The function of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Sacred Scriptures in the history of salvation, and in the faith and worship of the Church, is to point to her Son. - Arthur Carl Piepkorn, *The Church* p. 328.
Okay, I'll tell you a secret: when Ratizinger was elected pope, I fell down on my knees with tears in my eyes. I could not believe that the man who in my opinion was the single greatest Roman liturgiologist with a pastoral heart was on the throne of Peter. It still astonishes and delights me. A pope who knows Luther! Go figure.
Amen! Certainly. No doubt. That is why Orthodox icons almost never show her alone, but always holding out her Son to us, or bowing before His Cross. She points us to Him and helps us to Him as well.
Of course her other function was to bring Him into the world in the first place, to give Him flesh from her flesh. She is the table on which the Feast is set, the Vine bearing the most deliciouos fruit, the living temple of the eternal Lord.
Yes! In fact, my favorite icon, shows the Mother of God, holding Jesus, gesturing toward him while Jesus looks at us and blesses us. The title of the icon is the Hodegetria or "The Directress".
I agree that her function in salvation history and in the faith of the Church doesn't stop here though. She has a role in the Incarnation. She gave Jesus flesh.
You know many (most?) Eastern Orthodox churches have this gigantic icon of the Mother of God with Jesus front and center in the apse. It can often be the first image one focuses on when he walks into the temple. For the non-Orthodox (and non-Roman Catholics/some Anglicans) it can be unsettling and I know some think "oh, they worship Mary"...but in reality it is a reminder for us, every time we walk in for worship, of the Incarnation.
I remember once hearing an Orthodox priest explaining the arrangements of the icons in the temple. As he pointed to the large icon of Mary beside the royal doors, he asked? And what is this an icon of? Seemed a silly question. Of Mary, right? He says: No. This is an icon of our Lord as a child, held by His mother! How else would you depict an infant but in His mother's arms? And of course, her hand did indeed direct the attention to her Son.
Fr. Timothy,
The fear of Mary is one of the things that has always puzzled me. How could we not love her through whom our Blessed Lord took flesh and blood? How could we not honor her the "amplest honors" that our Symbols say she is worthy of? I think Lutherans have a special calling in this regard, to show that we CAN and SHOULD honor the Blessed Virgin without falling off either side of the horse, as it were.
Well, there's no doubt that at the some points in the history of the Church the role of the Blessed Virgin had become topsy turvy. Due to many cultural as well as theological factors the people began to view Mary as more compassionate than Christ, which is of course utterly false.
However -- because of the conflicts at the time of the Reformation the person of Mary has become way too insignificant in Protestant thinking. What Holy Scripture does say of her is very important. Many Protestants view her as some kind of automaton who just went along with her mission to be the mother of the Lord. Not so. God, of course, knew that Mary would say "yes" to his invitation to her to become the Mother of God. But until she was asked -- and given the opportunity to respond -- Mary herself didn't know it!
No Protestant should he hesitant in calling her Theotokos; from the beginning of Christ's mission to the foot of the cross to the Church at prayer at Pentecost Mary is there, a deeply meaningful symbol of the Church in her journey of faith.
If Protestants can name churches for the Apostles then surely they can name them for the Handmaiden of the Lord whose fiat brought us salvation. We need to think more deeply on the meaning of the Incarnation and Mary's role in the Communion of Saints.
And I agree, Pastor Weedon, that Benedict XVI has a wonderful grasp of the Person of Christ and how Lutherans view Him.
8 comments:
Indeed. And it's a waste of time her pointing to him if no-one is paying any attention to her, isn't it?
David,
Behave. ;)
Okay, I'll tell you a secret: when Ratizinger was elected pope, I fell down on my knees with tears in my eyes. I could not believe that the man who in my opinion was the single greatest Roman liturgiologist with a pastoral heart was on the throne of Peter. It still astonishes and delights me. A pope who knows Luther! Go figure.
Amen! Certainly. No doubt. That is why Orthodox icons almost never show her alone, but always holding out her Son to us, or bowing before His Cross. She points us to Him and helps us to Him as well.
Of course her other function was to bring Him into the world in the first place, to give Him flesh from her flesh. She is the table on which the Feast is set, the Vine bearing the most deliciouos fruit, the living temple of the eternal Lord.
Anastasia
Thank you for the quote. Therefore, there is no reason to fear her, nor all that Scripture says of her.
Yes! In fact, my favorite icon, shows the Mother of God, holding Jesus, gesturing toward him while Jesus looks at us and blesses us. The title of the icon is the Hodegetria or "The Directress".
I agree that her function in salvation history and in the faith of the Church doesn't stop here though. She has a role in the Incarnation. She gave Jesus flesh.
You know many (most?) Eastern Orthodox churches have this gigantic icon of the Mother of God with Jesus front and center in the apse. It can often be the first image one focuses on when he walks into the temple. For the non-Orthodox (and non-Roman Catholics/some Anglicans) it can be unsettling and I know some think "oh, they worship Mary"...but in reality it is a reminder for us, every time we walk in for worship, of the Incarnation.
Dear Anastasia and Dixie,
I remember once hearing an Orthodox priest explaining the arrangements of the icons in the temple. As he pointed to the large icon of Mary beside the royal doors, he asked? And what is this an icon of? Seemed a silly question. Of Mary, right? He says: No. This is an icon of our Lord as a child, held by His mother! How else would you depict an infant but in His mother's arms? And of course, her hand did indeed direct the attention to her Son.
Fr. Timothy,
The fear of Mary is one of the things that has always puzzled me. How could we not love her through whom our Blessed Lord took flesh and blood? How could we not honor her the "amplest honors" that our Symbols say she is worthy of? I think Lutherans have a special calling in this regard, to show that we CAN and SHOULD honor the Blessed Virgin without falling off either side of the horse, as it were.
Well, there's no doubt that at the some points in the history of the Church the role of the Blessed Virgin had become topsy turvy. Due to many cultural as well as theological factors the people began to view Mary as more compassionate than Christ, which is of course utterly false.
However -- because of the conflicts at the time of the Reformation the person of Mary has become way too insignificant in Protestant thinking. What Holy Scripture does say of her is very important. Many Protestants view her as some kind of automaton who just went along with her mission to be the mother of the Lord. Not so. God, of course, knew that Mary would say "yes" to his invitation to her to become the Mother of God. But until she was asked -- and given the opportunity to respond -- Mary herself didn't know it!
No Protestant should he hesitant in calling her Theotokos; from the beginning of Christ's mission to the foot of the cross to the Church at prayer at Pentecost Mary is there, a deeply meaningful symbol of the Church in her journey of faith.
If Protestants can name churches for the Apostles then surely they can name them for the Handmaiden of the Lord whose fiat brought us salvation. We need to think more deeply on the meaning of the Incarnation and Mary's role in the Communion of Saints.
And I agree, Pastor Weedon, that Benedict XVI has a wonderful grasp of the Person of Christ and how Lutherans view Him.
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