Sirja Walter
It is a name that resonates through the centuries: in Hebrew Miriam, in Greek Maram, in Latin Maria, and then onwards in the multifaceted languages of this world.
The Name of a Woman
It is the name of a single woman, the name of a person like us. Nothing that belongs to human existence was foreign to her. She had only one unique command: to fundamentally participate in the life of Jesus, the Son of God, who became man. She belongs to Jesus as Eve belongs to Adam. She is the new Eve, the mother of all living, just as Jesus is the new Adam, who, by his death, gives life to the world. This perspective does not originate from exaggerated speculation, but represents a cornerstone of early church proclamation as we know it from the writings of the Church Fathers. In Mary's femininity, it is clear that she herself is not a unique case, some kind of phenomenon, unrelated to normal human existence. In Mary as a woman, the primal mystery of all creation becomes visible. Her "case" is typical and indicative. Mary guarantees us that we come to know ourselves and our vocation. And ultimately, it is a question of humanity: What is a person? And since a person exists only as a man or a woman, the question continues: What is a man? What is a woman?
What is a Woman?
Mary is a woman. That is the first thing we can say about her. But what does that mean? Does it simply pertain to personal details? Does it imply that she belongs to the "weaker" sex? If we think this way, then it is evidence of how far we are from reality and from truth. If Mary is a woman, then even before we learn about her personal vocation, she is a gateway to something great: through her femininity, she is a potential participant in God's action for the salvation of the world and for human happiness. Thus, something of the primal mystery of creation truly becomes visible. Creation, as a counterpart to God, belongs to the feminine gender. And the reason? All created existence is grace, a voluntary gift from the Creator God. However, grace can only be received, not seized. But to receive is a special ability of a woman, not a man. The sign of a woman is the shell. In the threefold shell of the female body, a woman is the ear, the heart, and the womb of creation. And she is not blessed for her looks, agile hands, or strength. All of that would be a male performance. Yet she, as a woman, knows no performance. Or to put it differently: her "performance" is empty hands, completely open, entirely prepared. She listens and observes attentively. She considers in her heart all that she has heard and thus discovers the mysteries hidden in what has been heard. In this way, she takes, receives, and carries her fruit, which has been assigned to her as a gift.
The Vocation of Man
Mary shows every woman what she is called to – and every man that he can live his human existence before God only by being, like a woman, always ready to receive. Mary's femininity culminates in her election to be the mother of God, who became man. This election is indeed unique, but its meaning has validity for all. In being the mother of God, she becomes the primal encounter of the realities for which God, the Lord Almighty, created the universe and within it, man as his counterpart, as his "You." What happened in the stellar hour of the announcement in Nazareth is the result of the loving encounter of God and man. In Mary, in a woman, all of humanity, both woman and man, surrenders to God, who seeks us and loves us.
God created man as male and female so that in the meeting of man and woman, something of the adventure of love between God and man can be understood in everyday life. This is the meaning of the distinction between man and woman: to show in small and inconspicuous ways that God's love knows no bounds and that man must be ready to reciprocate that love. It is the special vocation of a man to be, in everyday life, as a counterpart to a woman, a sign of God's love. Thus, man and woman become an image and likeness of the relationship between God and man.
Excerpted from Churer Marienbuch,
translated by A. Janoušková
