"Mary, the Mother of Jesus"
Fr. George Wertin
Sunday, August 15th, 2004

I surprised myself and decided to talk about Mary, the Mother of Jesus, on August 15, this traditional feast of the Assumption of Mary . In England this feast is beautifully called “Our Lady Day in Harvest.” Recently I ran across a book by Charlene Spretnak, a feminist theologian. It is entitled “Missing Mary.” And she laments the way modern theologians shy away from discussion on Mary. It’s true. Gary Wills suggests that role of Mary in theology should be replaced with a feminine image of the Holy Spirit. And Elizabeth Johnson suggests that because the image of Mary as the expression of the Mother love of God is patriarchal - in other words promoted by a male hierarchy and theologians - it must be abandoned.

Well, with Charlene Spretnak, I disagree. I certainly concur that the image of Mary has been sentimentalized. The image of Mary has been one of interceding to her Son and God the Father on our behalf. In the old paradigm God was viewed as remote and inaccessible to us unworthy sinners. Because God was viewed as so remote we needed an intercessor - and who better than a Mother? She has been sentimentalized through novenas, statues and hymns.

But is this an authentic and accurate perspective on Mary?

It helps to return to the Scriptures - to the first Chapter of Luke’s Gospel. We read the poetic Magnificat of Mary as our Gospel today. It isn’t terribly original. In fact, a variation from the Prophet Isaiah was read as our first reading. Another variation is attributed to Hannah, the mother of Samuel.

The Magnificat - the wording is taken from the Latin: my soul magnifies the Lord - is a magnificent hymn. It is probably the passage of Scripture more frequently set to music through the ages than any other. It has two sections: in the first Mary exults what God has done for her. In the second she exults what God is doing for Israel. It is not the refrain of a quiet, subservient woman. It is a paean to justice. God is viewed as deposing the mighty from their thrones and exalting the poor. God nourishes the hungry and sends the rich away empty handed. These are bold words. They are in Mary’s song which is also her prayer. We are used to having singing associated with politics, but we don’t easily associate prayer with politics.

In the Scriptures Mary is presented as a member of the under-class in Nazareth, a girl probably around 14 years old engaged to a local carpenter.She has a troubling vision in which an angel - a messenger from God - appears to her. She boldly said “Yes” - let it be unto me according to your word - that she should be the Mother of the Messiah. As Joan Chittister says, “she had a strong will, a strong faith, a strong sense of self, and deep spiritual stamina.”

According to Mary’s magnificat, God is called to turn everything upside down in terms of politics and economics. Mary is calling for an end to empire. And what is empire but a system that uses its military and economic power to control weaker peoples for its own interests. To use a contemporary example, Mary would call for using the $40 billion dollars a year - what it costs to wage war for five months in Iraq - to finance all public college and university education, making it free for all students. What if we were to get rid of one of our thirteen battle carrier ships like the Kitty Hawk which is almost three football fields long, twenty stories high, has 6000 people on board and 70 airplanes? Why, we could double the salaries of all the elementary and high school teachers in public schools in this country.

Yes, Mary is more than ‘a lovely lady dressed in blue’ whom we invoke to plead with Jesus on our behalf. She mirrors the love of Jesus for the poor and underprivileged. I remember when I was in El Salvador in the late 1980’s during the revolution. We met with a Small Christian Community. A woman member shared with us how she prayed the Magnificat everyday because it gave her hope. And she explained how they sang the Magnificat in the streets because the soldiers didn’t realize what a subversive and political song it was.

Yes, we need to change our perspective on Mary. We must see her as woman of compassion, justice and love - like her son Jesus.

There is another telling story about Mary in the Gospels. It seems that someone announced to Jesus that his mother and brothers and sisters were there to see him. He said, “Who are my mother and my brothers and sisters? They are those who hear the word of God and keep it.

In other words, what is important is not the biological ties of family. What is important is the spiritual relationship with Jesus. Mary brought Jesus into the world. And so must we. Mary spoke to the issues of her day. And so must we. Mary was passionate for justice. And so must we. “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!