Who's Afraid of the Virgin Mary?

Morning sickness. Bloating. Cravings. The first kick. The reaction of the child within to certain sounds, food and music. Contractions. Labor and delivery. The baby's face. Temperament. Skin. Hair. The way he suckles. His cries. His smile. His giggle. His first steps. His first words. His fears and dreams. His favorite toys. His abilities and skills. His favorite foods. His favorite songs and stories. The way he likes to be tucked in. The sound of him sleeping. A godly mother invested in the love and care of her son knows these things. And she knows them intimately.

As he grows she sees and observes all. She knows her son better than he knows himself sometimes, and can anticipate his moods and reactions, dispensing advice and reprove with a knowledge and understanding few will ever have of him. She will stand with him through all his trials, in a diminishing role as he grows in wisdom and stature, but her care and pride in him will increase as he matures. If she has done well, her child will not need her advice as much any more, but will (if he is as wise as she was prudent) take her words into consideration when they are given. Because she is his loving and precious mother; she sacrificed to make him happy, healthy, strong and wise, he will honor her by turning his ear to her. And she can counsel others on his temperaments and intentions. And what she cannot understand herself, she can concede to his authority.

How then, are we to integrate the Virgin Mary's place in our spiritual understanding of Jesus? We might begin by asking some questions:

1. What sort of girl is visited with this sort of message (from such a heavenly messenger)?:
   Luke1:35 -- And the angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God."
2. What sort of girl gives this response, even though she is a scared and mortal virgin in her early teens?:
   Luke 1:38 -- And Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word."
3. Again, what is this girl -- moreover, what Light is within her -- that the Holy Spirit would overcome others (born and unborn) to respond to her presence with such joy and enthusiasm?:
   Luke 1:41 -- And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord."
4. What sort of girl, after such high praise has been directed at her person and her goodness, denies her own merit, instead replying:
   Luke 1:46 -- "My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for He has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; 49 for He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. 50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with His arm, He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts, 52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree; 53 He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent empty away. 54 He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55 as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity for ever."

Let us be clear, Mary as a stand-alone individual was a most righteous and pious little lady, brimming with the life and joy of God. Why else would He choose her and set her apart from the beginning of time to carry the Incarnate Life of His Son? She had to be holy. The physical and spiritual life of the Savior of the world depended on her prenatal care, motherly tenderness and the strength of her physical and spiritual rearing. The mother of any child must pay special attention to what she eats and drinks, how she conducts herself and her affairs, and how much time she devotes to prayer and meditation. How much more the mother of God on earth?

God chose to have His Son carry Mary's DNA. Christ was fashioned in the likeness of his Heavenly Father first and foremost, but (since He was fully human) He was also fashioned in the likeness of His mother... Perhaps He had her eyes. Perhaps He looked like her uncle or brother or any other member of her family -- just as any other child does. And just as a wise man may choose a holy and precious wife to carry on his name, so also was Mary chosen to bear the child of God. And who is more choosy: a very wise man or the Creator and Redeemer of the world?

Our Father in Heaven would not just arbitrarily decide on someone to carry His Son upon a roll of the dice. Thought was put into this thing inasmuch as thought was put into the creation of the world. And her original righteousness (the one she was granted and then kept through the Law as a good Jewish girl) was only intensified in God's anticipation of the Perfect Life which would grow within her. She was made to be the mortal bridge between the Old and New Testaments -- the living Ark of the Covenant, cradling the breathing Word of God -- and was the first disciple of Christ. Before He was even born she was learning about Him and His kingdom.

Who else was learning? Who else was privileged enough to have that access? Not many, since the gestation of our Lord was accomplished in such a way as to make it a thing of scorn and gossip. It was Mary alone who heard the secret whispers of the Peace of the Word of God echoing through her, body and soul. Each kick was a thrill of hope. Each cry was a chance to wait upon the Lord. Each bedtime story was a chance to share her "lowly" wisdom with the Son of God. Each instruction for completing His chores was taught our Lord by the guiding voice of his Mother. If He submitted Himself to her authority and wisdom, how much more should we call her our rightful and blessed mother, since Eve abandoned and orphaned us in the Garden for a ripe bit of fruit?

Still, the honor given to the Virgin Mary by the Bible itself is no more hotly contested than in the camps between the Catholic and Protestant churches. As a Protestant, I shrank in horror at the words of the "Hail Mary":

"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."

when, as we have seen, the words of the "Hail Mary" are condoned by Scripture -- with the full force and weight of God through His angels and His Holy Spirit. All Catholics ask is that she pray for us in her wisdom as the earthly mother and companion of God. And this is not out of keeping with a sincere and fruitful spiritual life. Were my own mother a praying Christian, I might ask her to pray for me since she would presumably be more mature in the faith than I. Why not (as Elizabeth so simply states) the "mother of my Lord"? Why not tap into the fruit of her quiet observatory wisdom regarding her Son -- my Lord, God and King? Why?

This is the bedrock of the Catholic rosary. A meditation on the life of Jesus with Mary as our motherly guide. She was there (Scripture attests to her presence in at least half of the mysteries of the rosary, including the wedding at Cana, the crucifixion, the finding of the empty tomb and in the upper room during Pentecost) so she can help us to better view and understand them. We thank her and tell her we love her for carrying, nurturing, teaching and disciplining her Son -- who was fully human as well as fully God and Who therefore needed a guide to overcome the temptations by which He would surely have been abused. And we can ask her to help us understand His earthly and heavenly actions. As the Gospels say in John, Chapter 2:

1 On the third day there was a marriage at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; 2 Jesus also was invited to the marriage, with his disciples. 3 When the wine failed, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." 4 And Jesus said to her, "O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come." 5 His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."

His mother asked for His help and then conceded to His authority. He considered her request and then freely granted it, changing the water of the Old Covenant into the rich wine of the New.

Mary is not to be worshipped or adored in her office -- that privilege is for Christ alone -- but she is to be loved and admired as her Son loved and admired her. Just as we are to be imitators of His life and work and holiness, we are to love what He loves and to value what He values.

God the Father needed Mary to bear His Son. Christ the Son needed her to be His mother. In the Gospels, the Holy Spirit called her -- and no one else but Jesus -- blessed. Ask yourself what your relationship to Mary should be and then act on that judgment.