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When I was young, the first few weeks of school were a time of uncertainty. I worried that I would not fit in, whether I would be welcome in certain circles, if I would have any friends. I was afraid that I would be alone.
Here’s the news flash of the day: if it comes down to a choice between love and law, God will break the law.
As a young man growing up in a sectarian Pentecostal church we didn’t go in for St. Mary the Virgin much. She was not a part of our world. That changed when I became an art history major and encountered for the first time in my life the phenomenon of Madonna fatigue. You too may have had it wandering around the world’s great museums through gallery after gallery of Medieval and Renaissance art crammed with images of Mary and her child Jesus, your legs aching looking for those precious benches, your mind full, your eyes on overload, you heart full of motherly affection. People around you are saying things like, “There are so many pictures of her.” In fact, you may have to work at it a bit but perhaps you could get your own kind of Madonna fatigue going here at St. Michael’s today as we celebrate The Feast of the Virgin Mary in the warmth and fecundity of summer.
In 1943, the psychologist Abraham Maslov published a paper called A Theory of Human Motivation. In this paper he outlined what has become known as a “hierarchy of needs.” Maslov recognized that when our most basic needs are met, such as food, sex, shelter, and health, we are then able to fulfill our higher needs such as intimacy, ethics, creativity, and meaning.
End Document — St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church