What About Mary?

“Christ was born of a woman, that neither sex might despair.” -Augustine

My meditation on Luke 1 continues as my thoughts turn to Mary, mother of Jesus, this morning.

On her deity:

"Deify her, and, besides other things, you wrong the whole human race; you depose her from her rightful place at the head of Christian women; you cheat Christ’s sisters of their sweet queen, and say, in effect, that you can do nothing with a pure life and a humble spirit but make an idol of it. Give us back the mother of our Lord; we want her here with us on earth, that our maidens and our matrons, feeling her to be one of themselves, may learn from her, in each event of life, how to receive God’s will about themselves." E.T. Marshall

As I grew up Catholic, I have a particular suspicion of super Biblical beliefs. I find no precedence for the special role that Mary has been assigned by the Catholic Church. In fact, this singling out goes against the entire thrust of New Testament theology. Didn't Paul and the disciples resisted any inclination to elevate themselves? They always redirected the focus back to Christ. Why would Mary be any different?

Mary's nature as revealed by the scriptures is marked by repetitive humility and caution. Here are her thoughts and words as recorded by Luke:

Philippe de Champaigne, 1644

"But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be." Luke 1:29

And Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?" Luke 1:34

And Mary said, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her. Luke 1:38

Mary's song:

And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, 
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 
for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. 
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 
for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 
And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. 
He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; 
he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; 
he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. 
He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 
as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever."  -Luke 1:46-55

Mary's image has drifted far from the sum total of her words.  Her sky blue clothing, Anglicized features, and mature age are our super Biblical interpretations.  The first recorded prayer to Mary dates to mid 3rd century.  The belief in the assumption of Mary dates to the 6th century.  The issue is difficult to sift through and centuries old.  As much as I'd like to find reason within the Catholic teachings or be able to completely dismiss them, I find myself somewhat in-between.  The Catholic teachings are too far from the Bible, but when reading through their explanations, they soften them to the point where I subsequently soften my own hard-nosed distaste for "Mariology."

Here's one Catholic priest's understanding of the role of Mary in their tradition. I do find his three categories of respect in worship helpful: Latria, Dulia and Hyperdulia.  Thinking it through more precisely, my objection may be to time/focus spent on praying to the saints and to Mary.  My concern, which many of the 174 comments on this post reflect, is the need to keep our eye on THE ball, Christ.