St Mary, the Mother of Jesus 		August 15
Mary has had a place of honour in the church from the beginning. She is the central figure in two other major commemorations in the Calendar: The Annunciation (25 March), and The Visitation (31 May). Her birth also is commemorated separately (8 September).
She was living in Nazareth at the time of the annunciation and seems to have been a devout Jewess. Her kinship to Elizabeth would perhaps suggest a Levitical family, but later tradition ascribes Davidic descent to Mary as well as to Joseph, whose genealogy is given in different versions in Matthew and Luke. Also at the time of the annunciation, Mary was betrothed to Joseph, which in accordance with Jewish custom meant virtual marriage apart from living in the groom’s house.
Both Matthew and Luke attest the virgin birth of Jesus from Mary in Bethlehem. Later developments in the early church were to assert that Mary was a perpetual virgin and that in consequence the other children mentioned in the New Testament were Joseph’s by a previous marriage, or cousins of Jesus. The New Testament offers no evidence to support or deny these developments, which were often informed by dogmatic and doctrinal considerations.
After the birth of Jesus, Mary fulfilled the requirements of the Law for her purification, the offering made (a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons) suggesting a family of slender means (Luke 2:24; cf. Leviticus 12:6-8). Mary went with Joseph to Jerusalem for Passover each year (Luke 2:41), and they took Jesus with them when he was twelve. Although Jesus returned with Mary and Joseph to Nazareth, he had marked an independent path of obedience to God.
During Jesus’ public ministry, Mary and Jesus’ brothers and sisters seem to have kept somewhat aloof from him. Joseph is not mentioned again, and may have died by this time. Jesus’ family tried to take him in hand because “he has gone out of his mind” (Mark 3:21), and they, including Mary, are rejected as family in favour of those who do what God wants (Mark 3:31-35). At the wedding in Cana (John 2:1-12), Jesus again sets himself apart from his mother. When Jesus was rejected in Nazareth (Mark 6:1-6), the crowd knew Jesus’ family, but none of them was a disciple; and Mary is not among the women who travelled with Jesus on his journeys and assisted him.
Nevertheless, Mary was present at the crucifixion (John 19:25-27), and was given into the care of the beloved disciple. Mary and other members of the family were also part of the early church (Acts 1:14), having found a new understanding of Jesus after the resurrection. The New Testament gives no further details about Mary. Later traditions embellished the details of Mary’s life, especially her birth and death, but these have no historical value.
For Liturgical Use
Mary was a devout Jewess who humbly accepted the call of God to be the mother of the Lord Jesus. She performed for the baby Jesus all that the Law required. She and the rest of Jesus’ family were not intimately involved in Jesus’ public ministry, but Mary was at the crucifixion, where Jesus gave her into the care of the beloved disciple. She and Jesus’ brothers became believers and part of the early church. The church has always honoured Mary for her part in the story of salvation.
Sentence, Prayers and Readings as in A New Zealand Prayer Book - He Karakia Mihinare o Aotearoa, page 660-661