By Graham Glover -
This Friday, 15 August, the calendars of
Lutherans, Anglicans, and perhaps some other liturgically minded
Protestants calls for the celebration of ‘St. Mary – Mother of our
Lord’. On this same day, Roman Catholics will celebrate the ‘Assumption
of the Blessed Virgin Mary’ and the Orthodox the ‘Dormition of the
Theotokos’.
Unfortunately, this feast does not fall
on a Sunday, which means most Protestants will hear nothing of it this
year. They will not meditate on the readings, the hymns, or the propers
assigned for this day. I highly doubt many Lutheran parishes will even
reference it in the Prayers of the Church on Sunday morning. And this is
sad. For those who believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the
living God, it’s tragic, as venerating Mary does nothing but point
people to her Son. Yet it’s hardly surprising. In fact, I think it’s
emblematic of Protestantism’s greatest heresy – ignoring the role that
the Blessed Virgin Mary plays in our faith.
I know this is a strong statement. It’s a
stinging indictment of the movement to which I belong and a church body
of which I am a pastor. But as much as I wish it weren’t true, I’m
afraid it is. We Protestants say we hold the Blessed Mother in high
esteem. Our calendars even have a few days set aside during the year to
honor her. But this is nothing short of window dressing, as the Blessed
Virgin Mary has little to do with the faith we confess. And this must
change. We Protestants have to do better. To ignore the Blessed Virgin
is to ignore her Son, something no follower of the Christ should ever
desire to do.
For starters, I’ve always found it ironic
that we who proclaim ‘Sola Scriptura’ seem to ignore the Scriptures
when Mary tells us in her Magnificat: “from now on all generations will
call me blessed.” But we do – that is, we Protestants almost always
ignore this commendation, thereby betraying our own hermeneutic.
How often (if ever) do Protestants refer to Mary as the Blessed Virgin, the Blessed Mother, etc.? We certainly respect her, but we most assuredly do not treat her as the most noble gem in all of Christendom [after her Son], as our own Martin Luther referred to her.
Rather, we lump her together with the
other saints of the New Testament. But the Blessed Mother is nothing of
the sort. She is no ordinary saint. She is the saint of saints. She is
the Theotokos – the Mother of God, a title given her at the Council of
Ephesus in 431 and echoed in the Lutheran Book of Concord. The Blessed
Mother is the example that all Christians should emulate. Her “Yes” to
the angel Gabriel is an act of faith that sets the standard for all of
the Church to follow. And yet when was the last time you heard a sermon,
sat through a Bible Class, or read a Protestant theologian commend the
Blessed Virgin Mary as such?
Protestants are quick to criticize Rome
for declaring as dogma of the Church the Immaculate Conception in 1854
and the Bodily Assumption in 1950. “These things are nowhere in the
Scriptures!” Protestants lament. I say, who cares? Is it that offensive
to suggest that the God-Bearer was wiped clean of original sin in a
single act of grace by the One whom she would bring into the world? Does
is not make sense that the New Eve would be a spotless ark for her Son,
the Messiah?
The Immaculate Conception isn’t about Mary, it’s about
Jesus, and to speak of His Mother as sinless (as Luther and other
Reformers did) is a most salutary thing to do, especially considering
that she remained a virgin throughout her earthly life (a universally
accepted belief even among the most radical of Protestant reformers and a
teaching taught in the Lutheran Confessions). And her Bodily
Assumption? I guess the examples of Enoch and Elijah mean nothing?
Again, what is so theologically offensive about this teaching that is
deeply rooted in the Church’s tradition? Do we Lutherans, as the Apology
of the Augsburg Confessions teaches, no longer believe that this woman
prays for the Church?
To ignore the Blessed Virgin Mary makes
no sense. Without her our Christology is shot. Without her our
hermeneutics are insignificant. Without her our understanding of sin and
grace is incomplete. Without her we cannot call ourselves part of the
Body of Christ. This woman is our Mother, commended to the Church by our
Lord Himself. And to ignore her is something no Christian should ever
do.
Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum!
No comments:
Post a Comment