A Liturgical Note For You: Believe It Or Not?
Although we are not commemorating Anne, the Virgin Mary’s mother, this year since the day falls on a Sunday, I’m mentioning it anyway so that we can talk a little bit about legendary materials. I often pass along legends and “facts” about the various people we mark on our calendar even though this information is not what we would call scriptural, i.e. it’s not found in the Bible anywhere.
First, a tiny bit about Anne: Although she is not mentioned in the canonical gospels, Anne is mentioned as Mary’s mother in some of the apocrypha (such as the Gospel of James) and in the Qur’an. There are numerous fascinating stories about this woman including that Mary was born from a virgin birth just as Jesus was. For more information see p.224 here: https://www.anglican.ca/wp-content/uploads/ForAlltheSaints.pdf
If the story is mythical, why do we commemorate Anne on our calendar? As you will read in the link to For All the Saints, “By her legend she takes her place as a symbol of all childless but faithful women who, after years of prayerful longing, have at last been able to conceive and bear a child — and who have given thanks to God by seeking to protect their child as a truly sacred gift.”
Now a bit about legendary material: “Every effort has been made to ensure the historical accuracy of the notices. However, certain Memorials and Commemorations involve the recounting of legends in order to explain their observance by the Church. No endorsement of the historical veracity of these legends is thereby implied or intended” (p.22 of For All the Saints). Whether or not these stories are true, they do point to important characteristics of the people involved. For example, there is a legend that says the severed head of John the Baptist still spoke out against Herod even while it was on the platter. John was a bold prophet of God unstopped by human brokenness.
For Your Devotions:
Wednesday, July 29th is the commemoration of William Wilberforce, Social Reformer, died 1833. William was a wealthy young politician who did not begin his advocacy for moral reformation in England until he experienced a personal transformation as a Christian. He came to the realization that being a Christian actually meant living differently and so he became more than a “name only” Christian and actively lived his Christian faith. Among other activities, William began a 40-year campaign for emancipation of all slaves in the entire British Empire. This didn’t go over well with rich landowners who relied on slave labour…to read more, check out page 226: https://www.anglican.ca/wp-content/uploads/ForAlltheSaints.pdf