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 Marys 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 kings 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 mans 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 Lords proposal that she
become the mother of His son -- Israels 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 parents
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 .