Some Thoughts About Mary

Shortly after the death of Pope John Paul II, I read an Internet discussion in which he was referred to repeatedly as a "Mary worshiper."  The general consensus was "he was an outstanding man and an extraordinary leader, but it's too bad he was a Mary worshiper."  It wouldn't have been that much trouble to find out what the Catholic Church actually says about devotion to the Virgin Mary: "From the most ancient times the Blessed Virgin has been honored with the title of 'Mother of God,' to whose protection the faithful fly in all their dangers and needs.... This very special devotion... differs essentially from the adoration which is given to the incarnate Word and equally to the Father and the Holy Spirit, and greatly fosters this adoration" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 971).  She is given honor, but not adoration, and the claim is that devotion to the Virgin Mary "greatly fosters" adoration to the Triune God. 

From an Evangelical Protestant perspective, it seems, of necessity, that any kind of Marian emphasis detracts from the preeminence of Jesus. But whether this is true is as much an empirical question as a theological one. It makes a prediction: "if you indulge in devotion to the Virgin Mary you will become less Christ centered."  So it's worth asking whether this has happened in the lives of those who are devoted to Mary.  Pope John Paul II worried about this early in his Christian life, but he said he came to see that not only does Mary lead us to Jesus, Jesus also leads us to Mary. His experience was that in drawing nearer to Jesus he also came to a more exalted understanding of Mary. What if, rather than an unfortunate and relatively inconsequential addition, John Paul's Marian emphasis was an essential part of his extraordinary Christ-centeredness? The same things could be said about Mother Theresa. The Catholic and Orthodox teaching is that Mary always points beyond herself to Jesus, so that in drawing near to her we are drawn to exalt Jesus more, because Mary is the ultimate model of self-emptying discipleship.

These words from Tom Howard, who grew up in a prominent Evangelical family, shed a helpful light on Marian devotion: "A parsimonious notion of God's glory has been one result of the revulsion felt by so many over the [sometimes excessive] honor paid to Mary, as though to say, If God alone is all-glorious, then no one else is glorious at all. No exaltation may be admitted for any other creature, since this would endanger the exclusive prerogative of God. But this is to imagine a paltry court. What king surrounds himself with warped, dwarfish, worthless creatures? The more glorious the king, the more glorious are the titles and honors he bestows" (Evangelical is not Enough, p. 87).  The apostle John, who had recently seen the risen Christ in all His glory, fell down to worship at the feet of an angel (Revelation 19:10).  Is it so difficult to imagine that the Theotokos, the birth-giver-of-God, is today someone we'd be tempted to worship if we saw her as she is?  To see Mary as now full of glory, honoring the promise that "those who humble themselves will be exalted," in the end will bring glory and honor to God, as long as we follow through in our thinking and don't stop at Mary herself; there's a good reason why Orthodox icons don't portray Mary alone, but always have her with Jesus.