Tuesday, December 6

For an audio version of this, click here.

Tuesday

Mary is rightly praised for the beautiful humility with which she accepted the will of God for her life when she said, “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.”  - Luke 1:38.  The often misunderstood Mary was a major character in the divine drama that first Christmas.  However, today the historical figure of Mary plays two widely differing roles among Catholics and Protestants and I think both traditions have lost touch with the significance of the Biblical account of the mother of God.

The Overestimated Mary

From my perspective, it seems to me that many Catholics overestimate the role of Mary.  According to Catholic teaching, “God has committed to Mary the treasury of all good things, in order that through her are obtained every hope, every grace, and all salvation.” (Pope Pius, IX) Another Pope has put it this way: “It is the will of God that we should have nothing which has not passed through the hands of Mary.” (Pius, XII).  Pope John Paul II declared Mary the “Co-Redeemer, Mediator of All Graces, and Advocate for the People of God.”

I’ll never forget an experience I had years ago on my first missions trip to Quito Ecuador.  As part of our experience in Ecuador, we spent a day touring the beautiful old city nestled in the Andes mountains. During one portion of our tour we stopped in an old Catholic church built by the Spanish in the mid 18^th century. It was a fairly large building, but pretty plain on the inside.  As I walked toward the front, I couldn’t help but see a huge statue of the virgin Mary, hung prominently right in the middle of the wall, directly above the altar.  This image was probably 30 feet high!  As I got closer, I saw a small statue of Jesus, only about 2-3 feet high, placed off to the side of Mary.  I just stared with my mouth open in disbelief.  There’s something wrong with that picture, isn’t there?  In fact I do not think that Mary of the Bible would be okay with that.

Now don’t misunderstand me, I am not a Catholic-basher. I care deeply for those who are Catholic. However, it must be clearly said that Mary has no place in our redemption.  It is only by the shed blood of Jesus that you and I can have forgiveness of sin and open access to God the Father.  Mary is not a co-redeemer or a co-mediator.  She needed to have her sins forgiven, just like we do. Don’t give to Mary that which belongs only to Jesus!

The Underemphasized Mary

Now, let me be quick to add that while many Catholics overestimate Mary’s importance and attribute things to her that are not taught in the Bible, most Protestants underemphasize her importance. Many of us allow her a cameo appearance in Christmas cards, carols, and nativity scenes during this time of the year, but then we tuck her away like a Christmas ornament, out of sight, out of mind, until her reappearance next December.  Mary is often the victim of simple neglect, having been abandoned to a kind of evangelical limbo.  Some of us have consigned her to virtual oblivion.

Mary did play a crucial role in God’s plan, and we will be spiritually lacking if we ignore her.  The point is not to bash Catholics or Protestants. If you’re itching for a theological gunfight, you’ll be disappointed. Put your pistols back in their holsters. My goal is simply this: Based upon what the Bible teaches, what relevance does Mary’s faith have for us today?

Let’s go back to Mary’s simple statement to the angel Gabriel, “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.”  This is the true greatness of Mary, not that she has the ability to answer prayer, and not that she is our co-redeemer with Christ, but that she was able to humbly accept the will of God for her life despite all of the fear and uncertainty.  Think about what it meant for Mary to say those words…she does not know how Joseph will respond when he hears the news.  She does not know how her family will react when they find out she is pregnant.  She knows that the people in her little town will talk (like people in small towns always do) and to some people, she will always be “that girl”.  The greatness of Mary is that she was able to say “yes” to God despite all of her fear and uncertainty.  She chose Jesus over respectability.  She chose Jesus over security and comfort.  She chose Jesus over her plans for her life.  She chose Jesus above all else!  This is her true greatness, and for this we celebrate the grace of God in the life of a girl woman named Mary!

Jeff Frazier