Then Mary said, “I am the Lord’s servant. Let it be with me just as you have said.” Then the angel left her.

Luke 1:38 (CEB)

For all of my adult life, reproductive rights have been a key component of my awareness of the world in which I live and the point around which, for the most part, my political decisions are made. I believe strongly that a woman has a fundamental right to determine how she will deal with her reproductive capacity. I also believe strongly that women must be trusted in making moral decisions regarding their own bodies.

Just like Mary.

At this Christmas, as we reflect on a difficult and brutally violent year, the scale of the erosion not only on reproductive rights, but of female autonomy and agency, is dramatic and alarming. Although voters in various states have made it abundantly clear that they favor reproductive rights for women, many lawmakers and policy makers take a different view. That different view has taken on a brazenly misogynistic tone.

I wonder what Mary would think. In her song of praise from the Gospel According to Luke, Mary lifts up her understanding, appreciation, and awareness of God as a God who looks after the lowly and considers the powerful and arrogant with scorn. Luke’s Gospel offers a view of Mary, who may be lowly in status, but is thoughtful and intelligent, and cognizant of her choice to carry the Son of God.

Too bad— and it’s very seriously too bad— that many Republicans aren’t paying attention. Like Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton, who believes that a woman must continue to carry a fetus, even though that fetus has a fatal condition. And, then there’s Speaker of the House Mike Johnson who, at a House Judiciary Committee hearing in 2022, suggested that the right to abortion was harming the national economy by depriving the country of “able-bodied workers.” Mr. Johnson has also suggested that his worldview is dictated by the Bible. Yet, he doesn’t seem all that aware of Mary, her song of praise, or the implication that Mary was more than a womb.

Women ought not be defined by their reproductive capacity. If we look to Mary, as depicted by Luke, we have a woman not bound solely to her ability to carry that holy pregnancy to term, then deliver and raise the Son of the Most High. Mary engages in mutual support and encouragement in the time she shared with Elizabeth, pregnant with the one who would become known as John the Baptist. In her song of praise, Mary articulates a heady theological understanding of the God she worships and a good clue regarding why she chose to say yes to this most profound of pregnancy and birth experiences. Mary is pragmatic and flexible, giving birth in less than ideal surroundings. She’s a bold and brave adventurer, traveling to Bethlehem so close to her delivery date. And, she’s thoughtful and contemplative, as she ponders the visit of the shepherds after the birth.

Time and time again, the Church, capably accompanied by those who serve as clergy and those who faithfully worship, backs Mary into a very small corner. While many Roman Catholics find her to be helpful in prayer, one to whom they are eager to pray especially when life gets challenging, she rarely is able to break free from the role of mediator between humble human beings and their Savior. Many Christians, especially Protestants, think little of Mary. Christians generally don’t spend a lot of time reflecting on Mary as a person, as a parent, as a woman. 

Mary offers rich territory where faithful Christians ought to spend more time pondering. It’s well beyond time to take Mary out of her corner, out of that stable, and allow her to share a lesson or two about what it means to be faithful, what it means to have choice, what it means to live in family and community, and what it means to trust and to be trusted.