AD) in response to the Christological controversy ignited by Nestorius,
then Patriarch of Constantinople. The heresy attributed to Nestorius held
that in Christ there existed not one divine Person with two natures, human
and divine, but two separate Persons, one human and one divine, with two
natures, human and divine. Consequently, the Virgin Mary, as she supplied
only Christ’s human flesh and not His divinity, was only mother of Christ’s
humanity and therefore in no sense could be called Mother of God. The
Church, upholding that Christ was one divine Person only, and noting that
the Virgin Mary was the mother of this divine Person, defined dogmatically
that she could properly be called “Mother of God.”
Surprisingly, John Calvin expressed exactly the same view when writing
about Mary:
“It cannot be denied that God in choosing and destining Mary to be
the Mother of His Son, granted her the highest honor ... Elizabeth
calls Mary, Mother of the Lord, because the unity of the person in
the two natures of Christ was such that she could have said that the
mortal man engendered in the womb of Mary was at the same time
the eternal God.”³
Second objection: “Mary is not so important, the Bible barely
mentions her.”
Those who oppose or try to minimize the honor given to the Virgin Mary
often raise this simple objection. Some even liken the role of the Virgin
Mary to that of an eggshell. What is important is the content of the egg
itself, the shell is disposable. The Virgin Mary was only important to bring
Christ into the world. Once Christ had arrived His Mother was “no longer
necessary.” Such people even cite St. Matthew 12:46 ff. as evidence of
Mary’s alleged inconsequential role: “Who is my mother, and who are my
brothers? … For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my
brother, and sister, and mother.”
This passage, however, only affirms the glory of the Virgin Mary. Christ
was making the valid point that merit in the eyes of God the Father is based
on obedience rather than blood ties. Not only was the Virgin Mary
3
Calvini Opera, Corpus Reformatorum, Braunschweig-Berlin, 1863-1900, vol. 45,
p. 348.
 |
 |
 |