There's Something About Mary December 18, 2011
Luke 1:26-38
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God." Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.
39-45
In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, 40where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42and exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? 44For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leapt for joy. 45And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.’
Luke 1:46-55
And Mary said,
"My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants for ever."
My son is getting engaged this month…I talked to him last night and they have almost settled on the diamond
it is not official yet, I’m not sure what that means… but I am waiting to post the news on Facebook
"If Mary and Joseph were on Facebook" is on YouTube- please go and watch it… the story unfolds the way stories can unfold today… via posts by Mary and Joseph, Elizabeth and Zechariah… about engagements, impending marriage, pregnancies and births
Brought tears to my eyes as I watched it for the 3rd time sitting at the Monro muffler and service center.
I love to hear and tell the Christmas story with fresh perspective, from a different angle.
So from 2011 I turn to the 11th century and St. Anselm who said…
“All nature is created by God and God is born of Mary
God created all things, and Mary gave birth to God
So God is the Father of all created things
Mary is the mother of all re-created things”
There’s something about Mary
You know Mary was not a Catholic… or even a Christian
As many might believe
She and her special child were Jewish
And her story is a very Jewish story
It follows the storyline of other miraculous births in the Old Testament
Women like Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, and Hannah, among others
Theologian Elizabeth Johnson has called her the “friend of God and prophet”
There’s something about Mary
Mary bears the Hebrew name Miriam, as did the sister of Aaron & Moses
There are parallels/similarities between the song of Mary… which was just read… and the victory hymn of Miriam in Exodus15: 1-18
Both women utter prophetic words celebrating God’s triumph over the godless
Both begin their songs by celebrating what God has done for them personally
Mary’s words reflect those of other sisters before her in the Old Testament… the Hebrew Scriptures, including Hannah and Judith
Mary was a part of the Jewish tradition
And yet Miriam of Nazareth is the most celebrated woman in the Christian tradition
There’s something about Mary
Mary has not gotten much attention from us Protestants
Some of us might still be uncomfortable with too much emphasis on her
It may seem too Catholic to us
We have historically seen her as unnecessary as an intermediary… we don’t need to pray to Mary… we pray directly to Jesus…to God
Even Catholic pre Vatican II taught that she was simply a vessel, nothing more… the body that made the real miracle of Jesus possible
But more recent feminist scholarship and recent scientific advances have led some to question some of the tradition that surrounds her
Among them the unlikely combination of virginity and motherhood
Immaculate conception and assumption
Biblical scholarship has asserted that ‘virgin’ may not have meant the same thing in the 1st century
It may have referred to simply a young woman or one who was not under the control of a man, say a father or husband
And then new advances in reproductive technology have made conception both immaculate and miraculous…
Some could imagine that Mary was a forerunner to envitro or cloning?
New advances and theories in physics make the notion of assumption even possible regardless of what we believe about Mary
There continues to be a growing ecumenical consensus among Christians that there is something about Mary
Feminist theologians have helped us to re-imagine Mary
Jesus was Miriam’s child… rather than only as the mother of Jesus
They have helped us begin to see her as one of us
More than a statue
She is the mother of Jesus but she is/was also a poor, young frightened girl… probably as young as 13 or 14
Did she have a choice? I mean when the angel Gabriel shows up
He always says “Don’t be afraid…” must be some scary looking thing
Could she have said…”Tell God, no thank you!”?
Her story is a familiar one…to many women
She is pregnant outside of marriage, although there is less stigma today in many circles… but this was not a planned pregnancy
It is a pregnancy that hints at disgrace, to say the least
She is without support from her mother or father…
We hear nothing of any brothers or sisters either
Had her family shunned her or are they dead? We don’t really know
The only relative mentioned is her elder cousin Elizabeth
There is something about Mary
In many countries Mary is a symbol of courage and hope
If Mary could cope, then so can we
She is proof that feminine images and symbols are as powerful as masculine ones when it comes to the divine
In the song of Mary that was read today…
Mary celebrates the saving acts of God as she identifies the “lowly” the humiliated, the marginalized, outcasts whom God lifts up
The song is call the Magnifcat… which is the 1st word of the Latin translation
It is part of a rare biblical conversation between 2 women
Elizabeth, who is pregnant with John, and Mary who will give birth to Jesus
Each woman experiencing an out of the ordinary pregnancy
One in older years and one in her youth
Imagine the scene
The newly pregnant Mary has walked about 100 miles, a 3 day journey from Galilee to the Judean hills near Jerusalem to the home of Elizabeth & Zechariah
We are not given any reason for the trip
Was it joyful exuberance? Wanting to share the news?
Or was it the need to talk and think over her situation with an older and wiser confidant?
31 years ago, while I was still in college and not married I found out I was pregnant about this time…
Things were stressful and uncertain
I fled from college in Washington State to friends who cared for me in Wisconsin, in February
Their arms and hearts welcomed me warmly
Gave me space to ponder my life and that of my child…
But it was the coldest place I had ever been (I’m from California)
Whatever the reason Mary arrives and sees her cousin’s body swollen with life in her old age
And while the baby growing within Elizabeth leaps, Mary finally gets it
Aha!
There is Elizabeth with swollen belly, feet, ankles and breasts
While she is in the midst of the normal challenges of pregnancy… excess fluids, misfired hormones, back pain, restricted bladder…
Mary gets it
Now it is real for her
Now she understands what the angel meant… (and she may be wondering “is it too late to reconsider?”)
Now she sees the miracle of incarnation
My soul is magnified by the Lord so I can perceive this light I bear
They are 2 women… Mary and Elizabeth
One carrying a child touched by the Holy Spirit who will baptize with water
Another carrying the unborn Holy Spirit who will baptize with fire
2 women carrying light inside themselves in a time of darkness
the real miracle is not the working of the Holy Spirit of God
the miracle is the ordinary body… not much different than yours or mine, carrying this marvelous incarnate light
There is something about Mary
About a poor, young, uneducated, Jewish peasant girl bearing a child against all odds
Pondering much of what happens in her heart
And still today we sing and talk and celebrate about it
There is something about Mary. Amen
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