I ran across this homily by Greg Kandra who is in preparation for ordination as a permanent deacon in the Roman Catholic Church. Contextually it was written for the Roman Catholic feast day of the Annunciation on March 25. Read it for he shares some very powerful reasons to appreciate Mary. Key graph:
Mary makes other appearances in the gospels, but one that stays with me is at the wedding in Cana. This could be considered her benediction to the world – her advice to a seeking and uncertain Church. In the middle of a wedding, a ceremony celebrating life and community – a new beginning — she points to her son, and says: “Do whatever He tells you.”
I believe we have long neglected teaching that Mary was someone worthy to imitate in the Protestant Church. We will gladly lift up the disciples or the patriarchs and hold them out as exemplars of great faith. I have preached sermon series on Peter, David, Abraham, and Barnabas. I'm not sure I've ever preached a sermon on Mary (maybe one or two--but certainly not a series) and am even more certain that I've never heard a sermon (much less series) by my pastor (before I pastored) on Mary. To talk about Mary in such an exalted way is too Catholic, I guess.
Happily, there seems to be a more pronounced interest in Protestant circles regarding Mary, the mother of Jesus. Mark D. Roberts (a website you should visit early and often) had a great series on Mary last year in response to the Times cover linked above. And then there is this great song (that I discovered via Mark Roberts) that has become one of my favorite songs and a potential subject of a Monday Music posting. Play "New Again" clip by Sara Evans and Brad Paisley (lyrics here, purchase CD here):
But then again, I did name two of my children after Mary.
Image credit: Steiner62 via Flickr (Visit his Irish Christian Iconography series. Beautiful!)
