The Wonderful Absurdity of the New Eve

Posted on March 21, 2024 by Father Joe

Granting that the role of Mary is a manifestation of truth, it still stands out to many as a theological absurdity. Her place in the history of salvation becomes a point of contention in the early Church. She plays a singular part in cooperating with the redemptive work of her Son. And yet, we affirm that Jesus is the one Redeemer— the Way, the Truth, and the Life. There is no other WAY to the Father except through him. Concurrently, Mary is acclaimed as the Theotokos (Bearer of God) or Mother of God. Indeed, given that Jesus is a divine Person (God), the genuine adversary of Satan (an angelic creature) is the Virgin Mary (a human person and creature of flesh and spirit). It astounds us that almighty God would make himself dependent and entrust himself to a creature. How can the first principle for all things proceed from that which is secondary?

Something of this mystery is spoken about in the primordial garden. Satan as the serpent tempts the first Eve with fruit from the forbidden tree, saying, “God knows well that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, who know good and evil.” The irony here is that there is a twisted truth hidden behind the deception. Our first parents would know good and evil because they would literally “know sin” and stand before God as guilty of a disobedience that would bring disharmony to all creation. Whenever humanity usurps the sovereignty of the deity, the very first of the commandments is violated— it is the highest in the hierarchy of sins. But how does this speak to the person and role of Christ’s Mother? The words of the serpent are fully realized in a manner that mocks the devil. While Adam and Eve will not themselves be “as gods,” over the expanse of time a Savior would be born to humanity, a new Adam who literally is the incarnate Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. Jesus as a son of Adam is also the eternal Son of God. Christ comes to restore what was lost. While Eve is the vehicle for Adam’s transgression by giving him the forbidden fruit to eat; Mary is the handmaid of the Lord who gives us all the saving “fruit” of her womb, Jesus. The devil despises the woman as she is beneath him in the hierarchy of being. He is a pure spirit, albeit fallen, while the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve are akin to animals, sacks of skin filled with blood. Of course, Mary has that which the devil has forever forfeited, sanctifying grace. Those who are children of God in faith and baptism, and thus sons and daughters to Mary, also share this divine favor that allows us to be spiritually born again. Satan hates the Blessed Mother and all who take refuge under her mantle.

Her YES to God at the annunciation is made not just for herself but for all humanity. She has been preserved from sin so that she might serve as the immaculate vehicle or conduit through which God would enter the world of men. The sacramental value of the cross reaches backward into human history and touches her at the first moment of her existence in the womb of St. Ann. Unlike the first Eve, she will treasure her righteous standing before God, remaining sinless and now interceding for us as the Queen of Heaven.

Although only a blessed creature and not divine, she is called upon as “Mother” throughout the world and the many passing centuries. She is the first disciple of her Son. She is at the creche, at the Cross and in the Upper Room. She holds out her newborn child at Bethlehem and extends her arms again to receive him on Calvary. The Mother of the Redeemer becomes the Mother of all the redeemed.

Awaiting the Messiah, any woman could have been the vehicle through which the ancient promise would be fulfilled. Despite the lies of our times, this signifies that gender does matter and is never irrelevant. There is a profound miracle to the feminine potency for motherhood. It is a hallmark of God’s plan that clashes with human capriciousness and fanciful denial. A similar discordance arises between a secular world and the meaning of Mary’s Son as the incarnate Christ. We view something of the Christ Child in the countenance of every child. Any child could have been the Christ Child. That is why the Good News will always be a Gospel of Life. Mary becomes a guidepost, not only to Christ, but to the dignity of motherhood and the person. If the first Eve ushers forth death, Mary as the new Eve is the cradle of life. Of course, this is through her cooperation with her Son. “For just as in Adam all die, so too in Christ shall all be brought to life . . .” (1 Corinthians 15:22). The apostle repeats this message in Romans 5:19: “For just as through the disobedience of one person the many were made sinners, so through the obedience of one the many will be made righteous.”

After condemning the serpent to crawl on its belly, the divine judgment against the devil plays a part in our understanding of Mary as “the woman” or new Eve: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; They will strike at your head, while you strike at their heel” (Genesis 3;15). That last line is sometimes translated as “her heal” making the connection with Mary even more striking. While we often posit the image of Mary as meek and humble, as the new Eve she is not only a sovereign of the kingdom but a warrior queen. The first Eve rebels within the safe and peaceful confines of the garden; Mary’s fidelity comes to realization on the battlefield of a dangerous world. The first woman forfeited grace while the immaculate Virgin Mary is hailed as full of grace. The first Eve fostered division between God and man as well as within the human family. The new Eve would know an intimate unity with the Lord which she would share with all her children.