Mary

There is a lot of focus on Mary, the mother of Jesus, at this time of year.  I wonder if she likes all the titles that are given to her.  Titles that include "Most," "Holy," "Immaculate Conception," "Perfect," and so forth, are all words that put Mary on a pedestal.  I have never met a well-balanced woman who liked to be put on a pedestal.  Ego-Centric women might like that, but I don't think Mary quite fits that type.  Who put her there? Men.  My church is run by men.  We men seem to have a penchant for putting woman on pedestals and then connecting with them.  It makes us feel better.  An adolescent boy, teenager, low-self-esteem adult, might put a woman on a pedestal that they love or think they love.  It fills up something that is missing in a guy.  I did it when I was young, immature and dating.  You had to be perfect, or I could not love you.  Girls, women eventually, usually figure this out, but sometimes a bit too late for an easy getaway.  Anyway, Mary may be wonderful, and lived a life that challenges me, but adulation will not change us guys for the better.  Nor women, I suspect.  You might worship a rock star, then find out they are not so perfect as you needed them to be.  Then you turn away.  There music is the same, but you put them on a pedestal, where they did not belong.  I suspect it is need of believers to put Mary on a pedestal, not her need.  I give her a title: Humble.  I ask her daily for her aide, not to become perfect, but to become humble, a servant to others.  Oh, and to get me over Vail pass when it is snowing in the Rocky Mountains, or just keep the snow away in spite of the millions of people praying for moisture to prevent fires.  I am a work in progress.