I continue to enjoy this peaching series. One of the ironies about Mary is that she is so revered in the Catholic tradition for her virginity and being the mother of Jesus, that her amazing willingness to step out in faith is overlooked. She is one of the wonderful examples of faithful discipleship in the biblical story.
“Skipping Advent: No Mary”; Third Sunday of Advent; Lessons and Carols December 17, 2023; SAPC, Denton; Dr. Richard B. Culp
39In 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 leaped 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 leaped for joy. 45And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.” 46And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. 51He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. 52He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; 53he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. 54He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.” 56And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home
Introduction: Another week of skipping Advent!
Each week we are invited to imagine if we had no Advent:
no time of preparation
No telling of the stories that lead to the birth of Christ;
in this case, no telling the story of Mary
and while we are at it, no Elizabeth and Zechariah.
I know we would have had to have Mary or someone like Mary.
God would have made it work somehow - no stopping God.
But, if we did not have the story of Mary, we would miss a powerful story of Mary’s faithful response to God.
So let’s reflect a few moments on what we would miss if we did not have Mary’s story.
Move 1: if we did not have Mary’s story, we would not have this incredible story of Mary stepping out in faith
a. As the angel Gabriel begins the conversation, he tells Mary, “Do not be afraid”
1. I don’t know about you, but if the angel Gabriel starts talking to me and begins with ‘do not be afraid” I will be seized with fear.
2. We recognize that Mary had a lot to fear.
3. a looming pregnancy would surely have been scary to a young woman who had never been pregnant.
Mary had the gossip and talk of the neighbors and their judgment of her to fear.
Mary had to fear what Joseph might say and do as she explained to him what was happening.
And if none of that were enough, surely the thought of bearing God’s son would give her reason to be afraid.
b. We know what it is like to be afraid - There are a lot of reasons to be afraid in our world.
1. The constant warfare taking place frightens us - even when it is in other parts of the world like Eastern Europe or the Middle East, it involves us, it means some of our loved ones are sent to unsafe places as part of our armed forces, it carries the threat of worldwide chaos and war.
2. the uncertainty of our world - not only does violence seem to spring up again and again, but the economy goes up and down; weather storms literally blow in - we wonder, is this the final straw for our world.
c. Lots of reasons to be afraid in our personal lives.
1. medical struggles
2. Relationship challenges
3. Work stresses and uncertainties
Like Mary, we have lots of things in the world and in our lives that can frighten us.
d. But we also have the powerful example of Mary, who steps out in faith despite her fears.
1. She hears the words, “Do not be afraid” and responds by giving herself over to God.
2. I suspect it is not that all her fear is forgotten, but that she moves beyond her fear to follow where God leads and to do what God calls her to do.
3. As we tell Mary’s story, it calls us to respond to our fear by listening for God’s call and doing what God calls us to do.
e. Mark Noll, “Is God Still the Center” in The Life of Meaning: Reflections on Faith, Doubt, and Repairing the World, bob Abernethy and William Bole: “The Christian faith is always a faith that calls people away from themselves, toward God, but always attracts people because it offers something from God. (232-233).
1. Mary’s story reveals for us that truth of discipleship.
2. We are called to follow Mary’s example and step away from ourselves toward God in faith;
step out away from ourselves in service to God;
step out away from ourselves and embrace our calling to be part of God’s ongoing work in the world.
3. and ever before us the God who comes to us,
who embraces us,
who joins with in the Christ-child.
Move 2: Secondly, without Mary’s story, we might miss the reasons God came in the person of Jesus Christ.
a. In the pastors’ class this morning, we were studying the birth narratives in the Gospel of Luke.
1. As you may remember, before Mary’s assent to bearing God’s son, we have the story of the angel Gabriel visiting Zechariah to tell him that his wife Elizabeth, even in her old age, will bear the one we come to know as John the Baptist.
2. Zechariah’s first response is disbelief.
for his disbelief, he is struck mute.
He will not talk until he writes on a table to confirm that Elizabeth’s name for the child John, is going to be his name.
3. Mary, however, humbly accepts the word of the angel Gabriel and the role she will play.
4. her reaction is the opposite of Zechariah’s.
Instead of being struck mute, she speaks and her words declare to us what God is doing in the birth of God’s son.
b. Hear again her words: “God has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. 52He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; 53he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. 54He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
1. If you ever wonder why God came to live among us, you need only listen to Mary’s words.
2. Words of fulfillment and promise - God had made a promise to Abraham and to Abraham’s descendants and in the Christ-child God is true to those promises.
4. if you wonder if God is still at work in our midst;
or if God will be part of the future;
remember Mary’s words about Christ’s birth and lay claim to the God who is true to God’s promises, now and forever.
c. Mary’s words also tell us that God comes with a concern for the marginalized and the lowly.
1. As we embrace the birth of Christ, do not miss the challenge put before us.
2. Mary tells us that God has scattered the proud;
God has brought down the powerful and lifted up the lowly;
God has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty.
d. Mary’s words come to us both as good news and as the challenge of discipleship.
1. Good news of God’s presence among us.
Good news of our continuing hope in the God who is true to God’s promises, who holds forth a future in which we can trust that God will be at work.
2. But a call to live into God’s concern for the lowly;
a call to be less concerned about the accumulation of earthly power and more concerned about how we care for others.
a call to not be sent away empty because we we focused on our own riches, but to join with God in feeding the hungry.
3. Mary’s story sharpens the focus so we see the birth of Christ as more than a neat story about an amazing birth.
mary demands we look to the birth of Christ as our clarion call to follow Christ
4. The measure of our discipleship is not measured by whether our hearts are warmed by the beautiful story we tell of Christ's birth,
but by how our hearts are set on fire to follow Christ into the world.
Conclusion: “In This Corner” Marj Carpenter was W. Texas journalist and Presbyterian who served as Moderator of the General Assembly. She loved to tell stories of Presbyterian missionary work and stories from Presbyterian congregations.
one of the stories she liked to tell was about a Christmas pageant put on by a group of first graders. they had been led by their teachers to present their own version of the Christmas story.
So the story played out with a manger scene, and animals, and shepherds and wise men, and Joseph.
But no Mary could be seen.
AS the audience watched the characters of the birth story come alive before them, they began to hear moaning coming from behind the bales of hay that served as the backdrop to the manger scene.
Then, a doctor arrived on the scene, dressed in his white coat and a stethoscope hanging down from his neck.
Joseph greeted him and showed him to the way to behind the bales of hay.
Joseph, the animals, the shepherds, the wise men had nothing to say as they intently stared at the bales of hay and listened to the moaning.
Soon the doctor came out smiling and announced, “Congratulations, Joseph. It’s a God.”
Mary’s story invites us to meet that God in flesh,
and to commit our lives to following that God in flesh.
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