Maxwell Johnson, ed., American Magnificat: Protestants on Mary of Guadalupe, Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 2010, pp. 204.
For Pentecostals the role of Mary as ‘Mother of God’ is one of the more difficult affirmations of classical Christianity to explain. The devotional life of the majority of Christians, Orthodox and Catholic, in which she plays a central role in the worship and personal piety of so many, is particularly alien. The historic Reformation churches remain closer to the biblical and orthodox 5th century faith in the incarnation and its attendant attention to the communion of saints and he mother of Jesus.
The 19th and 20th century Protestant revival movements, on the other hand, inherit a polemical spirituality that attends less to the passages of Scripture and confessions of the Church, not to mention the variety of pre-Reformation devotional practices that have enriched Christians’ attention to Christ through history. This volume by a contemporary group of Protestant scholars is a welcome balance, and a useful bridge to a piety that has served the Christian Gospel for centuries. It focuses on the icon and devotional practices that are such a dominant force in the Western hemisphere, the Native American legend from Mexico speaking of the vision attributed to the indigenous Juan Diego in 1531.
The Virgin of Guadalupe devotion is often characterized as helping the indigenous population of the New World understand Christ’s incarnation through one of their own race and flesh, helping them to understand a Gospel that embodied the truly divine in the truly human, and that transcended language, culture, race, ecclesiastical rank and the violence with which the Good News came into their homeland. The editor, a Lutheran scholar of history and worship, explains how Mexican culture and Hispanic Protestants can understand the role of Mary under this title as part of their own patrimony. He gives examples of how, especially in the immigrant North American community, Protestant congregations are beginning to approach this dimension of Christian devotional life. As a Lutheran, he also documents Luther’s strong commitment to the role of Mary God’s gracious saving work as outlined in the bible and evangelical worship as he reformed it.
He is particularly attentive to the Reformation concerns for mediation and grace, and the centrality of Christ and the cross, in situating the role of God preparing Christ’s mother for her role in the redemption. The volume includes twelve chapters by Protestant authors, with a conclusion by Virgilio Elizondo, senior Hispanic Catholic theologian and seasoned ecumenist. Essays are written from Methodist, Reformed and Lutheran theological perspectives; treating psychological, cultural, feminist, post-colonial, aesthetic, and spirituality dimensions of Protestant reflections. The author makes a case for including a liturgical festival for Mary under the title of the Virgin of Guadalupe in the Advent celebrations of Protestant worship.
While the proposals here may be too bold for many in the evangelical and Pentecostal traditions to implement in their congregations, the essays provide rich resources for preaching and an effective text for discussing the popular religion of Christians in a variety of academic and pastoral contexts. For most Christians, popular piety, be it Marian or charismatic, and popular prejudices and misconceptions, have a stronger hold on the imagination than historical affirmations of the Incarnation or careful biblical exegesis. This study, therefore, is an important contribution to building bridges among Christians and deepening understanding on one of the most contentious issues in Christian piety.
Bro. Jeffery Gros, FSC
Memphis Theological Seminary