Mary is, more often than not, number 1 on the list of the most well known women in the bible. Marg Edwards has picked Mary as her biblical heroine, and it is funny to think that we don't often hear about Mary as a hero figure. Though, I do agree with Marg that she is definitely someone worthy of the hero title. To be honest I do not think that we speak of her often enough in the Protestant tradition.
Mary holds a pretty significant role by being the Mother of Jesus. She gave birth to the saviour of the world, and raised Jesus while she was still a young girl herself. She was not some one of noble worth, but she was worthy to be called into the story of bearing God among us.
I cannot wait for you to hear Marg share about Mary on Sunday, but until then I will leave a bit of a ‘spoiler alert’. In her video, Marg asks a really significant question to all of us: ‘Where would our faith be without Mary?’ Perhaps it is something you want to think about before Sunday where we get to hear about the impact that Mary has had on Marg and her faith.
Not only do we get to hear from Marg sharing about why Mary is her heroine, but in the scripture reading we get to listen to ‘Mary’s Song’ from The Gospel of Luke. What is beautiful about this reading is that it is shared from the perspective of Mary and is a pre-Christian hymn that praises God for the privilege it is to be a part of the transformative work of restoration of the whole world. From this song we hear of Mary ushering in the reign of the kingdom of God ‘…The proud will be brought low, and the humble will be lifted up; the hungry will be fed….’ (Luke 1:51–53).
Mary is one of the first people who is told of the coming Messiah, she is the very first believer. Her faithfulness and humility goes far beyond what some of us can fathom.
Where would our faith be without the faith of Mary?
Kelly Skilton