Mother Of God
A sermon preached by Dr. Harold Henderson on
Mother’s Day, May 10, 2009.
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If you come from a background in the Catholic Tradition or from
some sections of the Anglican Tradition, and many of you come from one or the
other, you will be familiar with the term “Mother of God” as a designation for
Mary, the mother of Jesus. If you come from a background in the Orthodox
Tradition, you will be familiar with the Greek word, theotokos meaning “bearer
of God” (hence “mother of God”). Even when the Orthodox Divine Liturgy is
translated into local languages (such as English) theotokos is retained as a
reference to Mary.
If your background is in the Traditions of the Protestant Reformation - and not
all Methodists are comfortable with the Protestant label since our roots are in
Anglicanism rather than the Protestant Reformation – the chances are that you
will have “thrown the baby out with the bath water” (so to speak) and have no
special place for Mary in your religious sensibilities.
Even though we might not like the designation of Mary as “Mother of God”, the
term is a very ancient part of the Christian Tradition and, therefore, needs to
be taken seriously. After lengthy and often acrimonious theological debate and
none-too-subtle political maneuvering, the Council of Ephesus adopted the term
as the proper designation for Mary, in 431CE. In one sense, the decision
accomplished very little; the debates continued, and still do to this day 1600
years later (especially in relation to some of the later dogmas built onto that
foundation) not just among Catholic, Anglican and Orthodox scholars on the one
hand and Protestants on the other, but within the Catholic, Anglican and (to a
lesser extent) Orthodox Traditions. What the Council did accomplish was the
excommunication, exile and, in some cases, the execution of bishops and other
clergy and scholars who could not accept the designation in good faith.
The interesting thing about the debate is that, although it focused on Mary’s
designation, it was not basically about Mary. It was about the two natures of
Christ – the divine and the human and how they fit together especially in
relation to the birth of Jesus. The main antagonists were Bishop Nestorius of
Constantinople who emphasized the human nature of Jesus, and Bishop Cyril of
Alexandria who emphasized the divine. Bishop Cyril believed that theotokos
(Mother of God) properly acknowledged the divine nature of Christ whereas Bishop
Nestorius believed that christokos (Mother of Christ) was more appropriate.
Although Bishop Cyril’s position won the day (partly because he had the vote
taken before Bishop Nestorius’ entourage arrived!), I’m not sure that Mary’s
designation as Mother of God contributes anything significant to affirming the
divine nature of Christ. Unfortunately, what it does do is make Mary an unreal
God-like figure who is out of reach to mere mortals like ourselves. And the sad
thing about that is that the human Mary of the Gospels is an excellent role
model, not just for motherhood, but for Christian discipleship in general.
The message for this Mother’s Day is that Mary the Mother of Jesus is certainly
a wonderful role model for mothers but also for fathers, for daughters and sons,
for marrieds and singles, for straights and gays, for clergy and laity, for
young and old, for rich and poor, indeed for all of us who are serious about our
Christian discipleship.
There are just two aspects of Mary as role model that I want to emphasize today:
1. Mary heard the call of God (in her case to motherhood) and responded to it
with humility and grace.
Luke tells the story (1:26-38) of how the angel Gabriel visited Mary, probably a
teenager at the time, and announced to her that she would give birth to a very
special son whom she would name Jesus and explained why he would be so named.
Mary, perplexed and even fearful, expressed doubt that this could happen, to
which Gabriel responded by assuring her that “nothing will be impossible with
God” (v.37).
Although Mary was overwhelmed by incredulity and uncertainty, her magnificent
response to Gabriel marks her out as a remarkable role model for all Christian
disciples: “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to
your word” (v.38).
When, later, Mary told her cousin, Elizabeth, about the angel’s visit, she broke
out in the praise and worship of God in what has come to be known as The Magnificat:
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely from now on all generations will call me blessed;
For the Mighty One has done great things for me,
And holy is his name…(vv. 46-49ff).
This response to the call of God does not sound like any kind of prelude to the
title of Mother of God. It sounds more like the gracious and awe-inspiring
response of a humble servant of God ready to be and to do whatever God wills,
even though it goes way beyond her comprehension and her comfort zone. And it
seems to me that we blunt the impact of this Mary as a role model if we make her
into some kind of a God-like figure rather than identify with her as a mere
mortal struggling like ourselves to respond with humility and grace to the call
of God that comes to us.
2. Mary remained focused on her call, despite limited understanding, pain and
deep grief.
From beginning to end Mary lived out her call as a mother. She gave birth to
Jesus; she went looking for him as a 12-year-old when he was left behind at the
Temple in Jerusalem; she deferred to him at the wedding at Cana in Galilee; she
was there when Jesus, told that his family was waiting to greet him,
forthrightly declared that the needy crowd gathered around him was his family;
she was among the growing band of disciples who joined him as he made his way to
Jerusalem for Passion Week; she was there at the foot of the Cross; she was
there among the disciples who shared in his post-resurrection appearances.
Mary is a challenging role model for all of us - mothers and others – both by
responding with humility and grace to the call of God, and by remaining true to
that call through thick and thin. And the exciting thing is that, if Mary, a
lowly mortal, can do it, so can we – with the same humility, grace and
persistence.
I read recently of a mother whose daughter announced to the family that she and
her husband were thinking about having a baby, and who asked what the family
thought of the idea.
The mother didn’t want to sound discouraging but thought of a long catalog of
changes that would impact her daughter’s life profoundly – “changes that she
would not learn about in childbirth classes,” changes affecting her lifestyle,
her career, her relationship with her husband, her priorities, even her values,
and much more.
“My daughter’s quizzical look,” the mother writes, “makes me realize that tears
have formed in my eyes.” “You’ll never regret it,” I finally say. “Then I reach
across the table, squeeze my daughter’s hand and offer a silent prayer for her,
and for me, and for all of us mere mortal women who stumble their way into this
most wonderful of callings. This blessed gift from God…that of being a Mother.”
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It sounds like Mary, doesn’t it? Focused on God’s call, through all the
uncertainties and ambivalent feelings. What a wonderful role model for mothers,
and for all of us, to respond to the call of God with humility and grace, and to
remain focused on the Divine calling, come what may.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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* Full statement available on request to the church office.
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