Evangelical Is Not Enough: Hail Mary
Perhaps one of the most disturbing parts of Roman Catholicism and the Orthodox Church for Evangelicals is our stubborn insistence upon giving honor to Christ’s mother, Mary. Thomas Howard’s discussion of the subject brings us back around to the importance that Christianity places on the physical. He notes that in the Old Testament we see worship of God that almost always involves a blood sacrifice of some sort or another. He then asks what happened as a result of Christianity,
But that was all primitive. Surely something spiritual would emerge from those elementary lessons. Surely thoughtful men might anticipate the day when all of this would be put behind and be replaced with elevated thoughts and spirituality.
Indeed it was all put behind. There came an end to those gory altars and all that slaughter. But it was not a tissue of elevated thoughts that replaced them. Rather, an angel appeared to a woman and said, “Hail!” What we now had, far from the summons away from the physical realm that highminded men might have wished, was gynecology, obstetrics, and a birth. Whatever we may imagine about the spiritual rhapsody that might have attended this angelic visitation to the Virgin, the one thing we know to have occurred was a conception. The Virgin’s womb teemed.
It was embarrassing to the religious mind. It proved a scandal. The whole ensuing story bothered and even enraged religious men, and it has continued to do so.
Once again it is the Incarnation that is the key to understanding the honor given to Mary in our Churches. We honor the fact that Christ receives his humanity from her, that God chose her to take care of His Son. How amazing it is to think about the fact that Mary was asked to share the responsibilities of being a parent with God, the Father of all creation.
I appreciate that Howard continues to point out our tendency of wanting to separate Christianity from the physical. The fact that there are still many among us who are uncomfortable with having a God who participates in even the most earthy elements of our humanity illustrates that Paul’s description of the scandal of Christ crucified is still around, even to this day.
It is also good to hear from a writer who can recognize that there are some, who in wrongly placing Mary’s place above her Son have gone too far and have need of being pointed back to Christ. Howard points equally to the folly of turning to the solution that claims that God’s glory would be diminished by giving honor to anyone else. Howard asks the question,
What king surrounds himself with warped, dwarfish, worthless creatures? The more glorious the king, the more glorious are the titles and honors he bestows…..He is a very great king, to have figures of shuch immense dignity in his train, or even better, to have raised them to such dignity.
God has indeed raised Mary to a place of honor in his kingdom. I see no reason for us not to do the same. In doing so, we are reminded not only of the great dignity He has bestowed upon her, but upon the entire human race by His glorious Incarnation.
About The Author
I enjoyed this post. I am very inarticulate when I try to explain veneration of Mary to non-catholics. I simply grew up praying the Rosary and asking for Mary’s intercession and it feels second nature to me. But I enjoy reading explanation of it and watching evangelical friends begin to wrap their minds around Mary and sometimes, eventually their hearts become wrapped around Mary.
Christian,
As a presbyterian minister I can say the issue is not one of giving honor to Mary or trying to separate the physical from the spiritual in some gnostic fashion. It is right and good to confess Mary as Theotokos and to confess along with her, that indeed among women she has been blessed in a special way. Her role was unique throughout all of human history and really only the types of women that came before her, Sarah, Elizabeth etc, with miraculous conceptions can even come close to relating to her experience.
Be this as it may, the issue is not with giving Mary her proper due for Evangelicals, it is, as you briefly state, giving her undue attention. While I lament most of Evangelicalism’s ignorance of history, tradition, church doctrine, and the like, I am hard pressed to teach a proper reverence for Mary when people pray to her and even name her “the Queen of the Universe.” From our perspective, this is an error, because worship and adoration belong solely to the Triune God. That’s not the same thing as showing honor and respect. Worship is a critical difference. Even the angels, angels who have beheld the glory of God, command those who see them to worship God alone. As we see it, to style Mary as Queen is to go from a Trinity to a Quadrinity because it speaks of co-regency. To pray to her is to show her undue act of worship. Yes, she is instrumental in the incarnation. This is orthodox teaching (even the simplest, “no creed but the Bible” sort of fundamentalist confess the importance of Mary). But where do we find in the New Testament, let alone in the primitive church commands to worship and adore Mary in such a way like is perceived to be typical Catholic practice? When do the apostles advise it?
When I first moved to St. Louis (a very prominent Catholic town) to begin seminary I worked in secular setting to pay the bills and once people found out I was in seminary the first question often asked was this: so do you pray to Mary? Do you worship her? No, I would say, and for the reasons just given. Often, the Catholics I spoke with did not understand the distinction I was making between honoring Mary and worshipping Jesus. They saw it all as the same thing, which to me, begs the question, is the typical Catholic practice to worship Jesus and Mary, no matter what the official doctrine may say?
Just like the typical Evangelical practice is to deny history, tradition, and to deny any role of honor to Mary, no matter what the creeds confess. I wonder the same thing about Catholics. Having worked at a Catholic University for 4 years I know the views are very diverse, some saying Mary doesn’t count for much and some saying she is more important than Jesus.
The last thing I want is to open a huge debate, because I think you and I know that not only am I giving a representative Evangelical answer, but that this debate has deep tracks. I am assuming most of your readers are parishioners and so I wanted to give an opposing view. This is all for the sake of argument, not because I am wanting to stir up a hornet’s nest, but so your readers can see that there are Evangelicals who do know the tradition, do show Mary her proper honor, and have not become gnostics and anti-incarnational in the process.
It must be said however, that no matter our disagreement on this matter, in my view, I cannot help but call Catholics my brothers and sisters in Christ. We confess the Nicene Creed together and we have one faith, one baptism, and one Lord. Presbyterians have made egregious errors in the past and continue to do so. My own Protestant tradition is anything but perfect.
Rob,
Thank you for your response. My initial reason for creating this blog was in order to share my own thoughts with family and friends. It quickly, as you have noted, became a place where many parishioners found there way in order to hear more of my thoughts. This is both a positive thing, in that it is good for me to connect with the people of the parish, but also in some sense a negative, as my intent is not to create some sort of ghetto mentality. These posts on this book have their origin in my participation in an online book discussion of a book that I had no idea would bring forth so much passion in discussion, but I welcome it. My own thought is that without honesty, there will not be a reunion among Christians.
I appreciate your comment and welcome more of them if you feel comfortable. We seem to share a common understanding of the place of Mary. I agree that there are many Catholics who take our position on Mary and the saints to a place where it ought not go. We certainly honor and venerate Mary and the saints for their ability to show us the way to Christ, but we should not let this veneration move to the level of worship. Worship is for God alone. Catholics have made errors in the past and continue to do so. We can make no claim to be perfect.
I guess my only comment is to say that there are Catholics who give Mary too much honor (and this may get me in trouble, but it is my observation with some Catholics). There is also the tendency among Evangelicals, and perhaps even some Presbyterians, to give no honor to Mary and saints. Personally, I think both of these extremes are a mistake. We ought to honor those who allow Christ to shine through them in way that is extraordinary and inspiring to those of us who follow them. This isn’t worship, it is fellowship.
Thanks for commenting Rob. I never knew how much I would appreciate our brotherhood.
Perhaps too, it might be good to discuss the definition of worship. This seems to be a word that Christians have differing viewpoints as to what it means to worship.
Rob, One of the things the Orthodox and Catholic Church share is the veneration of Mary. If you are up for it I have several podcasts on Mary that address most of your concerns about the fine distinctions between worship, veneration etc. You can find them in the audio archives of http://www.ourlifeinchrist.com There is a 3 part “early” series and a 5 part later series that is more nuanced.
By the way, Fr. Christian, I LOVE Patty Griffith! What CD is this from?
Steve,
This is from her live album, but I think originally it is on Flaming Red.
It may be helpful to understand the Blessed Mother’s role in salvation history to understand her from an Old Testamanet perspective as the New Eve & as the Queen Mother, especially 1 Kings 2:13-20 (notwithstanding that Solomon then went back on his word & committed violence). If Jesus is the King of the New Isarael, the Church, then Mary is the Queen Mother to whom we may bring petitions.
It is also useful to keep in mind that “pray” means “to ask.” It also begs the question, why we should pray for anyone or ask anyone to pray for us? It’s because prayers are simply the exchanges of love, which naturally is the coin of the realm in the Kingdom of God, & Catholics understand a deep connection between the whole Church – the Church Militant on earth & the Church Triumphant in heaven – it is one & the same, so we can exchange “spiritual goods” among ourselves. This is why prayers on behalf of others are right & good, & why prayer to Mary is especially efficacious.
It seems that the Apostles & the Gospel writers had a great veneration for the Blessed Mother by including the entire narrative of the Annunciation & Nativity (Luke 1-2), by recording her intercessory action during the life of Jesus (John 2), by recording her presence during the passion (John 19:25-27), by placing her at the center of the fledgling Church (Acts 1:14), & upholding her role in the final battle against Satan (Rev 12) – among so many other references to he words & deeds. We can’t say that Scripture is silent on the role of the Mother of God.
Strictly speaking, it would not be necessary to record the words & actions of Mary – neither Mark nor John have a Nativity narrative – to tell the Gospel message of Christ Jesus. However, the Holy Spirit has inspired the sacred authors to include this material & uphold the special role of the Blessed Mother because it is good for our salvation to do so.
I read a good book a while back called “Refuting the Attack on Mary” – which is always an attack on the Incarnation. Also, Mark Shea has a 3-part book series on Mary, which coming from an evangelical background should give him a unique perspective.
I read a quote from Luther a long time ago in which he said something like, “One cannot properly call oneself a Christian if he does not have a great devotion to the Blessed Mother.” Here – if he actually said this – Luther & I are in complete agreement.