Mary, Bearer of Life, by Christopher Cocksworth 

'A delightful read, with some insightful and careful thinking about Mary'

Mary, Bearer of Life
By Christopher Cocksworth
SCM Press
ISBN: 9780334062004
Reviewed by Janet Quarry

Having heard Christopher Cocksworth preach once or twice, and found him incomprehensible, I picked up his latest book on Mary, the mother of Jesus, in some trepidation. I found it, however, a delightful read. Bishop Christopher worries that he is a man, writing in today’s world about a woman, but I don’t hold it against him. As a lifelong Baptist with an inbuilt distrust of too much focus on Mary, I enjoyed learning what Armenian poets, Syrian Orthodox theologians and other more familiar writers such as Anselm and Luther had to say about Christ’s Mother.

Over four longish chapters, and some beautiful writing, the Bishop of Coventry (soon to be Dean of Windsor) takes us through Christ’s conception, birth, life and death. Through these sections he explores Mary’s choices, calling, redemption and fulfilment and at the end of each chapter he shows us how Mary can inform our thinking about abortion, education, our failing environment and even nuclear weapons.

Towards the end I felt my discomfort increase once more as he talked in terms of Mary ‘like all the saints,’ accompanying us ‘as we journey with Christ’. I don’t mind learning more of what the Scriptures can tell us about Jesus through the narratives about his Mother – but I’m not one who wants saints, in addition to Jesus, ‘accompanying’ me in my spiritual walk.

But it was only towards the end, in a couple of pages, that I began to smell a bit of Mariolatry and so, having got that off my chest, I can affirm that for those who want to read some insightful and careful thinking about Mary, this is a good book to make a start. 

 

Janet Quarry has been working with Christian missions and charities for over 30 years