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Sermon: The Festival of Saint Mary the Virgin (C) - 15th August 2010
St Alban's Anglican Church Epping 7 & 8 am
Readings: Isaiah 61:10-62:3 Magnificat Galatians 4:4-7 Luke 12:49-59
Anglicans believe that Jesus was both human and God the Son, the second Person of the Trinity, within the Anglican Communion, Mary is accorded honour as the Theotokos, literally the God-bearer or one who gives birth to God.
Anglicans of evangelical or low church tradition tend to avoid honouring or discussing Mary. Other Anglicans respect and honour Mary because of the special religious significance that she has within Christianity as the mother of Jesus Christ.
Mary always held a place of honour within the English Church, but many of the doctrines surrounding her have been called into question over the centuries, most as the result of the Protestant Reformation. While Protestantism is based upon interpretation of scripture by a variety of 16th century reformers, who mostly rejected the practice of speaking directly to Mary and other saints
According to legend, Joseph of Arimathea established the first Celtic Christian church at Glastonbury, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, in AD 65. By the time of the Anglo-Saxons, in the 6th century, Marian piety was so widespread throughout the country that England had become known as Mary's Dowry.
Many of the great English saints were devoted to Mary and wrote prayers about her. The Carmelite, St. Simon Stock, is said to have received the Brown Scapular from her in the city of Cambridge on Sunday 16 July 1251. St Edmund of Canterbury wrote many prayers addressed to her. Saint Richard of Chichester and Saint Thomas Becket were also especially devoted to Mary, but the English saint best known for his devotion was Saint Anselm of Canterbury, who wrote many prayers and books about and dedicated to "the spotless Ever-Virgin Mother of Christ".
One aspect of the English Reformation was a widespread reaction against Mary as an equal alongside Christ, or sometimes even in his place. Such exaggerated devotions, in part inspired by presentations of Christ as an inaccessible Judge as well as Redeemer, were criticized by Erasmus and Thomas More and rejected by the Church of England. Together with a new emphasis on Scripture, there was a renewed devotion by the Reformers to the belief that Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God the Father and humanity. This rejected any overt devotion to Mary and diminished her place in the life of the Church.
The English Reformers' positive teaching about Mary concentrated on her role in the Incarnation. It is summed up in their acceptance of her as the Mother of God, because this was seen to be both scriptural and traditional. Following the traditions of the Early Church and other Reformers like Martin Luther, the English Reformers such as Hugh Latimer, Thomas Cranmer and John Jewel accepted the perpetual virginity of Mary. They neither affirmed nor denied the possibility of Mary having been preserved by grace from participation in original sin.
From 1561, the calendar of the Church of England contained five feasts associated with Mary: The Conception of Mary, Nativity of Mary, Annunciation, Visitation and Purification. There was, however, no longer a feast of the Assumption (15 August): not only was it not found in the Bible, but was also seen as exalting Mary to a level above Christ.
Despite the novel lack of devotion to Mary, starting in the 16th century, reverence for her continued in the use of the Magnificat in Evening Prayer and the naming and dedication of ancient churches and Lady Chapels. In the 17th century writers such as Lancelot Andrewes, Jeremy Taylor and Thomas Ken took from catholic tradition a fuller appreciation of the place of Mary in the prayers of the Church. Andrewes borrowed from Eastern liturgies to deepen his Marian devotion. This re-appropriation can be traced into the next century, and into the Oxford Movement of the 19th century.
In 1922 the creation of a new statue of Our Lady of Walsingham, reignited Anglican interest in a revival of the pre-Reformation pilgrimage. From the early 1930s Walsingham became a centre of Anglican as well as Catholic Marian pilgrimage.
Mary has a new prominence in Anglican worship through the liturgical renewals of the 20th century. 15 August has come to be widely celebrated as a principal feast in honour of Saint Mary the Virgin with Scripture readings, collect, and proper preface. Other ancient feasts associated with Mary have also been renewed and liturgical resources offered for use on these festivals.
Some of the most famous chapels dedicated to Mary have been Lady chapels. Since the end of the 6th century Lady Chapels have existed in most English cathedrals. Traditionally, a Lady Chapel is the largest chapel of a cathedral. There is a Lady Chapel in Saint Alban’s Abbey. Probably the most famous Lady Chapel is the Chapel of Our Lady of the Pew, built by Henry III in 1220 at Westminster Abbey. The Abbey also contains Henry VII's Lady Chapel.
To encourage ecumenical cooperation despite differences over other matters, the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches issued a joint statement in 2005, "Mary: Grace and Hope in Christ", on the role of the Virgin Mary in Christianity. Much has been made of the difference between the Mariology of Anglicans and that of Roman Catholics. Because Anglicanism does not have an official view about these doctrines, it can be difficult to say with precision what Anglicans believe.
In addition to the worship properly given only to God, Roman Catholic Mariology contends that a greater veneration is given to Mary than the reverence given to the other saints. While Anglicans can agree that God alone is to be worshipped, many do not agree that Mary should receive a degree of veneration above the other saints. Many Anglicans agree with the Eastern Orthodox, that Mary is simply the greatest of all the Saints, and that she should be venerated as such.
Anglicanism also does not accept the doctrines of the Assumption or the Immaculate Conception. Many agree with the Eastern Orthodox rejection of the Immaculate Conception, while agreeing that Mary was without actual sin during her life. Many also are more in agreement with the Dormition of Mary as understood by the Orthodox. Dormition means falling asleep or dying.
Anglicans recognize only one dogma about Mary: that she is the Theotokos, the Mother of God incarnate. All other doctrines, beliefs or legends about Mary are secondary to her role as Mother of God. Anglicans reject the idea of Mary as Co-Redemptrix and any interpretation of the role of Mary that obscures the unique mediation of Christ. Anglicans typically believe that all doctrines concerning Mary must be linked with the doctrines of Christ and the Church.
Anglicans recognize Mary as an example of holiness, faith and obedience for all Christians; and that Mary can be seen as a prophetic figure of the Church. As the Gospel of Luke states, “… all nations shall call me blessed", she is often considered to have a unique place of importance within the Communion of Saints.
The ARCIC Report conclusions on the Distinctive Ministry of Mary states in part:
Among all the saints, Mary takes her place as Theotókos: alive in Christ, she abides with the one she bore, still ‘ highly favoured’ in the communion of grace and hope, the exemplar of redeemed humanity, an icon of the Church. Consequently she is believed to exercise a distinctive ministry of assisting others through her active prayer. Many Christians reading the Cana account continue to hear Mary instruct them, “Do whatever he tells you”, and are confident that she draws the attention of her son to their needs: “they have no wine”. Many experience a sense of empathy and solidarity with Mary, especially at key points when the account of her life echoes theirs, for example the acceptance of vocation, the scandal of her pregnancy, the improvised surroundings of her labour, giving birth and fleeing as a refugee. Portrayals of Mary standing at the foot of the cross and the traditional portrayal of her receiving the crucified body of Jesus evoke the particular suffering of a mother at the death of her child. Anglicans and Roman Catholics alike are drawn to the mother of Christ, as a figure of tenderness and compassion.
The motherly role of Mary, first affirmed in the gospel accounts of her relationship to Jesus, has been developed in a variety of ways. Christian believers acknowledge Mary to be the mother of God incarnate. As they ponder our Saviour’s dying word to the beloved disciple, “ behold your mother” they may hear an invitation to hold Mary dear as ‘ mother of the faithful’: she will care for them as she cared for her son in his hour of need. Hearing Eve called “ the mother of all living”, they may come to see Mary as mother of the new humanity, active in her ministry of pointing all people to Christ, seeking the welfare of all the living. We are agreed that, while caution is needed in the use of such imagery, it is fitting to apply it to Mary, as a way of honouring her distinctive relationship to her son, and the efficacy in her of his redeeming work.
Many Christians find that giving devotional expression to their appreciation for this ministry of Mary enriches their worship of God. … The crowds gathering at some places where Mary is believed to have appeared suggest that such apparitions are an important part of this devotion and provide spiritual comfort. There is need for careful discernment in assessing the spiritual value of any alleged apparition. ...
The scriptural witness summons all believers in every generation to call Mary ‘blessed’; this Jewish woman of humble status, this daughter of Israel living in hope of justice for the poor, whom God has graced and chosen to become the virgin mother of his Son through the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit. We are to bless her as the ‘ handmaid of the Lord’ who gave her unqualified assent to the fulfilment of God’s saving plan, as the mother who pondered all things in her heart, as the refugee seeking asylum in a foreign land, as the mother pierced by the innocent suffering of her own child and as the woman to whom Jesus entrusted his friends. We are at one with her and the apostles, as they pray for the outpouring of the Spirit upon the (infant) Church, the … family of Christ. And, we may even glimpse in her the final destiny of God’s people to share in her son’s victory over the powers of evil and death.
This sermon prepared using material from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglican_Marian_theology, http://www.anglicancommunion.org/ministry/ecumenical/dialogues/catholic/arcic/docs/mary_grace%20_and_hope.cfm and Principals of Christian Theology, Revised Edition, John Macquarrie, SCM Press, London, 1971.