Madonna, the Blessed

A sermon delivered on December 24, 2006 at All Saints Anglican Church, based on Luke 1:39-56.


Ralph was sending his 23 year old secretary to the post office to buy stamps, and Ralph’s wife asked her to get a sheet of Christmas stamps while she was there. The secretary was happy to do that. When she returned from the post office, she showed Ralph’s wife the nice Christmas stamps with snowflakes on them. She said, “I chose these because the other Christmas stamps had a picture of Madonna and that child she adopted.”

Such is the level of general knowledge about Mary. Even in church circles we often don’t quite know what to make of this icon of a woman. We know she’s important, but our impressions of her are largely formed in reaction over against the Roman Catholic view. We know she has a special place in our faith as the Mother of Jesus, but mostly our approach to her is to send her a Hallmark Card on Mother’s Day with a generic message, “Thanks for everything, Mom.” But since the Scriptures record her words, “All generations will call me blessed”…, we really owe it to ourselves as Christians to think about this woman more seriously and to understand what place she can play in our faith. Thus, the title of this message is “Madonna, the Blessed”.

I’ve often wondered about the Magnificat, the song Mary sang upon meeting Elizabeth. How could a 15- year-old unschooled girl come up with such amazing poetry so full of exalted praise of God and prophetic unction?! Where did she get that kind of language? I think the answer is that she knew the Scriptures and was blessed by that knowledge. Listen to this and see if it sounds familiar:

1 "My heart rejoices in the LORD; in the LORD my horn [a] is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance.
2 "There is no one holy [b] like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.
3 "Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the LORD is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed.
4 "The bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength.
5 Those who were full hire themselves out for food, but those who were hungry hunger no more. She who was barren has borne seven children, but she who has had many sons pines away.
6 "The LORD brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave [c] and raises up.
7 The LORD sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts.
8 He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor. "For the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s; upon them he has set the world.
9 He will guard the feet of his saints, but the wicked will be silenced in darkness. "It is not by strength that one prevails;
10 those who oppose the LORD will be shattered. He will thunder against them from heaven; the LORD will judge the ends of the earth."He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed."

This is from I Samuel Chapter 2, the Prayer of Hannah, mother of Samuel, which she sang when she was told she would conceive a child. It’s fairly easy to see the similarities between the two songs. In addition there are numerous references to the Psalms. All in all, the Magnificat contains some 15 references to other Scripture passages. All of which means that Mary was very familiar with the Bible, most likely singing the Psalms and other canticles daily with her family during their devotions. Thus her spontaneous song to the Lord was informed by her deep familiarity with Scriptural songs. Mary waxed poetic because she knew the Bible – and as a consequence also knew God. Like Mary and her family, we would do well to make the reading and memorization of Scripture a daily part of our lives. If we do, we will receive a great blessing, and be ready to react to life’s circumstances with Scriptural responses.

Mary was also Blessed in her Belief. Her attitude of Belief is especially evident as she interacts with Gabriel. You’ll remember that Mary responds to the news from the angel with the question, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” Compare this with her Uncle Zechariah’s response to Gabriel: “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years?”

On the surface, these questions are very similar. But Zechariah is struck dumb and told that he would not speak until John was born because he did not believe Gabriel’s words. In contrast, Mary’s question is answered with an explanation of how the Holy Spirit will overshadow her and cause her to conceive a holy child. Her response is, “Fiat”, or “Let it be to me according to your word”. Mary is blessed because she believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord (Lk.2:45). This attitude of Belief and Acceptance is what attracted the special favor of God Almighty and caused Gabriel to address her as ‘Favored One”, Full of Grace.

Mary’s “Yes” to God is the model for our own belief. If we can put aside our “Yeah, right!” attitude of unbelief and entrust ourselves over into God’s care, we too will be blessed by knowing God and enjoying His salvation, just as the Scriptures say that if we believe with our hearts and confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord, we will be saved (Romans 10:9). The way to be saved is always the same:

*Believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior; come into the world to save Sinners,
* repent of your sins and
* confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord to the Glory of the Father. If you’ve never done this, I urge you to do it today! Be blessed like Mary and Believe!

Finally Mary is Blessed in her Position. By virtue of her “YES” to God, Mary became the mother of Jesus - God in the flesh. Because she bore our Lord in her body, she is known as the Theotokos – the God Bearer. This title was officially recognized at the Council of Ephesus in 431 AD. Mary is not a mere womb for hire, but an active participant in God’s plan of Salvation. She of all people is chosen as the one who will impart to Jesus his human nature, allowing him to become the God-Man. As a result, her soul is filled with joy, she magnifies the Lord and her spirit rejoices in God. She is blessed in her position as the Theotokos.

In birthing Jesus, Mary also secures for herself the position of the Second Eve: the “Mother of all the Living”, that is, all who exercise faith in Christ and gain eternal life. What the first Eve lost for us through her disobedience, the second Eve bought back for us through her willing cooperation with God. Thus, she becomes our true Mother in the faith, and even the personification of the Church itself. Mary is blessed to be known as the first and best Christian.

Because of her special closeness to Jesus, she is also seen to have a position as Representative of the poor and oppressed. This can be seen at the wedding of Cana in John chapter 2. Mary comes to Jesus and says, “They have no wine” (Jn. 2:3). Mary brings this need to Jesus’ attention with the implicit belief that he can and will do something about it. Her simple observation is understood as a statement that the people have no Salvation, no “wine which makes the heart of man glad”. There is an implicit request in her statement: “Save them!” “Make some wine!” Thus, Mary is seen to have a special place as an Intercessor with God on our behalf.

Now this has caused no little controversy between Anglicans and Roman Catholic Christians - especially when she is spoken of as a “Co-mediatrix”, even though this is not the official doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church.

As Anglicans, we can affirm that Mary can indeed intercede for us. She is part of the Communion of Saints just like every other believer who has passed on to be with God. But she is just like us: She was not sinless. She needed Salvation herself and recognized it in the Magnifcat, addressing God as “my Savior”.

Jesus Christ is the One true mediator between God and Man. We needn’t go through Mary to get to God as an additional mediator, yet her position as Mother of Jesus allows her to say, “They have no wine”; to be the unique spokeswoman for all of humanity, pleading with her Son for Justice, with the implicit assumption that Jesus will answer us out of his goodness and mercy.

She also speaks to us as her children, “Do whatever he tells you” (Jn 2:5). You could base your entire Christian life on this one statement and do very well indeed.

In summary, Mary is blessed above all women, indeed of all Christians. She embodies the fullest expression of the life of Grace. She was blessed in her Knowledge of the Scriptures and her personal holiness, she was blessed in her Belief, which allowed her to say Yes to God, and she is now ever-blessed in her position as the Theotokos, the God-Bearer, our Mother in the faith, and the spokeswoman of the poor and the oppressed. In a word, she combines in her person both Joy and Justice.

Adapting a sentence from the Seattle Statement of the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission: “…when joy is joined with justice and peace … we rightly share in the economy of hope and grace which Mary proclaims and embodies.” Amen.