This blog follows the daily bible readings of the Catholic Church

The Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Micah 5: 1-4

The LORD says:

You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah,

too small to be among the clans of Judah,

From you shall come forth for me

one who is to be ruler in Israel;

Whose origin is from of old,

from ancient times.

(Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time

when she who is to give birth has borne,

And the rest of his brethren shall return

to the children of Israel.)

He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock

by the strength of the LORD,

in the majestic name of the LORD, his God;

And they shall remain, for now his greatness

shall reach to the ends of the earth;

he shall be peace.

Matthew 1: 18-23

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill
what the Lord had said through the prophet:

Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.”

Image of the Messiah's mother from Revelation 12: A woman clothed with the sun

These are readings for the birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary. There is no doubt that the early church raised Mary to an unbiblical pinnacle of reverence, and that this has continued since, especially though not exclusively in the Orthodox Churches, and The Roman Catholic Church. Her elevation has done something to provide an alternative to a male image of deity, and could provide a useful point of contact with the humanity of Jesus, if it was used in that way.

Still, the use of a virgin as the supreme role model for women (and sometimes for men as well) has skewed Catholic Church teaching on sexuality.

These readings are healthy enough. The Micah prophecy was of course intended to have a speedier fulfilment that that claimed by Christians. It emphasises just rule and the bringing of shalom, that is, peace and well-being to Israel and the world. The Matthew passage touches on the  human dilemma of Mary, being pregnant but not by her fiancé, before a human solution is found in the trust and faithfulness of Joseph. An ancient prophecy from Isaiah, which does not use the word for virgin, is twisted to apply to Mary, but gives us the beautiful and meaningful description of Jesus as Emmanuel, God is with us.

The reconstructed scholarly picture of Jesus born into Messianic families, whose strong women were prophets, may suggest a better version of Mary than the church has handed down. Those of us who believe that Jesus had to learn his faith and compassion, think it most likely he did so from Mary and Joseph. That in itself is enough reason to say happy birthday to Mary, today.