Mary, Mother of God Years ABC 2025

Title

What does Mary Mean for Us?

Outline

Mary is part of the great debate between Protestants and Catholics

On the one hand, for conservative Protestants Mary does nothing except carry and give birth to Jesus - God produces the child. On the other hand, for liberal Protestants Mary was simply a peasant who gave birth to Jesus who was not really fully God.

Catholics know that through the Spirit the Son was joined to a fully human conceptus - but not a fallen human one, due to Mary’s own immaculate conception - so she carried and gave birth to Jesus who was fully God, a person of the Trinity, and fully human, a male child conceived by the action of the Holy Spirit on Mary. Now I am not going to argue for this more than to say that it fits Paul’s “God sent his Son born of a woman,” and was argued for by the Church Fathers culminating in the Creed and the title Theotokos that we translate as “Mother of God,” I do want to point out its implications for us.

First, Jesus was fully God and fully human

Right from conception God was joined to the human conceptus so that he experienced all that we experience and could redeem all that we are, including being born of a human mother, nursing as a human baby, and all that goes along with that. Because of this after his crucifixion his human body and soul had to be resurrected in unity with his divine nature (and transformed as ours will be to be able to be in the divine sphere) producing the model for our resurrection.

Second, God’s becoming man by birth means that we can become Sons of God by adoption.

Paul says this, “God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption.” God’s union with humanity in the (super)natural birth of Jesus means we can be joined to God by adoption even now by God’s Spirit in us analogous to God’s working in Mary: “God sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!””

So, brothers and sisters, Mary did indeed have a lot to reflect on.

The Gospel says, “Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.” Meaning in Luke everything from the angel’s coming to her in the Annunciation through the shepherds coming after Jesus’ birth with their report of an angelic message. She had a lot to reflect on and we are still reflecting on it.

Buy the important thing is that she and Joseph did as they were told, for on this, the eighth day they had the baby circumcised with Joseph taking his place as father in declaring the name to be “Jesus,” “the name given him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.”

And that obedience is what we need to emulate so we receive the unity with God that the mystery of Mary, Mother of God, conveys to us.