Posted on 05/05/2002 11:30:36 PM PDT by nickcarraway
by Mark Shea
How I Changed My Mind About Mary
5/6/02
It once seemed perfectly obvious to me that Catholics honored Mary too much. All those feasts, rosaries, icons, statues and whatnot were ridiculously excessive. Yes, the gospel of Luke said something about her being "blessed" and yes I thought her a good person. But that was that.
No Mary, No Salvation
People who celebrated her or called her "Mother" or did all the million things which Catholic piety encourages bordered on idolatry. It was all too much. Jesus, after all, is our Savior, not Mary.
However, after looking at the gospel of Luke afresh and thinking more and more about the humanity of Jesus Christ, some things dawned on me. For it turns out that Luke said more than "something" about Mary. He reports that God was conceived in her womb and thereby made a son of Adam! This means more than merely saying that Mary was an incubator unit for the Incarnation. It means that the Logos, the Second Person of the Trinity derives his humanity--all of it--from her! Why does this matter? Because the entire reason we are able to call Jesus "savior" at all is because the God who cannot die became a man who could die. And he chose to do it through Mary's free "yes" to him. No Mary, no human nature for Christ. No human nature for Christ, no death on the cross. No death, no resurrection. No resurrection, no salvation. Without Mary, we are still in our sins.
Too Much vs. Just Enough
This made me see Mary very differently. The Incarnation is vastly more than God zipping on a disposable man-suit. He remains man eternally. Therefore, his joining with the human race through the womb of Mary means (since he is the savior of us all), that she is the mother of us all (John 19:27). Moreover, it means that her remarkable choice to say "Yes" to the Incarnation was not merely a one-time incident, it was an offering of her own heart to God and us. Her heart was pierced by the sword that opened the fountain of blood and water in Christ's human heart, for it was she who, by the grace of God, gave him that heart (Luke 2:35; John 19:34).
Seeing this, I began to wonder again: If Catholics honor Mary "too much", where did we Evangelicals honor her "just enough." Mary herself said "henceforth, all generations will call me blessed." When was the last time I had heard a contemporary Christian tune on the radio sung in honor of Mary? Or a prayer in church to extol her? How about a teensy weensy bit of verse or a little article in some magazine singling out Mary as blessed among women? Aside from "Silent Night" was there anything in Evangelical piety which dared to praise her for even a moment? I was an Evangelical for seven years and I never saw so much as a dram of it.
St. Luke? Is That You?</>
So the question became for me, "How could we talk about something being 'excessive' when we had virtually no experience of it ourselves?" What if it was we Evangelicals who were excessive in our horror of Marian piety and Catholics who are normal? Judging from the witness of the early Fathers and even of Martin Luther (who had a very robust Marian devotion and whose tomb is decorated with an illustration of the Assumption of the Virgin into Heaven) it seemed to me that it was we Evangelicals who were excessive in our fear of her rather than Catholics who were excessive in their devotion.
"Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among 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."
There. That didn't hurt a bit. In fact, I think I heard St. Luke pray it too!
III. MARY'S IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
1. Luke 1:28 "And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, {thou that art} highly favoured, the Lord {is} with thee: blessed {art} thou among women."
The Gk. word rendered "highly favoured" here (KJV) and in many translations, is "kecharitomene." Catholic Bibles usually translate it "full of grace," which is permissible, and not merely a biased position. E.g., the Protestant Amplified Bible mentions in a note that "endued with grace" is the "literal translation." W.E. Vine's Expository Dictionary of N.T. Words, a standard Protestant reference, states that the word means "to make graceful or gracious . . . grace implies more than favour; grace is a free gift, favour may be deserved or gained."
If this be true, the Catholic rendering makes more clear the Catholic position that Mary's Immaculate Conception is entirely unmerited on her part, a sheer act of mercy and grace performed solely by God. "Favour" may imply otherwise. "Kecharitomene," in any event, is derived from the root "charis," whose literal meaning is "grace" (it is translated as "grace" 129 out of 150 times in the KJV). The angel is here, in effect, giving Mary a new name ("full of grace"), as if he were addressing Abraham as "full of faith," or Solomon "full of wisdom" (characteristics which typified them). Throughout the Bible, names were indicative of one's character and essence, all the more so if God renamed a person.
2. Catholicism needs only to show the harmony of a doctrine with the Bible. It is not our view that every doctrine of Christianity must appear whole, explicit, and often, in the pages of the Bible. We have also Sacred Tradition, Church Authority, and an acceptance of the development of understanding of essentially unchanging Christian truths. A belief implicitly biblical is not "anti-biblical" or "unbiblical," as many Protestants would have us believe. In fact, many Protestant doctrines are either not found in the Bible at all (e.g., "Bible alone" and the Canon of the Bible), are based on only a very few direct passages (e.g., the Virgin Birth), or are indirectly deduced from many implicit passages (e.g., the Trinity, the two natures of Jesus Christ). Likewise with the Immaculate Conception and other Catholic Marian beliefs.
3. Luke 1:35 "And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God."
This verse explicitly establishes a link between Mary as bearer of the New Covenant and the Ark of the Old Covenant. The Gk. word for "overshadow" ("episkiasei") was used of the bright cloud at the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ (Mt 17:5; Lk 9:34) and is reminiscent of the Shekinah of the OT, which represented God's Presence (Ex 24:15-16; 40:34-8; 1 Ki 8:4-11). Mary became like the Holy of Holies in the Temple, where God dwelt. God gave extremely detailed instructions on constructing the ark, since it was to contain His Law (Ex 25-30 and 35-40). Mary had to be that much more holy, since she was to carry the Word of God in the flesh (Job 14:4). Further parallelism between Mary and the Ark is indicated in comparing Lk 1:43 with 2 Sam 6:9, Lk 1:44 with 2 Sam 6:14-16, and Lk 1:39-45,56 with 2 Sam 6:10-12.
Mary had to be sinless in order to be in such close proximity to God Himself. The whole Bible teaches this (e.g., Ex 3:5; Deut 23:14). God's Presence imparts and requires holiness (1 Cor 3:13-17; 1 Jn 3:3-9). The Jewish high priest entered the Holy of Holies (where the Ark and God's Special Presence were) only once a year, under threat of death if God's instructions were violated (Lev 16:2-4,13). The Ark itself was so holy that only a few were allowed to touch it (Num 4:15; 2 Sam 6:2-7). Thus, Mary, due to her ineffable physical and spiritual relationship with God the Son, the Holy Spirit (as "Spouse"), and God the Father (as "Daughter of Zion"), necessarily had to be granted the grace of sinlessness from conception, just as we all will be cleansed utterly in order to be present with God in heaven (Rev 21:27). Seen in this light, the Immaculate Conception, though still technically a deduction from the Bible, is a very biblical doctrine indeed.
4. Other biblical parallels to the Immaculate Conception exist. Jeremiah (Jer 1:5) and John the Baptist (Lk 1:15) were sanctified from the womb for the serious tasks to which God was calling them. The Apostles were endowed with many extraordinary gifts for their unique role in the history of Christianity (Acts 2; 2 Cor 3:5-6). Adam and Eve, before the Fall, were immaculate and without sin. They were brought forth from an immaculate earth, just as Jesus came forth from the immaculate Mary. Mary is the "second Eve" just as Jesus was the "second Adam" (Rom 5:14; 1 Cor 15:22,45). Mary, by her profound obedience (Lk 1:38), "undoes" Eve's disobedience in the Garden. The angels were created sinless and have remained so (except for the rebel demons). Saints in heaven are completely holy (Rev 14:5). God saved Mary by preserving her from the "pit" of sin, while He pulls the rest of us out of it. This is why God is every bit as much her Savior as He is ours (LK 1:47).
The Immaculate Mary prefigures the perfected Church (Eph 5:25-27). Catholics venerate in Mary no more than the glory promised by God to every creature who stays the course. The doctrine of Original Sin is more difficult to believe than Mary's Immaculate Conception. It is no difficulty to believe that God can unite a soul to flesh without sin. It is much harder to accept the notion that millions of souls are conceived with it.
5. It is abundantly strange that so many Protestants see Catholic Marian beliefs as idolatrous, when in fact, the Immaculate Conception is nothing if not a case where God saves absolutely independently of human effort or "works," without even the possibility of them - pure grace and nothing but grace. Protestants hold that this is what saves everyone who attains salvation. So how can Catholics be chided for applying this notion of unmerited grace to Mary? The only difference is that Catholics believe that God's applied grace obliterates sin, whereas in Protestantism, it merely "covers it up." This notion, however, is unbiblical, and was originated, by and large, by Martin Luther.
6.
He who held back the waves of that Jordan, that the ark of the Old Testament might pass untouched and honored through its bed, could hold back the wave of Adam, lest it overflow the ark of the New Testament beneath its defiling floods. For He, who could have limited Adam's sin unto himself, can ward off that sin from Mary. And what He could, that He willed to do. For why should He not have willed it?{Bishop William Ullathorne, The Immaculate Conception, 1855}
Theologians have debated this for centuries, and I am not theologian, but I will present a VERY SIMPLIFIED and VERY PERSONAL explanation of Marian dogma that I have gleaned from reading A LOT of Marian literature from different periods.
So here goes, and please don't flame, because I'm not presenting this as the official Catholic view. You have to read the Catechism for that.
Because Adam and Eve were both created sinless, and both sinned, both, in a sense, had to be redeemed. Eve ate the apple first, but in the view of Catholic theologians, at least, original sin "didn't count" until Adam ate the apple.
In the same way, Redemption didn't occur until Christ died for our sins on the cross. But Mary's suffering, the "sword that pierced her heart" forecast at the temple where the Presentation took place, along with her willingness to accept the will of God at the Annunciation, contributed to and led to the Redemption, just as Eve's giving into temptation in the garden led to the fall.
That is not to say Mary was a co-redeemper. That is NOT Catholic theology. Many used Revelations 12 to tie this all together.
If there's anyone wondering about Mary's sinlessness -- seriously wondering, that is -- I would highly recommend purchasing the linked book, which is an abridged version of the difficult-to-find Mystical City of God by Sister Maria Agreda. She was a 16th century Spanish nun, who was a mystic.
I haven't read this book, but have read the unabridged version, which costs about $75, if you can find it
Readin it would, imho, convince the doubters. -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
How is it in pa.?
Have a Blessed 4th!
Only the word of God is without error..so everything must line up with scripture and be consistant with scripture and be supported with scripture, or it is questionable..
That is what sola scriptura means. That is our final tie breaker on doctrine..
Happy 4th
Mary did you know
that your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know
that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know
that your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you've delivered will soon deliver you.
that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know
that your baby boy will calm a storm with His hand?
Did you know
that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
And when you kiss your little baby you've kissed the face
of God.
The blind will see
The deaf will hear
The dead will live again
The lame will leap
The dumb will speak
The praises of The Lamb
that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know
that your baby boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know
that your baby boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?
This sleeping child you're holding is the Great I Am.
To hear the song click on
http://www.pagefrompage.com/mary.html
Song sung by Kenny Rogers & Wynonna
Mark Lowry , Buddy Greene / 1991 Word Music
Excellent commentary. Thank you for your contribution!
That said, if you want a sciptural reference to prove Mary's sinlessness, let me start by quoting a passage that refers to Jesus, not Mary. It is John 1:14 : "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,(and we saw His Glory, the glory as it were of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." I think we can all agree that this passage establishes that Jesus was sinless. He was full of grace, that is: God's friendship, by nature since He was God Himself, the second person of the Blessed Trinity. Being full of grace, He never offended God once with sin, although He endured temptations to pride in virtue of His human nature.
As far as I can tell, only one other person in Sacred Scipture is proclaimed "full of grace": Mary. She was not full of grace by nature, as Her Divine Son. She was full of grace by the free gift of God. How do we know this is so? Because God said so. Being full of grace, that is: God's friendship, she never sinned. Had she ever offended God, He could not have called her full of grace, because she would have missed an opprtunity to please him by sin (ie-she would not be full of grace)
Many of you are all too quick to call Mary a sinner, based upon general scripture verses that proclaim that all men are sinners. You overlook the one scripture verse that is specific to Mary, and which is applied to Jesus as well, which conclusively establishes that she was sinless. I have never seen a scipture verse specific to Mary that refers to her a sinner. I am afraid many of you make the same mistake with the Eucharist. Noone can read the 6th Chapter of St Jophn's Gospel and Chapter 11:23-39 of the First Letter of St Paul to the Corinthians and deny that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist.
This is one of the major differences between Catholic Christians and Protestant Christians. We do not believe that "once saved, always saved" in the sense that a Christian can still sin but automatically go to human because he has accepted Jesus into his heart as his "personal Lord and Savior."
Yes, Jesus is my personal Lord and Savior and I have the hope that if I live my life in accordance with His Commandments, seek forgiveness for my sins, and strive to be more like Christ, that through the grace of God I may join Him in Heaven. But it's not a given. Remember, even the demons believe.
1 Timothy 4There are many more references to the importance of living a life for and like Christ, in persevering until the end, etc. I think this means that we can ALL fall and in the end, we still have to answer God on Judgement Day for our faith and our actions.
16Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.Hebrews 10:
26If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left,
27but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.
28Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
29How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?
30For we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," and again, "The Lord will judge his people."
31It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.36You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.
Matthew 10
22All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
God bless.
Actually many Arminians would agree with you on losing your salvation...as a Calvinist I believe that God will provide the grace necesary for the elect to preserve ...no man can ever please God..God takes pleasure in HIS works. (In other words I have assurence).
The election, salvation and preservation of the saints is all of God
If you are His He will preserve you with His grace Go! "This not of yourself":>)
Have a great holiday
IMHO some others are too quick to make her a god (small g)
Jesus needed a human mom..he NEEDED to be subject to all the temptations of man..so he could sympathize with us
If Jesus had been born from a sinless woman he would have been unable to be tempted in every way such as we are ..The human desires and emotions he got from Mary...and thus his ability to be tempted..
You spit the word ..we are all sinners....Jesus said he came for sinners..Mary knew that ..read Luke 1...
Have a great 4th
I gave you two scriptural refernces that establish the sinlessness of Mary. You responded that Jesus could not be tempted if he had been born of a sinless woman. 2 observations: How do you know this?; and Are you again trying to limit what God can do? The only analogous situation that I could think of is Adam and Eve. Both were created sinless by God. And both were able to be tempted.
I don't know why Jesus' choice of a sinless woman to be His Mother causes you such heartburn. We will all have to appear before Jesus one day. I, for one, do not want to have to explain to Him why I spent so much effort to convince myself and others, against the overwhleming weight of authority(scriptural and otherwise) that His beloved Mother was a sinner just like me.
Have a Blessed Fourth and may the Good Lord (and His Mother) take a likin' to you!
Actually that is not true..God foreordained the process of redemption before the world was even formed..before the sin of Adam
Now God could have chosen to change the circumstances or the people..but once His plan was in place (before the foundations of the world were laid) that was the only means of salvation possible , if He was to be faithful and true .God is not fickle nor is he a man that changes His mind.
Mary was a foreordained vessel for the savior..
Indeed He did ask her consent but He foreknew her answer..God was not surprised..this was after all HIS plan
In the same way God foreordaines those that are His today..BUT he still requires that we choose Him..
it is not me that limits God. It is those that believe that God would only come from a sinless woman :>)
Looks like rain in Buffalo..weeks of no rain ...could be I cleaned my deck for no reason..:>)
I had a client that was a cook..insterad of the "traditionl " Buffalo wings he made cajun wings..awesome!
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