Archetype of evolving humanity
In Mary, the mother of Jesus, we meet several qualities that represent moments of evolving humanity, from the ability to be a vessel for a deity to the forming of a seed for a future spirit reality and effectiveness that includes the conscious facing of death forces.
In the Gospel of Matthew Mary is guided by a great affirmation of life. She forms the warmth-permeated space in which the human essence can be found and enhanced. She enables the transformation and realization of the tasks of men, be they Joseph, the Magi or the Disciples.
In Luke’s Gospel we meet Mary as a human soul, the protector and mover of the Word. As human beings we have received the gift of speech but also the capacity to remain silent, to pause and let silence provide a resonant space that can be a creative, transformative force.
The Gospel of John portrays Mother Mary as the former of relationships. She makes it possible for Jesus to perform the first signs at the Marriage in Cana, enabling his I-being to enter into his earthly-physical being. At the end of his earthly life, Mary is standing beneath the cross, forming a new relationship with John, «the disciple whom Jesus loved».
In the Fifth Gospel Rudolf Steiner describes how Jesus returns from his journeys, despairing of humanity’s lost connection with the spirit. Mary listens to him, in silence but spiritually present, thus preparing the space for his future task so that he can approach the Baptism in the Jordan in freedom.
Bearer of an evolving being
The most sublime image of Mary we probably find in John’s Book of Revelation: a woman – clothed by the Sun, the Moon beneath her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars – who is threatened by the dragon. The moon imparts on her the forces of reproduction, the ability to conceive, and that which has become as the foundation of her effectiveness. The crown represents the human soul’s affinity with spiritual becoming – the soul as the bearer of an evolving being.
The dogmas of the Church assigned four qualities to Mary that help us to understand what she stands for: Mother of God (in each of us lives a deity that helps us overcome our negative self-image and our preconceptions in relation to others; this needs courage and inner strength); Virginity (the devotion we bring to our life plans and to spirit-imbued tasks), Immaculate Conception (the willingness to take risks when we embrace new thinking and new ways of acting, trusting in the unfolding of our own potential) and Assumption (for a more conscious understanding of physicality as a basis of spirituality).
Creator of a new spirit birth
Physically, Mother Mary creates the space where birth can occur: she envelops, suffers fears for and accompanies the being that arrives in the world. As she tends to the needs of humanity, the birth-giving, enveloping and nurturing mother can also be seen as an image of Mother Earth.
Among Mary’s soul forces are the ability to listen and pause, to be compassionate and receptive, to offer space and support. Mary’s affirmative capacity makes her the new Eve, the mother of humanity.
Spiritually, and this is conveyed particularly in the picture of the crucifixion, Mary accompanies and suffers, as Pietà, spirit birth through the process of death. As Pistis Sophia, known also as the Holy Spirit, she is the creator of a new spirit birth in the future.