There's Something About Mary...

So after writing the previous post regarding the Day of the Immaculate Conception (of Mary), I had a very well thought-out response from some dear loved ones that sparked some further reflection on this whole issue. Essentially, they cautioned us against what we too often tend to do as 'Protestant Evangelicals,' as Christians, or as people in general: swing from one end of the pendulum to the other, or in their words, 'we throw the baby out with the bathwater.' As Rachel and I talked about the issue of Mary, specifically as it regards the worship of 'The Virgin' here in Spain and the evangelical response to that, Rachel pointed out that she cannot remember ever hearing a sermon here (in all of her 18-19 years in Spain) about Mary. Up to now in my brief experience here, I have yet to hear much about Mary: it seems as if the evangelicals here in Spain (and perhaps elsewhere in the world) are nearly afraid to even utter the name of Mary because of the cultural baggage and images of idol worship it seems to bring to their minds.

So what do we do with Mary? Should we be afraid to talk about or preach on her (especially given our context here in Spain)? An acquaintance of ours (who is a typical Spanish Roman Catholic) recently asked me specifically about this, so I'll tell you basically what I told her. We need to look at Mary as the Biblical witness presents her: a magnificent example of faith and obedience to God. When invited to be a part of what God was doing to save the world, she gave herself--heart, mind and body--completely to the service of the Lord. She carried Jesus in her womb, raised Him as a son, and watched Him die on the cross. What an amazing example of faith and sacrifice to God! Certainly she was still a normal human, still a sinner in need of being saved by the One to whom she gave birth, so we should not worship her--our worship is reserved for the Triune God alone. As the photo from the movie The Nativity Story displays above, the spotlight of our worship must remain on Jesus, the God-man who came to save us. But we cannot deny that Mary is still very much a part of that story of salvation, a woman whose great courage and faith we would do well to emulate as we seek to live our lives in submissive love to God.

For those interested in a fairly in-depth Catholic-Evangelical dialogue about Mary (my apologies that the Eastern Orthodox perspective isn't represented), click HERE.