Mary Said "Yes" to God So That God Could Say "YES!" to Us All

Reformed theologian, Karl Barth, said that Jesus Christ is God's "YES!" to humanity. I've always like that. But before God could say "YES!" to us through Jesus Christ, Mary had to say "Yes" to God. The Archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her what God was about to do. She could have said "No," but she said "Yes"!

The body of Mary became the Tabernacle of the Lord. She shared the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ in a way that no other person has. She held the baby Jesus in her arms. She nursed the Christ from her own breasts. She was the first "disciple" since disciple has "discipline" at its root, and she as a mother, was disciplined in caring for the Christ. She was the first teacher to the one who would be the teacher of millions. This all happened because Mary said "Yes" to God.

The author of Hebrews says that it is impossible to please God without faith. The Archangel tells Mary that she has found favor with God. She had faith, and out of the abundance of faith in her heart, she spoke the words "Let everything happen to me like you said it would."

So, just as through the faith of one man (Abraham) millions have come to believe, so too through the faith of one woman (Mary) millions have a Christ in which to believe! And faith apparently is just saying "Yes" to God.

This is not making Mary into a deity; it is giving her the respect that is due to her as the Θεοτόκος (Theotokos) the Mother (Bearer) of God. The Reformers John Calvin and Martin Luther both approved and used "Mother of God" for Mary. Mary was the Mother of the Christ. She became the Mother to the Apostles -- especially to the beloved disciple -- and as Mother to the Apostles, she is the Mother of the Church, which is founded on the Teaching of the Apostles.

She is not a deity or a goddess, neither does the Church make her into a deity -- she is Mother of our Lord, so she is Mother to us all. We can call her the Mother of the Church without saying she is divine; for when we call her Mother, we are not equating her with The Father, but simply acknowledging her role in the story of salvation, and the fact that Jesus Christ, who has all power in heaven and on earth, honors His mother, just as the commandment instructs.

So we, along with the Archangel Gabriel can say: "Hail, Mary! You are most fortunate! The Lord is with you!" And we can say with Elizabeth: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus!" Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us! Pray for sinners like us, now and at the hour of our death!

We are not praying to a goddess! We are simply asking a friend, a relative -- who happens to be the Mother of the Lord -- to pray for us, knowing that Jesus will do His best to honor His mother and her requests. We ask people to pray for us all the time, why is it wrong to ask Mary or any other saint to pray for us? Mary may be dead to this life as we are alive to it, but she is alive in God in a way that we are not yet alive to Him. So if we ask people who are not fully alive to God, or even those who may be dead to God, to pray for us, why would we not ask one who is fully alive to God, who is with God in God's Kingdom?

Blessed Mother Mary, pray for us, that we will say "Yes" to God in all that God asks of us, and to all God wants for us. So that, just as your "Yes" to God set things in motion that changed lives and led to faith in Christ, our "Yes" may set in motion things that will transform the world, and transform us into the images of your son, The Son, the Second Person in the Holy Trinity, who lives and reigns with The Father and The Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.