So we have arrived here it seems all at once. Today is the fourth Sunday of Advent often rereferred to as Mary Sunday. It is also Christmas eve as we prepare for another service in less than eight hours. Tomorrow we wake to the miracle that is Christmas. Unto us a child is born, but unto one of us he was born first.
No matter how fast things come at us it is important I think to take them in order. Sometimes, those few times, life can even be a little too slow for us, huh. Not this Advent. Not this Mary Sunday. In the Anglican tradition there are two scriptures we often focus upon which have wonderful names. The Annunciation and the Magnificat.
There are not many parts of the bible that have better names. Especially such small pieces. The Annunciation is just Mary being told what was going to happen. She was being told that she was gonna be: a bad mama Jama. This is the scripture I will look closer at today. The Magnificat can truly be called an ancient hymn of Christianity, one of our first, it is the song of Mary.
As I worked on this message there was a story I was reminded. One that I am often reminded when I think about things as deep. It comes from the first chapter of Journey to Ixtlan: The Lessons of Don Juan, the third installment of Carlos Castaneda’s book series about the teachings of a Yaqui sorcerer, it is called “Reaffirmations from the World Around Us”:
“Do you think that one can stop smoking or drinking that easily?” I asked.
“Sure!” he said with great conviction.” Smoking and drinking are nothing. Nothing at all if we want to drop them.”
At that very moment the water that was boiling in the coffee percolator made a loud perking sound.
“Hear that!” don Juan exclaimed with a shine in his eyes. “The boiling water agrees with me.”
Then he added after a pause, “A man can get agreements from everything around him.”
At that crucial instant the coffee percolator made a truly obscene gurgling sound.
He looked at the percolator and softly said, “Thank you,” nodded his head, and then broke into a roaring laughter.
People often build their beliefs upon their beliefs. There is no doubt that the Annunciation and the Magnificat are important and really foundational to Christianity, but what has been often lost is the truly miraculous humanity of Mary.
Not talking about the human capacity, but the actual really doing part. I have really come to believe that success comes from opportunity, but there was only one opportunity here we must remember.
At that very instant the wind blew the dry branch of a bush right to our feet.
"That was an agreement!" he exclaimed and looked at me with shiny eyes and broke
into a belly laugh.
That story has stuck with me I think because a great teacher I think teach in small ways. There is very little else I remember other than the idea that we should walk with our hands free whenever possible. Seems almost silly, but try it sometime. Walk a distance with nothing in your hands and fingers curled to your palm. Then try with your hands occupied. This in my mind the sorcery of don juan.
I hope I am not making too subtle a point. People think different things and come to believe different things and find the same agreements all around. It almost seems like a trap set for us, huh, but we all look for agreement and often ignore clear warning signs. Today we celebrate the deeper spiritual meaning of Mary's acceptance of God's will and her choice in accepting the divine message. We must challenge traditional views of Mary's passivity in the narrative. A man in her role might have been more of the focus of the passage and less the fancy name.
Joseph is essential here as I believe few men of the time could do what he did, but it was something different. His example is important because he supported a woman that society told him not to. This was not always seen as an important aspect of Joseph I think, but it is most of what he was.
We must not forget the marginalized status of Mary and her willingness to accept a significant role in God's plan despite societal norms. She was engaged and this was a binding agreement, but never fully secured. In our history the easiest way to say this is nothing has really been secure for any woman in any role.
We hope, pray and act to make a better world, but there are too many statistics to quote. According to the World Health Organization, 30% of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime. This equates to 736 million women globally. Today after two thousand years of improvement.
The problem as I see it is you can believe anything you want and you will find agreement all around. It isn't enough we must be responsible. How that young woman for a time responsible for all of us. Nothing shows the ability of men for self-delusion then this idea that women are not as important. Mary Magdalen did not have to be the first to see the risen lord, but she was. Now Mary this Magnificat she was a bad mama Jama.
Luke 1:26-38 from the Amplified Bible - Jesus’ Birth Foretold
26 Now in the sixth month [of Elizabeth’s pregnancy] the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, a descendant of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
So that is a day few would know. The stories of the people who this had happened to before would be familiar. Moses famously had five pretty good reasons God should pick someone else.
28 And coming to her, the angel said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was greatly perplexed at what he said, and kept carefully considering what kind of greeting this was.
Favored one? The history of people being directly called might lead one to think that being favored does not mean things were going to be easy or even seem possible. Perplexed she carefully considered what kind of greeting this was. This is not the actions of the naive or someone with a lack of agency. Mary knew what time it was it seems right away. She was in it now, time for some careful thought here.
30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 Listen carefully: you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32 He will be great and eminent and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob (Israel) forever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end.”
Even the tax man would have a role in the ministry of her son. As hated as he was he was a man. How would women be able to lead in this wonderous working of God she must have thought, cause she was in it.
34 Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin and have no intimacy with any man?”
Right to the practicalities. Mary here foreshadows her answer and her bold spirit. There was none of the regular guy response, why me? Not five good reasons God should pick someone else. Curiosity was her response. Pretty sure that is why God saw her and gave her this singular opportunity.
35 Then the angel replied to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you [like a cloud]; for that reason the holy (pure, sinless) Child shall be called the Son of God.
The birth yes but the clear warning sign. Women are not after thoughts in this creation. Mary this young revolutionary. She knew a winning team when she saw one.
36 And listen, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. 37 For with God nothing [is or ever] shall be impossible.”
So not alone must have been a wonderful relief. She was ready but it was another sign to her that Elizabeth would have her part. I am pretty sure she had a vision of the relationship of their sons as mothers will when pregnant at the same time. There were still plenty of questions marks. What would Joseph say to her? How would he respond? Mary was reassured she was held in a greater context of her family.
She still did not know what we know. How she did. She just did it. I think it was because she was oppressed that there was no thought of why me. Her life was not a series of choices, but was the result of generations of double standards and she, huh, she was ready for revolution.
38 Then Mary said, “]Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel left her.
So now the song of Mary - Luke 1:46-55 from the Amplified Bible
The Magnificat
46 And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies and exalts the Lord,
47
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48
“For He has looked [with loving care] on the humble state of His maidservant;
For behold, from now on all generations will count me blessed and happy and favored by God!
49
“For He who is mighty has done great things for me;
And holy is His name [to be worshiped in His purity, majesty, and glory].
50
“And His mercy is upon generation after generation
Toward those who [stand in great awe of God and] fear Him.
51
“He has done mighty deeds with His [powerful] arm;
He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart.
52
“He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
And exalted those who were humble.
53
“He has filled the hungry with good things;
And sent the rich away empty-handed.
54
“He has helped His servant Israel,
In remembrance of His mercy,
55
Just as He promised to our fathers,
To Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
Let us pray:
Holy and Compassionate One,
With gratitude, we echo Mary's song of praise. May we, like her, recognize the greatness of Your love and the transformative power of Your mercy.
Inspire us to seek justice, to stand with the oppressed, and to uplift the humble. In the name of Jesus, who taught us humility and compassion, we pray.
Amen.
Benediction:
May we, inspired by Mary's song, magnify the greatness of God's love. As we go forth, may we champion justice, stand with the oppressed, and embody the transformative power of mercy. Amen.
Nottingham UMC 12/24/2023
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