St. Mary, Mother of God

Today, as the Christian church gathers to receive the gifts of Christ, we remember St. Mary, who was chosen from all women to become the mother of God. This is the highest honor ever bestowed upon any member of the human race, and every generation since has rightly called her the blessed virgin Mary.

But as there is a right and proper way to commemorate the saints, the veneration of Mary become idolatrous, elevating Mary to an nearly Divine status, and claiming for her the power to hear and answers our prayers. The cult of the saints was not limited to Mary alone. Christians were taught to pray to various other saints according to their needs: St. Anthony was the patron saint of lost items. Pregnant women prayed to St. Anne. St. Barbara was invoked against fever, and, more recently, St. Corona, against the plague.

The Lutheran Reformers recognized this for what it was: idolatry. Our prayers are to be directed to only to God. He alone is omniscient, that is, all-knowing, able to hear all our prayers at the same time. And he alone is all-powerful, able to cause his gracious will to come to pass in our lives. The Reformers studied the Scriptures and found that there is no promise anywhere that the departed saints can hear us or are even aware of what transpires on earth. People today are fond of saying that grandma is looking down, protecting and guiding her loved ones. Scripture knows nothing of these superstitions. God, not grandma, does all these things. He watches over us, provides for our needs, hears and answers our prayers, and guards and protects us from countless evils. To ascribe these actions and attributes of God to the saints who have gone before is to rob God of his honor. It is idolatry.

When the Reformers cleansed the catholic church and restored the pure teaching of the gospel, you may be surprised to learn that they did not abolish the veneration of the saints. They abolished the worship of the saints, yes. They taught Christians to pray to God alone. But the Lutherans retained the proper commemoration of the saints. In fact, the Lutheran Confessions list three ways in which we honor the saints. Firstly, with thanksgiving. God has shown us examples of mercy. Read about the saints in the Bible and you won’t find perfect people. You will find forgiven sinners, just as you are, who were shown mercy by God. Secondly, the memory of the saints strengthens our faith. When we read of how St. Peter’s denial was forgiven, we are encouraged to believe all the more that the forgiveness of Christ is stronger than our sin. Finally, we honor the saints by following their examples in faith and good works.

Today, on the fifteenth of August, we join with the true catholic church, that is, with all Christians alive and departed, in giving thanks for the example of St. Mary. Consider her faith. She was a young woman, perhaps a teenager, with a happy and simple future ahead of her. She was engaged to be married. And then her life was unexpectedly upended by an angelic announcement. You, Mary, will become pregnant out of wedlock and give birth to the Savior of the world. Have you ever considered what this meant to her? It could easily have meant the end of her engagement and the life she had planned. She was liable to be stoned as an adulteress, or at least shunned as a tramp. And yet Mary said in simple faith, “Be it done to me according to your word.” What an example of faith she is for us!

Immediately after this encounter with the angel Gabriel, Mary traveled with haste to see her relative Elizabeth, who was six months pregnant with John the Baptist. And there, having greeted Elizabeth, Mary spontaneously burst forth in the hymn of praise we now call the Magnificat. It begins with these words, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” (Lk 1:46–47).

The Roman Church has a terrible teaching called the Immaculate Conception. This refers not to the birth of Christ, but to Mary’s birth. Mary, the Romans teach, was completely free of sin from birth until death. She was immaculate from the moment of conception. If this were true, then why would Mary need a Savior? Only sinners need to be saved. Mary said, “My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” She confessed her need for forgiveness and salvation. In that respect, though she was chosen for a special honor, she was no different that you or I—a sinner in need of saving. She rejoiced at the coming of Christ, calling the child in her womb her Lord and Savior. This is faith worthy of imitating.

Forty days after the birth of Jesus, Mary stood with Joseph in the temple and watched as the old prophet Simeon took the babe in his arms, saying, “This Child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel” (Lk 2:34). And then Simeon said to Mary, “And a sword shall pierce your heart also” (Lk 2:35). Simeon spoke of the Crucifixion, which Mary would witness. Can any mother imagine a greater sorrow that to watch her son unjustly suffer a slow and excruciating death? Many believing parents have renounced the faith after losing a child. Mary might well have asked, “How could a loving God let this happen to my son?” Instead, though pierced to the heart, she did not turn away, but continued to look upon her Savior. Here is true faith.

From the cross Jesus looked down upon the Apostle John and Mary his mother, and said to her, “Woman, behold your son,” and to John, “Behold, your mother.” From that hour St. John took Mary into his own home. Church tradition records that before the destruction of Jerusalem, John brought Mary in safety to Ephesus, building her a home outside the city, where she lived under his care until the day she was received into heaven.

But John did more than provide Mary with safety and a home. These things, along with food and clothing, are necessary, but there is a far more important need. What do poor sinners who have been pierced through by the sorrows of this life need above all else? The medicine of immortality. Inside your bulletin you will find a picture of St. Mary kneeling at the feet of the Apostle John, who, being faithful his calling, places into her mouth the treasure above all earthly treasures. One thing’s needful; Lord, this treasure teach me highly to regard. This one thing is needful; all others are vain—I count all but loss that I Christ may obtain.

This is a picture of the stained glass in the Dahlgren Chapel of Georgetown University in Washington, DC, but the subject, that of Mary receiving Holy Communion from the hand of St. John has been depicted in Christian art for over a thousand years. It is a beautiful picture. Here, in her later years, Mary continues to demonstrates the faith which she had confessed throughout her life, faith worthy of imitation.

Today, as you kneel at the altar, you will, like Mary, receive this same treasure from the hand of a servant of Jesus, who has been commanded to care for your needs. As Mary’s womb was made to be a fit receptacle for the infant body of Jesus, so your mouth and heart receive his broken body by faith. Truly, God does fill the hungry with every good thing, including the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. And together with the whole church of believers on earth and in heaven, we will confess the faith, echoing the words of Mary, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” Amen.