Who was Mary?
According to Elizabeth's song of praise, Mary is the mother of her Lord (Luke 1:43). Mary is the Theotokos, Θεοτόκος, the "God bearer," the Mother of God, Mater Dei—not of Jesus' divine nature, of course, but only of his human nature.
Jesus is 100% God and 100% Human, but he is not 200%, only 100% because he is ONE person, distinct from the persons of the Father and the Spirit—but with them, One God.
In spite of all the miracles she experienced, Mary still struggled with doubts and was influenced by her unbelieving children, who did not yet believe in their half-brother Jesus (John 7:3-5).
We see this so clearly in her coming with her children to "rescue" Jesus from himself: "He is out of his mind" (Mark 3:20-21). That neither she nor her children are disciples yet is clear when Jesus excludes them from the circle of believers, stating: "Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother." (Mark 3:31-35)
That's why, as our Lord was dying, he entrusted his mother to his closest disciple, John, rather than to his unbelieving family (John 19:25-27).
The result is that both she and her other children became committed disciples awaiting the coming of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:14).
What does Mary's song tell us about her?
She is a poor woman who is the happiest of women because she is pregnant with the Messiah (Luke 1:48). She foretells the turning upside down of the value system of our world (Luke 1:51-53), and the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant (Luke 1:54). |
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