MARY OF NAZARETH—QUEEN MOTHER OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD:

Mary of Nazareth -- Queen Mother of the Kingdom of God

By Frank X. Blisard*

 

“Queen of Heaven” is one of the best-known and best-loved titles of the Virgin Mary, yet its origins are shrouded in the mists of time. Recent findings by biblical scholars, however, may shed new light on both its genesis and its deeper meaning.

 

Anti-Catholic polemicists often draw parallels between our imagery of Mary in her heavenly mode of existence and ancient pagan depictions of maternal deities such as Isis of Egypt and Ishtar of Mesopotamia, as if to suggest that she is nothing more than a mythological archetype, and thus easily dismissed. But aside from the fact that the existence of such parallels is perfectly consistent with the established theological principle of “Praeparatio Evangelium” -- i.e., that ancient pagan religions were but foreshadowings of the historical reality of the Gospel -- there is another explanation of Mary’s “queenship” that is fully consistent with the facts of biblical history, and even with ancient Jewish custom and tradition.

 

In ancient Israel, in the monarchic period, the reigning queen at any given time was not the current king’s wife, but rather his mother. This made perfect sense, of course: a king could have more than one wife, but was sure to have only one mother. The role of this “queen mother” was to act as an intercessor for subjects who approached her seeking special consideration from the king. And what woman on earth has more sway over a man’s mind than his mother? This ancient Jewish custom was apparently carried over into the Early Church with particular reference to the mother of Jesus -- the one and only king of the newly proclaimed Kingdom of God.

 

Mary is often depicted as a “simple peasant girl” -- wrongly so, for she, like Joseph, was “of the house and lineage of David” and thus was, in fact, royalty. Did she think like royalty, despite her peasant environment? Her calm, intelligent interaction with the angel Gabriel (Luke 1:26-38) suggests she did. Even more so, however, does her prompt assent to the Lord’s “proposal” that she become the mother of His son -- Israel’s long-awaited Messiah. She must have realized that raising a son who was destined to be not only a king, but the King of Kings, would be infinitely more difficult than raising an ordinary child. Were she to fail, the consequences would go far beyond one parent’s sense of disappointment: the fate of the world literally hung in the balance.

 

What was she thinking??? How could she even begin to believe herself equal to such a task? Is this an example of what the Jewish People -- her people -- call “chutzpah”? Or the simple confidence of someone who truly walks with God, indeed, has done so all her life? ("Behold..the handmaid of the Lord.”) And did she ever regret her decision, her “fiat”? Or did her self-identity as “the handmaid of the Lord” sustain her throughout the trials and tribulations of the ensuing years? Was it this very role as a humble and faithful servant of the King of the Universe that enabled her to face the daily duties of parenting the King of Israel? In other words, was her confidence in herself, or in God? Knowing -- and maintaining -- her “place” in relationship to God must have been essential. In this respect, she would seem to have been the perfect role model for the “servant leadership” her son was later to display.

 

Every kingdom needs a king. But it also needs a queen. And because this king is a Jewish king, his queen must be his mother -- not because he has more than one wife (for he has but one “spotless bride” -- his Church), but because he is perfectly obedient to the Law that he came to fulfill...especially the commandment that says “Honor your father and your mother.”

 

[Original version of an article published May 2, 2004 in The Monitor,

official newspaper of The Diocese of Trenton, New Jersey]

 

*Blisard is a member of Blessed Sacrament Church, Trenton, which he serves as a lector and eucharistic minister.  He works as a technical editor for a medical education and marketing firm in southeastern Pennsylvania.  He can be reached for comment at: frankblisard@msn.com .