Why Consider the Real Mary?
It is only February (and that, barely), and I have run into questions because of my rosary journey.
Not like I didn't expect this. As a child I was taught The Hail Mary, and as an adult I recall that the rosary somehow required the saying of it.
My own rosary will not require it. My own is a promise I have not yet begun to understand. (See? Just the other day I took it out in the snow. It is a non-conformist rosary which will not always bend to traditional use— of course it would be like this, considering who gave it to me).
Still. The very sight of the rosary brings with it questions of Mary.
And what are questions for, except to prod us to thinking?
So I bought another copy of a book I once gave away. It is Scot McKnight's and I love the opening...
"Why are you— a Protestant— writing a book about Mary?" I've been asked this question many times. In fact, one person asked me the following question: "Wasn't Mary a Roman Catholic? (No kidding.)
Why write a book for Protestants about Mary? Here's why:
Because the story about the real Mary has never been told...
This seems like a place to start, in answering the questions my rosary raises. The story of Mary. I love a good story, and I suspect my rosary might too.
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Quote from Chapter 1 of Scot McKnight's book The Real Mary: Why Evangelical Christians Can Embrace the Mother of Jesus
Labels: rosary, Scot McKnight, spiritual practice, The Real Mary
posted by L.L. Barkat at
10:29 AM
4 Comments:
I've been on a bit of a Mary journey for about a year now. I've been attending a Catholic church since Advent. I really thought the Mary thing would bother me, but it hasn't. When we went to my brother's Protestant church on Christmas Eve, and there was no statue of Mary, I missed her.
Megan, this fascinates. I would like to hear more, as you journey onward.
For us mothers, I think it is really something to consider her position as "mother of God" and yet her own child saved her. (Maybe we can all take something from that, yes? :)
It fascinates me that any religion places a "claim" to Mary. Some might be surprised to learn that Mary is revered in Islam and that her name is mentioned in the Qur'an more times than is the name Jesus.
One of the most moving films I've seen was about Mary; (it was in Arabic with English subtitles). I attended it with an interfaith group. We had a marvelous discussion afterward; I wish I had written it up.
"And what are questions for, except to prod us to thinking?"
I quite envy you your reading time. But right now, I have to take my questions in very small quantities. I will look forward to hearing more of your thoughts!
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