HAIL MARY (Part 1)
Greetings Brethren and welcome to the Word
for Today. This week, as implied in the title, our focus will be on Mary the
mother of Jesus, the Blessed Virgin Mary (BVM).
The topic of the BVM is taboo among Protestant
ministries even though they will not admit it. Most are not even conscious of
the bias they have against her; but when you consider the amount of time that
they spend preaching on ‘the obedience of Sarah’, ‘lessons from Ruth’, or ‘the
faith of Hannah’ to the time spent talking about Mary you’ll see what I mean. Come
to think of it, there are more messages about ‘Mary and Martha’ than about the BVM!
You’ll have to forgive the Protestants for
this attitude though; centuries of inordinate veneration of the woman God used
to bring Jesus to earth has driven us to the other extreme. We take the
centrality of Jesus to our salvation very seriously, and hearing Mary being
called things like “Mother of God”,
“Ark of the New Covenant”, “the New Eve”, etc. only causes us to cringe.
So it seems essentially avoiding or
minimizing the BVM is the way we cope with this theological trauma.
However, Mary is one
of the best examples of biblical characters who can teach us not just obedience
but also how to fulfil our God-given destinies. We have a lot to learn from her.
But unfortunately, before we start, we must first address the ‘elephant in the
room’ about Mary.
7 THINGS MARY IS/WAS NOT
#1. Mary is not GOD’S
MOTHER
Yes, the baby she
mothered was God in the flesh, but logic can be a pitfall when we take it too
far. When she DIED, her assignment stopped there. (See Jn 1:3,10; Col 1:16).
#2. Mary was not SINLESS
Rom 3:23 says “All
have sinned” and Gal 3:22 (WNT) declares that “ALL MANKIND are the PRISONERS OF
SIN...”. Even Mary herself called God her saviour (Lk 1:46); only sinners need
a saviour.
#3. Mary was not
BORN OF A VIRGIN
There’re 2 doctrines
that are misconstrued by the average protestant, the 1st is “Immaculate
Conception”.
Immaculate Conception is
“the doctrine that the Virgin Mary's soul was free from the stain of original
sin from the moment of her soul's conception. The term does not, contrary to
popular belief, refer to the conception of Jesus Christ.” (Encarta®).
We know of course,
from #2 above that this is not possible.
#4. Mary was not
PERPETUALLY A VIRGIN
Sex within marriage is
not a sin. Mary’s virginity was connected to the birth of Jesus alone. After
that, she was free to live her normal life with her husband. The Bible
explicitly clarifies this: “but did not have marital relations with her UNTIL
she gave birth to a son, whom he named Jesus. (Mat 1:25 NET).
We may wrest
scriptures around and claim that all Jesus’ declared siblings were only cousins,
but at the heart of those arguments is the idea that sex in itself is sin.
#5. Mary’s Body is
NOT IN HEAVEN
The 2nd
misconstrued doctrine by Protestants is “ASSUMPTION”. Many think it refers to
the bodily ascension of Jesus into heaven as written in Acts 1:9, etc. Actually,
it is a doctrine that states that that after her death, the body of the BVM was
taken into heaven and reunited with her soul!
#6. Mary is not IN
HEAVEN CRYING FOR CATHOLICS
This one is for us
Protestants.
I have heard it
severally that some persons went to heaven and saw the BVM crying to God and
distancing herself from the virtual idolatry that has been created around her
persona by the Church.
Well, it’s rather odd to
assume that Mary has any idea of what people have made of her. She’s in heaven
enjoying eternal bliss with her LORD. It really won’t be heaven if one gets
daily updates of the sad goings-on here on earth don’t you think.
#7.
I think 6 is enough.
Tomorrow we’ll begin
our lessons from the foot of Mary (cringe, Protestants, cringe).
But for now, one lesson we have learnt from the above is that deviating from what
is written in the Bible to Traditions of Men will only lead to more and more heresy,
blasphemy and error.
“A man, having separated
himself, seeks his own desire, and rages against all sound wisdom”. – Pro 18:1
AMEN
More Blessings Await you today, you’ll not miss
them in Jesus Name.
GREG ELKAN
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