Tuesday, December 23, 2003

In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country,.... Luke 1:39

We live in a pagan world not unlike the era of the early church. So say Thomas Bandy, George Hunter and other church growth experts. Our world is not dominated by a Christian world view but rather is characterized by a fragmented plurality of beliefs, values and spiritualities. Writing in the November/December Net Results, Thomas Bandy gives advice to "disciples traveling through this post modern, pagan wilderness:" He says we need to "Honor the Blessed Virgin."

Many Protestants find this piece of advice confusing. "Honor the Blessed Virgin?" Unlike the the Catholics and the Orthodox Church, we Protestants don't "do Mary" very well. Recently I visited a big Catholic church for the funeral of a parishioner's father and was overwhelmed by the feminine visual images in the sanctuary. Mary was everywhere! For those who worship under an empty cross, in sanctuaries decorated with brightly-colored banners, growing plants and bare stone walls, the paintings and statues of Mary in a Catholic or Orthodox sanctuary are remarkable!

Thomas Bandy says pagans, unlike Protestants, don't have any problems with Mary. This was true in the time of the early church as well as today. Whenever there is war, family strife, and an uncertain future, the leading female nurturer becomes the most important relationship for any child. Mary as a religious figure is accessible because everyone has a mother. Whether our mother was good, controlling, doting, overbearing, distracted, alcoholic, or angelic, everyone has experienced first-hand a mother/child relationship.

As Christians we follow Jesus, a man who was probably closer to his mother than to any other human being. As United Methodists we are guided by the words and work of John Wesley, a man who was profoundly influenced by his mother, Susannah Wesley.

In the July/August 2003 issue of Interpreter magazine, United Methodist pastor Donald Lacy urges United Methodists to try the "Hail Mary" prayer and spend time daily getting to know someone of another denomination as a way of promoting ecumenism.

Is this the moment in history when United Methodists need to pay more serious attention to Mary?

Let's spend the rest of the week with Mary as we prepare our hearts for the Advent of the Christ child. Let's ponder what she can teach us. Let's see what we can learn from the scriptural and the human Mary.

Marianne Cotter

All contents copyright 2003 by the Wisconsin Chapter of the Methodist Federation for Social Action. Permission is granted to United Methodist congregations, individuals and groups to reproduce and distribute this devotional without charge. All other use requires the advance permission of the editor.