The Feast of The Visitation. . . When Haste is Not Waste

The recent Feast of The Visitation got me to thinking about one of my favorite phrases in Scripture.  The phrase is that Mary went “in haste” to visit her cousin Elizabeth (Lk 1:39-43).

Our society often sees haste from two different angles. On one hand, it can imply rash, unprepared action. How often have we rushed out to an important appointment only to find that we forgot an important document or our phone? How many times are we admonished to prepare the night before so that the next morning we will not have to rush so much?

Some preparation, at least, means we do not pay the price of rash oversight as we rush out the door with a coffee in one hand and disorganized items in the other.

On the other hand, haste can mean speed and urgency.  When we know something is so important that it requires, even demands, our full attention and desire to begin, we do it in haste. Some may see this second kind of urgency as some sort of bothersome duty.  But it reaches its fullest and richest form when bathed in sincere, loving charity and selfless thirst to serve God and others.

The AM Coffee Kind of Urgency

The first kind of urgency is often cartooned as stumbling out of the door half-dressed and forgetting the necessary items one needs. This is what many people think of when they think of urgency.  I know people who genetically cannot catch a train unless they leave 5 minutes before the train is scheduled to reach the station even though they live 7 minutes away.  I am even related to some of these people.

This quirk drives me crazy because I am the opposite quirk.  I am the type who likes to be at the station ten minutes before the train arrives.  I detest rushing around.  In fact, I suffer greatly when forced to rush about.  When I am rushed it’s very likely I’ll drop and forget things at an even greater clip than I usually do.

I love preparing for things the night before.  I have everything by the door ready to go (yes, I am that kind!).

Now please do not conclude that such preparation means that I will not forget something or have to rush a bit anyway.  Heading toward the age of 64, I am beginning to forget things no matter what.  But I have accepted that preparing as much as I can to avoid undue urgency and haste the following day at least keeps me saner.  I am slightly more comfortable with this quirk than with the alternative.

Still, there have been many times I have left the house 20 minutes before a train arrives only to find that I have forgotten two things once I get into the train!  However, no matter what I forget,  I would much rather comfortably mess up than rush to mess up.

Mary’s Kind of Urgency

The second kind of urgency, so beautifully exemplified by Our Lady in The Visitation, is the selfless, sincere, pure, loving desire to be there for another.  It is the kind of spontaneous truth of the heart that we are all called to exhibit.

A few days ago I saw a video of an elderly woman having her cane knocked from her hands in a crowded intersection. There were ten people around her at the time, yet only two immediately rushed to help her.  A few others seemed to pause, with one or two of those moving toward her to help only when the first two rushed to her aid.  Others paused even more.  Then, content to be “covered” by the ones who did help, walked on, apparently feeling justified in not having to help at all.

Of course, worse still, about half of the people obliviously walked past everything.  Some even seemed bothered that the commotion had disturbed their “me” time.

We have probably been each of those kinds of people in our lives.  Sometimes we rush forward to help or serve, yet at other times we pause before we act.  Sometimes we pause long enough to give others the chance and “free” our conscience.  Other times we walk by, wrapped up and immersed in our own world.

The Good Samaritan

Truth be told, we are all understudies in the play The Good Samaritan (Lk 10:25-37).   We have each been the victim, the oblivious passerby and, hopefully, The Good Samaritan.  The issue is how often we have performed each of these roles.

Hopefully, most of us have never found ourselves bloodied by the side of the road. But how often have we felt “victimized” or unfairly treated and expected others to serve or cater to us rather than seeking how we can still serve others?  Even when we have been the good Samaritan, how often have we felt we deserved praise or recognition or value points for reaching out to serve another?

Mary’s example reminds us that by continually immersing ourselves in Christ, we can grow to spontaneously, lovingly, sincerely, and purely rushing to serve God and others in His name. Mary’s brand of urgency is loving action as natural as breathing.  There is no pause for self, for excuses, for rationalizations.

There is no pause because sincerity and love are found way beyond the pauses of self.  Mary may have had a thousand excuses not to go in haste to serve and be there for her cousin Elizabeth, yet she took none of those excuses.   Rather, she left them at the feet of a God she so loved and trusted that she was content to leave any pauses behind.

When Haste Makes Waste

Given all this, we might see that haste is not waste when that haste is an urgency to seek out, reach out, and find Our Lord and Our Lady. We should feel as if there is no time to spare for this desire which is ultimately the core of what we should be about.

In addition, as Our Lady showed us, haste directed in loving charity toward another, irrespective of our own comfort and needs, is certainly haste well spent. On the other hand, haste is waste when directed merely at self or superficial whims and wants whose eternal significance is counterproductive, nil, or negligible. Taken in this context, there is a great difference between rushing to get to church before Mass in order to have time to pray or reflect versus rushing to the store to be first in line to get the latest popular item.

So let us ask Our Lord and Our Lady to inspire and immerse us with Mary’s Visitation haste.  That urgency to serve, honor, and bring glory to God is good. “Later” can often be the potion the evil one uses to push Heaven to the background.

Haste toward God and away from the evil one is a good idea in this world so full of rushing toward superficial noise instead of toward the silence of God.