Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

'And why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

These were the words of Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist when she was visited by her kinswoman, the Blessed Virgin Mary. And Mary went on to give us those lovely words that many of us miss singing at Evensong: My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. Today the Church encourages us too to greet Mary and welcome her as the Mother of God. From early in our Christian history it was decided that 'Theotokos' (Christ Bearer or Mother of God) should be the title of honour of Mary. It was in fact the third Ecumenical Council of the Christian Church at Ephesus in 431 AD which issued that pronouncement, giving form to a long-held belief and practice. It also was in order to counter the heresy which was gaining some credence which stressed the humanity of Jesus at the expense of his divinity.

The Second Vatican Council of the Roman Church, held under Pope John XXIII, reaffirmed the spirit of the Third Ecumenical Council by pronouncing in 1964 the title of 'Mother of the Church' as being the most appropriate for Mary. This was to counter the excessive and inappropriate veneration that had developed over the centuries. The Reformers of Europe and England, long before Pope John, had also endeavoured to counter the excesses which had grown in the Roman Church by that time. In Europe generally the break with the past was complete and completely new churches were established. In England the continuity with the early Church and traditional Catholic orthodoxy was maintained with the careful continuation of Apostolic ministry.

Thus the Church of England is able to claim both Catholic and Reformed heritages. She is able to stand as equal with the Roman and Orthodox Churches as truly Catholic in the fullest sense of the word. Unfortunately though in England there were excesses of reforming zeal with Protestant mobs being incited to tear down many of the magnificent treasures of our ancient heritage. Even in this time of chaos though, some managed to keep some sense of balance. They managed, as one can see in the Book of Common Prayer, sometimes in semi-concealed ways, to keep the true faith alive. Thus, some of the festivals of Mary were retained in the Prayer Books of 1549 and 1662.

During the 19th century some people began, initially in Oxford, to look in greater depth at what the Prayer Book actually said. Consequently what had been maintained by High Churchmen through the past centuries began to emerge into the public arena. Again there was violence initiated by the opposition. Indeed it was so great that there were those like John Henry Newman who finally came to believe that the forces of Protestantism were just too strong within Anglicanism and turned to Rome. Many others became discouraged and followed him. The Roman Church in the 19th century gained a great impetus in theology and faith in action from the sheer number of great Christians and great theologians who came from the Church of England, and who by merit rose to positions of prominence in the Roman hierarchy – at least two cardinals for a start.

But enough remained to develop and proclaim the reformed Catholicism that changed the face of worldwide Anglicanism. Once again today though we are under attack from those who wish to bring the world's values into the Church rather than take the Church's values into the world. But perhaps enough of history. Why do we respect and honour S. Mary the Virgin as the greatest of the saints? The answer lies in the answer to another question – what makes a Christian? The answer has to be love of God and neighbour which issues in obedience to God's word and call. The word of God came to Mary through the lips of the angel. Mary's response was: Be it unto me according to thy word. God's work is dome through people – God's work today here will be done through us. The simple conclusion must be that if Mary had refused God then Jesus Christ could not have been born at that time and in that place.

We have our salvation only because Mary loved God and was obedient to the will of her Father God. Mary, as we know from the NT record, maintained that devotion to God throughout her whole life. She accompanied Jesus in much of his ministry. She was at the foot of the cross at the crucifixion. She was committed by Jesus into the care of the Church in the person of John, the Apostle and Evangelist. It is probable that she lived near him, or even in his house, at Ephesus until her death. There is a pious belief, which we celebrate today, that at her death she was taken directly to heaven. This belief has some Biblical basis in Revelation chapter 12. But as this passage, like much of the book of Revelation, is capable of more than one interpretation, the Assumption must remain for Anglicans simply a permissible pious belief.

When the story of Mary is viewed objectively we can see why even many Protestants, as well as Anglicans, are coming to honour and respect Mary. We can see why even a respected Protestant theologian such as Max Thurian can say: Instead of being a cause of division among us, Christian reflection on the role of the Virgin Mary should be cause for rejoicing and a source of prayer. It is both theologically essential and spiritually profitable to consider the vocation of Mary with some freedom. The traditional prayer known as 'Ave Maria' goes as follows: Hail Mary full of grace, for the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Most would not have any difficulty so far, but the second half opens up a whole new question: Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

We are now talking about prayer to and for the departed. For me, believing as I do in the Communion of Saints and accepting the word that says we are 'surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses', accepting our place in the cosmos, and the cosmic struggle talked about by S. Paul, I have no difficulty in believing in my essential unity with all that is, which therefore makes such communication available to me. At the same time I am an Anglican, which means that I do not try to insist on such beliefs for others. My function is to introduce people to God's love, and to the great richness and potential of our reformed Catholic heritage – it is then over to the individual believer to decide how much of this richness of belief and expression they wish to claim for their personal worship of God and richness of living.

St Margaret's , Budapest

Rev'd Canon Denis Moss

edited by Simon Harding

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