The Annunciation, March 25th

With our only midweek worship opportunity coming on Wednesday, I transferred our celebration of the Annunciation (March 25th) to our Wednesday Noon Eucharist. The day we celebrated the angel Gabriel’s announcement that Mary would bear the Son of God also turned out to be the day that Elizabeth Taylor died.

There are other ironic pairs of women in recent history: Mother Teresa died the day before Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997. For all of her charitable work, and the good use she made of her royal prerogatives, one observer called Princess Diana, “Mother Teresa in Gucci.” In fact, Princess Diana was buried with a rosary given her by Mother Teresa.

So now we have another unlikely pair: the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the 8-times-married Elizabeth Taylor (twice to Richard Burton). How much more different could they be? Mary was rooted in her Jewish tradition, aware that she was marrying into the ancient royal dynasty, the House of Israel’s greatest king, David. She was rooted in the Israelite dream of a Messiah who would save he people and rule the world with peace and justice.

Elizabeth Taylor went from tradition to tradition: raised a Christian Scientist, converted to Judaism, married once by New Age guru Marianne Williamson. “I’m not like anyone. I’m me,” she once said.

And yet, Mary’s spiritual journey was also untraditional in its own way: the scandal of unwed pregnancy, ameliorated but not forgotten by Joseph’s acceptance of her son. And the kingdom promised by Gabriel to her son didn’t look like any normal kingdom built through overwhelming shock and awe. There were the occasional rebukes from Jesus: “Who is my mother…those who do the will of my Father are my mothers.” And finally, there was the seeming destruction of her dream at the foot of the cross.

The Feast of the Annunciation on March 25th was “New Year’s Day” in medieval Europe. It was the start of a story, a journey that didn’t develop as its characters thought it would. But Mary treasured the promise of how the story would end: a never-ending kingdom of mercy and justice for those who need it most. And in the Resurrection of Jesus, that promise began to be fulfilled.

Through her work for others, and her passionate effort to find love, Elizabeth Taylor embraced that story in her own way. And because of her celebrity, her mistakes were displayed for the whole world to see. But I trust that her end will be as blessed as Mary’s. Let us all embrace Mary’s story as our own, in our own ways, and trust that our end will be as blessed as hers.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.