Mary of the dark faith

Of all the books in the New Testament, the Gospel of Luke gives the fullest account of Mary both as mother of Jesus and as symbol of humanity.

She is revealed there as a real mother and completely human. No plaster statue or artist’s Madonna, she is a Jewish girl who grows to womanhood in the company of a son who is as much a mystery to her as a child can be, and perhaps lost her husband early, since Joseph disappears from the text. That’s very real, as any mother or widow today can also testify. Yet Mary is a woman of extraordinary dark faith, which is what sets her apart and makes her a model for the rest of us. Even though she does not fully understand what God is asking of her, she believes with all her heart that it can and will be done, and she acts accordingly.

Amazing how we have turned faith around to mean having answers for everything. Mary did not seem to have answers for anything. She just “held all these things in her heart” (Luke 2:19, 51) until they eventually revealed their meaning.

Today we remember her birth.

Richard Rohr
Adapted from Great Themes of Scripture

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