The feast of the Queenship of Mary is celebrated Aug. 22. The
role of the queen-mother has deep Biblical roots that may be best understood in
light of the kingdom of God as it is anticipated in the Old Testament.
First, it is important to realize that, in the Gospels, Jesus
reestablishes the Old Testament’s kingdom of David as the kingdom of God. Think
of the words of the angel Gabriel to Mary concerning Jesus: “the Lord God will
give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of
Jacob forever” (Lk 1:37-38). Just as the Davidic kingdom was ruled by a
descendant of David, Jesus is a descendant of David ruling over the kingdom of
God.
Accounts of the Davidic kingdom frequently entailed a
queen-mother, and so we can expect the kingdom of God also to have a
queen-mother. The queen-mother usually ruled so long as her king-son reigned.
Only two queen mothers extended their times in office beyond that of their
sons, and the fact that these evil queens had to be deposed to be got rid of
demonstrates the importance of the queen-mother’s office (see 1 Kg 15:13 and 2
Kg 11). In the case of Jesus, who rules eternally, the queenship of his mother
lasts forever in the kingdom of God.
The most well-known account of a queen-mother is Bathsheba
interceding for Solomon’s brother Adonijah and being highly honored by King
Solomon (1 Kg 2). When Bathsheba approaches Solomon with a request from
Adonijah, “the king rose to meet her, and bowed down to her; then he sat on his
throne, and had a seat brought for the king’s mother; and she sat on his
right.” Notice that King Solomon so honors his mother that he extends to her
homage and a throne (the Hebrew words for “throne” and “seat” in the quotation
are identical). He even puts himself at his mother’s disposal by saying to her,
“Make your request, my mother, for I will not refuse you.” Now, as it turns
out, Solomon does not grant her request but has Adonijah executed, but we don’t
need to pretend that Solomon had no problems in order to argue that the
position of queen-mother was an important one in the kingdom. Furthermore, this
episode reveals that Mary’s queenship and her intercessory role are closely
linked. Does it not remind us of Our Lady’s intercession for the married couple
at Cana (Jn 2)?
We can imagine Mary seated as queen at the right hand of her
king-son in heaven, yet they are not distant and impersonal monarchs. Christ
identifies with the citizens of his kingdom so that their sufferings and
consolations in life are also his (see Mt 25: 40, Acts 9: 4). Mary, who endured
great personal suffering as well, is, in fact, identified with all Christians
in Revelation 12, where she is described as a queen — having “on her head a
crown of twelve stars”— but also as a symbol of the church persecuted by Satan
later in the chapter.
Amid the sufferings of our time, what a consolation it is to
belong to the otherworldly kingdom ruled eternally by our divine king with his
mother reigning forever by his side. And, from her position at the right hand
of the king, she intercedes for us. Yet even apart from her intercession, she
deserves our honor, since the king himself honors her (without compromising the
worship due to himself of course). And what a comfort that our king, so great
yet so near to us, has given us so great and near a queen to be our “most
gracious advocate.”
Montanaro is assistant professor
of sacred Scripture at Christendom Graduate School of Theology in Alexandria.