|
DID YOU KNOW?
What Presbyterians Believe About Mary (continued)
As believers in the Reformed tradition, we may embrace some version of “total depravity” — the idea that, in and of ourselves, we are incapable of knowing God, let alone representing God to the world. Mary’s story confirms our suspicions. Her self-identification as “virgin” has been understood by Protestant theologians to symbolize the incapacity of all human beings, in and of themselves, to participate in the work of God.
It might have been tempting for Mary, and it might be for us, to exempt ourselves from the mission to which we are called. “Sorry, Gabriel,” we might say, “I’d like to . . . but it’s simply not within my power.” Rather than withdrawing from the work at hand, most of us “can do” American Presbyterians either reject the notion of total depravity altogether or water it down. While we might technically concede ourselves to be woefully inadequate, our practical position is that we must nevertheless be able to do something if we really set our minds to it. A bumper sticker version of this philosophy offers the pithy advice: “Do your best, and God will take care of the rest.”
This is not a slogan Mary would promote. On the contrary, the story of Mary teaches us that, when we think we are contributing a little something to what is predominantly God’s work, we have not grasped what it means to be a believer responding to God’s call. In and of ourselves, we contribute nothing. But this is not the end of the story.
Another popular Christian motto, recognizing how little control we have over the circumstances of our lives, advises us to “Let go and let God.” But such a motto would also be rejected by Mary. As Christian believers we are called, not to passivity or waiting for God to compensate for our inadequacies, but to join in the work of God as those who have been made capable. As Paul puts it, we who can do nothing in and of ourselves “can do all things” through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13).
This tension between our incapacity to participate and our integral place in the work of God is seen in the dialogue between Mary and Gabriel (Luke 1:26-38). “How can this be?” Mary asks, upon hearing the news that she will give birth to a child. “There is no way, in and of myself, I can pull this off.”
“Of course you’re right,” Gabriel agrees. (Contrary to our cultural expectations, Gabriel does not try to talk Mary out of her negative view of herself, recommending self-help tapes, etc. We would never hire him as a pastoral counselor.) Then he adds: “But nothing is impossible with God.”
Excerpt from an article by Cynthia L. Rigby published in the April 2004 issue of Presbyterians Today.
| 
