On August 15th much of the Christian world celebrates the feast day of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Other than Jesus himself, it is hard to think of any human being more celebrated by the Christian church than Mary. She has been venerated in the Church since the apostolic age and is a favorite subject in Western art, music, and literature. Shrines to her have become internationally famous as pilgrimage sites where various miracles have been reported to occur.
Think of the young woman herself and the extraordinary events she experienced in her lifetime. These were some of her memories:
At a very young age (scholars have estimated anywhere between 12 and 15), an angel appeared to her and announced that she would conceive a son by the power of the Holy Spirit who be called Jesus. Her response was “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”
She gave birth to an infant in a Bethlehem stable, she and Joseph having no other place to spend the night. Local shepherds left their flocks to join the holy family and set eyes on the Christ child.
At Jesus’s circumcision, she was probably astonished to hear the priest, with Jesus in his arms, praising God and saying something like, “Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation . . .”
Sometime later, three astrologers (Magi or wise men) appeared at her door, bringing expensive gifts for the child.
She had to flee her home, with Joseph and the child, to Egypt, narrowly escaping Herod’s slaughter of the innocents.
Returning home after making a trip to Jerusalem, she and Joseph were alarmed not to find Jesus among their traveling companions and returned to Jerusalem to find him. When they found him, he was having an adult conversation about the scriptures with temple priests.
And the scriptures say: “Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”
(She also didn’t fail to exercise her authority as a mother, even when Jesus was an adult, instructing him to take care of the wine situation at a Cana marriage celebration.)
Finally, she witnessed the crucifixion of her firstborn son on a Roman cross, and she was with his frightened disciples and other followers in the upper room following his death.
In 431 CE, a council of Christian bishops meeting in Ephesus canonized Mary as Theotokos, or the God-bearer. Mary is revered within the Christian Church for her remarkable humility, trust, and self-sacrificing obedience to God’s direction, making her an example for all Christians. May we all be God-bearers in reflecting the image of Christ in our being and actions. May we follow Mary’s example of humility, being obedient servants to God and to each other.
Improbable Benedictine 