Holy Queen, Lesson 1.3

Holy Queen: The Mother of God in the Word of God

Lesson One: A Biblical Introduction to Mary

Lesson Objectives

  1. To understand the basic outlines of the New Testament’s witness to Mary.
  2. To appreciate how the Old Testament forms the essential background for what the New Testament teaches about Mary.
  3. To understand “typology” and its importance for reading the New Testament texts concerning Mary.

III. Reading Mary in Luke

A. The Lord Is With You
We turn now to Luke’s Gospel. We want to look closely at his account of the Annunciation (see Luke 1:26-38). Here again we simply want to read the literal text in its literary context. As it is written, we want to know what this passage tells us about Mary. Luke, like Matthew, introduces Mary as a virgin betrothed to Joseph, a descendant of David. She is greeted by the angel Gabriel: "Hail, favored one, the Lord is with you." The angel uses a word - variously translated hail or rejoice - that the prophets used to foretell the joy of the people at the Messiah’s coming (see Joel 2:23-24; Zechariah 9:9). In fact, the angel’s announcement seems to be drawn almost word-for-word from a prophecy of Zephaniah (see Zephaniah 3:14-18)

Luke 1 Zephaniah 3
Hail,Shout for joy,
favored one!O daughter Zion!
The LordThe King of Israel, the Lord
is with you. . . .is in your midst . . .
Do not be afraid, MaryFear not, O Zion . . .
You will conceive in your wombYour God is in your midst,
...[the] Son of the Most Higha mighty savior
Luke seems to be depicting Mary as Daughter Zion - the representative of her people - called to rejoice that God, as her Savior and King, has come into her midst. As in Matthew, then, we see the historic hopes of Israel focused in the person of Mary. The words the prophets taught Israel to long to hear - "Say to daughter Zion, your Savior comes!" (see Isaiah 62:11) - are heard now by Mary. The angel also tells Mary that her Son will be "Son of the Most High" and will be given "the throne of David His father." For the literal meaning of this passage, we have to return to the Old Testament background of God’s covenant with David In fact, in the angel’s words we hear echoes of God’s covenant with David (see 2 Samuel 7:12-16; Psalm 89:4-5; 27-30). God swore that David’s son would be "a son to Me." And the angel promises that Mary’s child will be "Son of the Most High" - another way of saying "Son of God" (see Mark 5:7;Luke 1:35; 8:28). God swore that David’s son would rule on his throne forever. The angel promises that Mary’s Son will be seated on "the throne of David his father…forever." Mary is shown here to be the "sign" that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah from David’s dynastic line.
B. Handmaid of the Lord
We’ll focus on other elements of Luke’s Annunciation story in future lessons. For now, let’s jump ahead to the conclusion of Luke’s account. Mary has asked how she, as a virgin, will conceive the child promised by the angel. The angel replies: "For nothing will be impossible for God" (see Luke 1:37). These words, too, are freighted with Old Testament meaning. An angel spoke almost these same words to Abraham’s wife, Sarah, when she laughed at the notion that in her old age she would bear the son that God had promised to Abraham (see Genesis 18:14). Luke appears to be showing us that Mary, too, is being called to bear the son of God’s covenant promise. In fact, through a close reading of Luke’s Annunciation story, we can hear echoes of a number of miraculous births in the salvation history. In addition to the birth of Isaac to Sarah, we can hear echoes of Rebekah’s conception of Jacob and Esau (see Genesis 25:21-22); Rachel’s conception of Joseph (see Genesis 29:31; 30:22-24); and Manoah’s wife’s conception of Samson (see Judges 13:2-7). Mary’s response to the angel takes up the story of still another barren woman who found favor with God - Hannah the mother of Samuel (see 1 Samuel 1:11, 19-20). In presenting herself as "the handmaid of the Lord," she recalls the oath of Hannah - who pleaded with God for a son, vowing to consecrate him to the Lord. Three times Hannah described herself as the Lord’s "handmaid" (see 1 Samuel 1:11,16,18). Made a gift to the Lord by his grateful mother (see 1 Samuel 1:11,22; 2:20), Samuel became a holy and righteous priest and prophet, chosen by God to anoint David as King. In describing herself as the Lord’s handmaid, Mary too is vowing to dedicate her child to God. Her child, too, will be a holy prophet and priest, anointed to be a Davidic king. Continue to Section 4

Lesson Outline

  1. From Scripture to Creed
    1. Mary of the New Testament
    2. Mary of Doctrine and Devotion
  2. Reading Mary in Matthew
    1. Of Her Was Born. . .
    2. B. . . .Through the Holy Spirit
  3. Reading Mary in Luke
    1. The Lord Is With You
    2. Handmaid of the Lord
  4. Reading Like Jesus
    1. Literal, Historical, Divine
    2. Typology and Mary
  5. Study Questions

Other Lessons

  • Lesson Two: Wedding at Cana, Garden in Eden
    • Lesson Objectives
    1. To appreciate the Old Testament symbolism that forms the deep background to the Gospel account of the wedding feast at Cana.
    2. To understand how Mary is depicted as a “New Eve” in this account.
    3. To appreciate the importance of the Old Testament marriage symbolism for John’s recounting of the “sign” at Cana.

    Begin Lesson Two

  • Lesson Three: The Ark of the New Covenant
    • Lesson Objectives
    1. To see how Mary’s visit to Elizabeth parallels David’s bringing of the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem.
    2. To understand how the book of Revelation uses the startling image of the rediscovered Ark of the Covenant to introduce a vision of the Mother of Christ.
    3. To understand why the New Testament writers see Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant.

    Begin Lesson Three

  • Lesson Four: Mother Crowned in Glory
    • Lesson Objectives
    1. To see the importance of the Queen Mother in the Davidic kingdom of the Old Testament.
    2. To understand the duties and privileges that came with the position of Queen Mother.
    3. To see how Mary fills the position of Queen Mother in the kingdom of Christ.

    Begin Lesson Four

  • Lesson Five: The All-Holy Mother of God
    • Lesson Objectives
    1. To understand the relationship between Catholic teaching about Mary and the Scriptural portrayal of Mary.
    2. To understand the biblical foundations of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception.
    3. To appreciate how Catholic belief in the Immaculate Conception flows from the New Testament portrait of Mary as the “New Eve”

    Begin Lesson Five

  • Lesson Six: The Queen Assumed into Heaven
    • Lesson Objectives
    1. To understand the biblical foundations of the Dogma of the Assumption.
    2. To understand the deep Old Testament symbolism and imagery in Revelation 12, and its relation to Catholic beliefs about Mary.
    3. To appreciate how the biblical portrait of Mary is reflected and interpreted in the Church’s liturgy.

    Begin Lesson Six