, economically, religiously – and those poor shepherds sought shelter from their storms. Just like Noah’s family ran into the Ark as the rains fell, and the Chosen People huddled to hear God’s voice in the Ark while they wandered in the wilderness, so the shepherds speed to the safety of the Ark of the Covenant, to Mary and Jesus, to seek shelter from the storms of life. And they were saved.

My friends we are coming to the end of a seriously stormy year. We have weathered a pandemic that has killed over 1,800,000 so far and still counting; we have endured a bitter presidential election that has left our country a house divided; millions are out of work or out of money; and countless hundreds are hunkered down at home feeling alone and isolated. In troubled times like these, where do you find shelter from the storms of life? Sometimes we look for earthly escapes, like sex, drugs and rock and roll. But these imposters do not protect us nor do they provide peace; indeed, they do exactly the opposite.

That is why this year’s best New Year’s Resolution will be a sincere act of faith: to seek shelter from the storms that beset us in Mary and Jesus, the Ark and the Covenant. Just like in the days of Noah, and in the days of Moses, so too today, God has given us an “ark” to shelter us from the storm: a Woman clothed with the sun who brings forth a male Child to rule the nations. And remember: “No matter what the storm, when you are with God, there is always a rainbow waiting.”

Praised be Jesus Christ!