With many satisfying books that you are hesitant to place in the library, there is a tendency to linger with the volume, realign the jacket perhaps, smile as you recall some especially poignant passage, and maybe scan Amazon for the author’s other works to be added to your wishlist. Such is the case for McKnight’s The Real Mary. His scholarly habits in place, McKnight closes this thin volume with a summary chapter. His heart for God, His Church, and the role that Mary plays in its history wins out and this final chapter becomes a summary call to remembrance and embrace.
The final chapter reads as follows:
“Perhaps on a day dedicated to honoring Mary we could be empowered to dream the Magnificat dream for our society. Perhaps we could be encouraged to let our hearts and minds swell with bigger thoughts for our world. People of courageous faith change the world.”
The evangelical church can and should embrace Mary for her courage and faith. She is a model for us as we struggle to sort out what we ‘know’ about Jesus and what God reveals to us as we shuffle along, growing in our faith. Mary has numerous dimensions that instruct us in how to relate to her Son as His relationship to us transforms through our discipleship. The Mary that we hardly know shows us what it means to answer ‘Yes’ to God when we are unable the scope of the mission but our faith says we must proceed.
Scot McKnight has done a service to both the evangelical and Catholic communities, bridging the deep chasm that divides them by bringing clarity to the truth of the beliefs and traditions surrounding The Virgin. This alone may offer opportunities for dialog that were absent in the past and may foster a more ecumenical future.
Embrace Mary as you comprehend the scope of her role in the ministry of the Savior. Honor her for her faith in the face of danger and rejection. Allow her to touch your own life and feel the sword the pierced her soul. Know the agony of kneeling with her at the foot of the cross. See Jesus through a loving mother’s eyes.
LOVE | ACCEPT | FORGIVE 