Any time people say, let's only talk about what I NEED it is a de facto minimalist approach. cut to the essentials, and in so doing, justify removing the rest.
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I do not need anyone else but Jesus.
But this is simply not true. Christianity is not "me and Jesus". We need each other. He doesn't need us, but He chooses to save us through each other. He chose to create us as icons, images of Himself, and He chose to give us reign and kingship over the creation. He chose to join the divine essence with the essence of Mankind, which doesn't bring the divine down but elevates Humanity. And He chose to give us the dignity of being His hands, feet, eyes, ears in the world - it is through our co-working with Him that we and the world are saved. We are saved both by what others do for us - when He acts in our lives through others - AND when we do for others - when He acts in others lives through us. We receive grace going and coming, but it is through this corporate action that we make real the Body of Christ. This isn't some intangible woo-woo metaphor. We are His Body because the Spirit animates us and works through us, just like your spirit animates your body, and each cell is made alive by that spirit, and you move it as you will to do what you will.
As St Paul says - "The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I do not need you.' Nor can the head say to the feet, 'I do not need you.' On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are necessary."
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We, the body of believers are the church, His wife.
Of course. But the Woman is also the Church, as we see in Revelation. There can be multiple truths. She is the church, we are the church. She gave birth to Christ in a unique way, just as He is the Son of God in a unique way (monogenes often translated as "only begotten" is probably best understood as "unique"), and He is the Seed of Abraham and Heir in a unique way. We birth to Christ in a spiritual way, and become sons of God, and heirs to the promise - as she did, through faith and grace.
These are not new beliefs. St Irenaeus in the second century understood "that the knot of Eve's disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary. For what the virgin Eve had bound fast through faithlessness, the virgin Mary set free through faith." Christ is the New Adam, Mary the new Eve. At the Cross, where we see the birth of the Church (birth through blood and water from the side of Christ) we also see the command - behold your Mother, and to her, behold your son. She is our mother - the mother of all the living - just as Eve is. But she is the mother of obedience and faithfulness, those with true life. If it is true that we become Christ's brethren through adoption, His brothers and sisters, and sons of God accordingly - then she also becomes our mother.
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Are you sure no one is worshipping her? Where's the line?
I have never been more sure of anything. Worship (latreia) in the scriptures always has sacrifice (offerings) and the Church has always understood it this way. We do not offer incense to her, we do not offer sacrifice to her, we do not serve her. You will find no mention of worship of the Theotokos in any Orthodox liturgics, in any hymns, in any prayers. I am confident of the same in the RCC.
Bowing down or making a prostration in front of someone and kissing them (proskynesis) is not worship (latreia). Jacob bowed down seven times before Esau. Joseph's brothers bowed down before him in Egypt. Joseph bows before Israel. Moses bowed down before Jethro. David bowed down before Saul. Nathan the prophet bows down before David. And, fittingly, Bathsheba bows down before David. Showing honor and reverence is not worship. We honor her
