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Theology - There is something about Mary
(March 18, 2007)
Luke 2.33-35: 33The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about Jesus. 34Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, ‘This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed 35so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed - and a sword will pierce your own soul too.’
John 19.25-27: 25Standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’ 27Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.
Mary conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Lk 1:26-38 and Mt 1:18-25)
There are more churches in England dedicated to St Mary the Virgin than to any other saint yet at the same time we have very few facts describing her life. We know that she was old enough to be married (14), and that she had been promised to Joseph in marriage. During her engagement and before the marriage had taken place the angel Gabriel tells her that Jesus would be her son, born of the Holy Spirit. The story is startling because Mary is so ordinary - a young woman, growing up in a country town in a backwater of history. As a woman, she doesn't have any status in that society and as a child, so she doesn't even have any status or power within her familyThe Bible is clear that Mary was a virgin when Jesus was born. She is the Mother of God in the sense that she carried in her womb a divine person—Jesus Christ, God "in the flesh" (cf. John 1:14)—and in the sense that she contributed the genetic matter to the human form God took in Jesus Christ. It was through her—not Joseph—that Jesus "was descended from David according to the flesh" (Rom. 1:3). Mary went on to have other children after Jesus (1) Mary has been seen as the embodiment of female piety and subservience. She is seen as the ideal woman; she is both virgin and mother, meek and mild, obedient and perfect. The emphasis then falls on the domestic and passive aspects of Mary's role in the Christian story. She goes along with what God wants and with what Joseph decides to do. She follows Jesus along as a spectator and is a part of the crowd in the background during his ministry. She stands at the foot of the Cross and watches her son die. Mary's role in all this is all entirely receptive, as though she was a passenger, a vessel, even a victim. I would suggest that this image of Mary as a drop-anything, go-anywhere follow your man, domestic goddess is totally impossible as a role model and of course and it is totally unreal. It seems to me that this idealisation of Mary is a major factor in the Walt Disneyfied sentimentality and commercialisation of the Christian story. It's part of making Christianity a sort of fluffy story that comes around every Christmas accompanied by cards that are either kitsch, sentimental, tacky and invariably sexist. What about Mary, the revolutionary? She is tough and resourceful. She travels with Joseph from Nazareth to Bethlehem. At this point she is heavily pregnant and would probably not have had even the luxury of the donkey we fondly imagine. She is likely to have walked, a journey of 80 miles, or thereabouts! When an angel appeared she is shaken and taken aback but she is not surprised. She simply listens and then responds by faith (2). An engagement would last up to one year. Jewish law took their engagement seriously. She faces being stoned for adultery if Joseph does not believe her story about the angel. She is aged 14 and is pregnant by the Holy Spirit. This passage makes it clear that the story will end in tragedy(3) and this is how it was to be – thirty three years later, aged 47, Mary is standing by the cross watching her son die. Yet the woman we see in the Bible is confident, hopeful and determined. After Gabriel has left her she sings a song of praise (Magnificat). In it she expresses gratitude and hope, confidence and prophecy for the future. It is a witness that is both personal – ‘What God has done for me’, and social – ‘What God is doing in the world. It signals the coming of the Son of God as the Messiah of the poor. Mary was the only human being with Jesus throughout his whole earthly life. She was the only person to love Jesus before he was born. Her readiness and faith are the challenge to us.There is special providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be now, 'tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come--the readiness is all (Hamlet Act 5)How able are we to be entirely present in a situation and like Mary to have a passion for the possible? How ready are we to join with the saviour of the world?
(1) ‘Just then his mother and brothers showed up. Standing outside, they relayed a message that they wanted a word with him. The crowd surrounded him when he was given the message, "Your mother and brothers and sisters are outside looking for you." (Mark 3:31-32)
(2) 'I am the Lord's servant, and I am willing to accept whatever he wants. May everything you have said come true.' And then the angel left." (Luke 1:26b-35,37,&38)
(3) so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed - and a sword will pierce your own soul too Mark 2:35)
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