Review: The Real Mary by Scot McKnight

How do you talk about Jesus' mama? That's a good question to ask. If we are honest, most of us talk more about what we don't believe about Mary than about what we do. You can count on a guy like Scot McKnight to call us (evangelicals) out on that one (I mean that in a good way). And that's exactly what he does in this book.

I know that I haven't thought too much about Mary in the past. I know that Catholics make a lot of her (I just went to Montreal this summer and saw the light show at Notre Dame which proves that point). And I also know that God chose her to be the bearer of the Messiah. So what?

McKnight helps us to make sense of Mary. In her song (known as the Magnificat) she says that "from now on people will call me blessed." McKnight goes through the various stories of Mary so that Evangelicals can call the mother of our Lord (God?) blessed.

Mary longed for God to come to his people and establish his kingdom, his new society of justice and peace. Like most people Mary probably thought that the Messiah would march into Jerusalem, kill the Romans and establish his throne. God visited Mary and told her that she would give birth to God's anointed one. Mary submitted to the will of God even though she knew people would consider her an adulteress. But Mary rejoiced because God was going to subvert those on the throne and make her own son King. Promises upon promises. But Mary would discover that things weren't going to be quite as straightforward as she thought. God would indeed bring his new society where his will is done. But this would happen through the suffering of her own son. Mary continued to learn what kind of Messiah her son was to be throughout his life. Jesus placed a priority on loving God which challenged the honor-your-parent commandment; it showed Mary that she would have to submit to her own son as Lord and that Jesus was establishing a new family with himself as the focus.

McKnight also helpfully discusses what Catholics believe about Mary. He tries to avoid caricatures but is still critical at times. In the last chapter McKnight helps us figure out what to do with Mary. One of his suggestions is that we hold an "honor Mary" day where we return to the stories of Mary and glean fresh insight. Mary is a great example of what it means to follow Jesus in the real world.

This book is an excellent Christmas read and, best of all, the gospel shines through in nearly every chapter. Highly recommended!

Impressions: Jesus Creed by Scot McKnight

Jesus Creed is a book about love. For a variety of reasons (some sinful and some justified) I have been suspect of books that are all about love. I think for a long time I have associated this word with flakey Christianity, a Christianity without guts. When Mcknight writes about love, however, he writes about love with a backbone; it is a love that isn't easy: God love and neighbour love (what McKnight calls the Jesus Creed).

Some Reflections:

1) McKnight begins the book by explaining what the Jesus Creed is all about. Jesus takes the Shema of Judaism and amends it to include neighbour love. When the Jesus Creed becomes a prayer we get the Lord's prayer. McKnight recommends repeating these often. This is a powerful tool for spiritual growth and I have found that repeating the Jesus Creed and the Lord's prayer reminds me of what it means to act like a Christian. It tells me that I become more like Jesus when I am identifying the needs of others and become a servant. Like the Good Samaritan we are to look to the side, not just 'out there', but in our own homes as well.

2) McKnight says that we should embrace the stories of those who embrace the Jesus Creed. Of all the people he writes about in this section his chapter on Mary fascinated me the most. Evangelicals don't generally say much about Mary but McKnight claims (speculates?) that a lot of what Jesus said and taught was learned from his mama. He looks at the Magnificat and points out that Mary had a kingdom vision; hers was a vision of a society where God's will is done, where things are put right at last.

3) "A spiritually formed person lives out kingdom values," says McKnight. One thing that particularly excited me about this book was the emphases placed on the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is the society where God's will is done and the Jesus Creed is lived out. One of these values is that this kingdom is a kingdom of mustard seeds. This was helpful because many of us are attracted to those things which are GIGANTIC! But God's kingdom is marked by humble beginnings. This means that we can embody God's kingdom in the little, mundane, things in life. In other words, the kingdom is applicable to every day life.

4) Scot is all for the Bible. Not only does each chapter begin with a passage of scripture to reflect on before diving into the chapter but he tells us that one way we abide in Jesus is to learn at his feet; one way we learn at his feet is by reading and meditating on what Jesus taught us. He gives us helpful advice when he says that we don't always need our commentaries and study tools but just our bibles, our prayers, and the question, "What does this passage tell me about God's character?"

5) Finally, Scot goes through a variety of episodes in the life of Jesus and teaches us that those who love Jesus participate in his life. For Scot Jesus represents his people. This means that we can participate in his life, death, and resurrection. Jesus loved God and his neighbours perfectly; this is good news because God sees us as he sees Jesus (Reformed readers may particularly enjoy this section of the book). As people who fail to do these things we can find strength and power in the reality that Jesus did these things for us so that we would then be enabled to do them ourselves.