One of my favorite Bible and theology journals is Word & World, published by Luther Seminary. For a long time, they have presented their latest issues free online, providing global access to great scholarship. The latest (Winter 2024) issue has articles all on the theme of Mary, Mother of God. This issue has ten articles followed by topical book reviews.
“Further Implications of Saying That Mary Is the Mother of God” (Mark Granquist)
Issue introduction
“Mary, Model of the Communal Nature of Calling” (Jennifer V. Pietz)
Certainly, the biblical portrait of Mary shows her to be a woman of distinctive faith in her obedience to the call of God. But in working through Luke’s portrayal of Mary, another facet occurs, which is of her connectedness with Elizabeth and the community around them. Mary shares with and is supported in her vocation by those who surround her.
“Hearing Mary’s Song, Remembering It through Telling Stories” (Mary Elizabeth Hess)
Marian piety has become interwoven throughout the centuries in stories told and retold. These stories invite us in, helping us understand not only our God and our faith but the world. They also help us understand and have hope for the often difficult world in which we live.
“Mary among the Mothers of Israel” (Sarah Hinlicky Wilson)
Mary is not present in the Bible in a vacuum; her portrayal is linked to the many mothers and sons throughout the biblical records. Mary is like those many who are mothers of relinquished sons, of murdered sons, and of resurrected sons. In each case, Mary joins a long line of biblical mothers whose obedience to God was personally distressing
“The Vision of Mary at the Cross” (Amy Peeler)
The death of Jesus on the cross is a central trauma to the Christian story, one in which we gain personal entrance through the story of Mary. In the person of Mary, standing at the foot of the cross, we experience the full range of human reactions to such an overwhelming event, and through her, we too are present.
“Mary, Mother of God, and the Nestorian Hangover” (STEVEN PAULSON)
The role of Mary in the life of Jesus, and in the order of salvation, is that she is the theotokos, the God-bearer. Those who wish to avoid this language, like the bishop Nestorius and those who have followed him down the centuries, wish to avoid the fullness of the incarnation. Jesus, the Son of Mary and the Son of God, is God fully in the flesh.
“The Virgin Mary for Luther and Today” (Beth Kreitzer)
Devotion to Mary was already important in the early church, and by the time of Luther had grown into a major part of late medieval piety. Luther was distressed by many of the extrabiblical elements of Marian devotion, and sought to return to the biblical portrayal of Mary’s faith and obedience to the vocation to which God had called her.
“Tales from a Marian Shrine” (Jennifer Kornyak Wojciechowski)
It is one thing to think or read about Mary, and Marian piety, but these topics take on a much more complete reality when such piety is incarnated into physical reality. A pilgrimage to a Marian shrine in Wisconsin, the National Shrine of our Lady of Champion is the subject of this narrative, which describes both the mundane and the moving elements of such a visit.
“Ecumenical Dimensions and Potential of Vatican II’s Statement on Mary” (Mary Frances McKenna)
The deliberations about Mary and Marian piety at the Second Vatican Council were aimed at a renewal and reformation of traditional Roman Catholic doctrine and practices. Yet the Council’s decisions were also meant as an ecumenical outreach to other Christians through the person of Mary. Discussions about Mary can be seen as an invitation to all to explore our common faith and personhood.
“Preaching Mary: Recovering Mary in Protestant Pulpits” (Tim Perry)
Sixteenth-century Protestants tended to move away from Marian piety as a consequence of their battles with the papacy. Post– Vatican II Roman Catholicism also saw a diminishment of this, for other reasons. But Mary is an important element of a complete biblical preaching of the gospel, and it is time that all Christians hear of her witness to the Holy Trinity