The Blessed Virgin Mary 

Today at St Mary's we celebrate our Patronal Festival - that of St Mary-the-Virgin. This week, Fr. Seb reflects on the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Church’s model disciple, exploring ancient Christian titles such as Theotokos and the New Eve, and drawing on the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-56) to show how Mary’s humility, joy, and trust reveal God’s love for the lowly. 

As we celebrate our Patronal Festival, celebrating the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary, I find myself feeling a bit nervous. And I think this is because whatever I say, whatever I preach, is likely to cause some disagreement. There are, of course, Anglicans who will not be too keen on the attention we are giving to the Blessed Mother and there will be Anglicans who think that what we are doing is great. To lay my own cards on the table I do have a deeply personal devotion to Mary, and through that devotion I come closer to Jesus daily.  

And Christians have of course been doing that for a very long time. The names the Church have given to Mary illustrate this as they are very old ideas. They are definitely not modern accretions. Names for Mary such as the ‘New Eve’ feature as early as the second century and the title for Mary of the ‘True Ark of the Covenant’ even earlier than that.

And then of course the famous title of Mary as the ‘Mother of God’ relates, I think, to the title given to Mary by the Council of Ephesus in 431 of Theotokos – the God bearer. Another ancient Christian idea. Mary is the mother of Christ, Christ is God, therefore Mary is the ‘Mother of God’. This is why Mary is so central to our faith. Along with the Holy Spirit, Mary is the one who brings Jesus to birth in our humanity – who brings Jesus to birth in us.

There is beauty, and holiness, and faithfulness in Mary which can inspire and teach the heart of the Christian believer every day of their earthly pilgrimage until the time that they meet Almighty God in heavenly glory. Why? Because Mary is the exemplary disciple of Christ.

And so, if I may add my own title to that great tradition – Mary, I would say, is the gold standard of discipleship. The gold standard where the rest of us, quite frankly, are still working on bronze! And we see this golden standard illustrated so beautifully in the Magnificat – Mary’s great hymn of praise from the Gospel of Luke – easily one of the most beautiful prayers in the whole of scripture.

It famously begins, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour’. With these words Mary announces how her whole being is ordered to the glorification of God. These words, if you like, reveal the heart of Mary. Her own ego wants nothing for itself. All Mary wants is to give honour to God. She has received the extraordinary news that she is to be the mother of the Saviour. And yet, with the whole of her being, she turns entirely to God.

Mary’s song of praise continues: ‘for he has looked with favour 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.’

Time and again the Christian life reveals how God chooses what is humble and lowly and exalts it for the most extraordinary and holy of purposes. Mary knew her lowliness, but she also knew the great truth that God had chosen her.

It is, I would say, a lesson in humility. True humility doesn’t hide away in a shell pretending it has no gifts to offer. Rather, true humility recognizes that what gifts we have come from and are entirely dependent on God.

Another great lesson from the Magnificat is to rejoice. Mary knew her life was not going to be easy, yet she still announces how her spirit rejoices in God. She knew how this fruit of her womb would result in misunderstandings from others and difficult questions from Joseph. And perhaps she even somehow knew something of the sorrow she would later endure, standing beneath the Cross, as her precious Son’s agony and death unfolded in front of her.  

There is a beautiful painting of the Magnificat by Botticelli called ‘The Madonna of the Magnificat’. I highly recommend looking at it. In the painting, in the left hand of Christ, we see a pomegranate, which is a symbol of Christ’s Passion, with the red seeds evoking the blood that was shed on the cross for our salvation. And if you look closely Mary also holds the pomegranate with her Son, her fingers – I think – pressed into the seeds of the fruit. Her ‘yes’ to God is also a firm acceptance that the road ahead will be marked by moments of intense suffering.

And yet she sings: ‘My spirit rejoices in God my Saviour…’ Mary teaches us what it means to hope. We will not always understand everything, but like Mary we know that God is faithful. We will not always know what tomorrow brings, but like Mary we know who it is who holds tomorrow. We will at times find ourselves bearing a cross, but like Blessed Mary we can know that we do not shoulder our sorrows and burdens alone.

We next come to something revolutionary: ‘He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.’

In these cherished words the Magnificat reveals to us the very heart of God. God lifts up the lowly. God sees and loves those the world rejects, God sees and loves the poor, the lonely, the abandoned, the refugee, God sees and loves the sick and dying, and God sees and loves those of you sitting in church today carrying burdens known only by you. God sees you and loves you. God is always there to lift us up in our lowliness and fill us with good things.

And so may Mary’s famous song of praise resound in our hearts and on our lips so that our lives and churches may themselves be a joyful and holy Magnificat. May Blessed Mary, the first and faithful disciple, teach us to trust God and remain faithful to God in every circumstance. And may our lives, like hers, magnify the Lord, so that others may come to know the greatness of the Lord.
As that beautiful hymn ‘Ye who own the faith of Jesus’, which Jake has introduced me to, puts it, ‘what Christ’s Mother sang in gladness let Christ’s people sing the same. Hail Mary, full of grace.’

Amen