Mary Sermon

Originally Preached at Mira Vista United Church of Christ on 12/04/2011.

Mary has a way of looking into my heart. Don’t get me wrong it is not that there are other biblical figures and stories that resonate in my very soul. But still Mary has a way of looking into my heart. Mary is a figure that protestants have often been very uncomfortable with. We don’t talk a lot about Mary. And yet the fact remains she still has a way of looking into my heart. Let us together today consider Mary’s story once again a now and maybe, if just for a moment, she can have a way of looking into all of our hearts.

Mary’s story begins not at the center of the world, nor is she a person we would expect to be visited by an angel. Mary is a young woman, probably no more than 12 or 13, in her time her age and gender would have left her with little or no power over her daily existence. She is born of an occupied people, living at the whim of empire. Not only this, but Nazareth is really nothing more than a back water town. It is so lowly thought of that later in the scripture people mock that nothing good has ever come out of Nazareth. It is this setting that the writer of Luke sets up for us. He shows us a Mary that is as ordinary as one can be. She does not stay that way for long.

The angel Gabriel appears to her announcing something that must have shaken her very world. She was to bear a child, one that Gabriel says is going to be “most high of God.” This is no small announcement for Mary. This revelation puts her very life at risk. A young unmarried woman pregnant, the law would call for her to be stoned. I can imagine her asking in her own head, that though the angel addresses her has favored, what kind of favor is this. She is so taken aback by this moment she responds to the angel by asking how can it be. Gabriel explains to her she is not in this alone, the spirit will be with her, furthermore he cousin Elizabeth is also miraculously pregnant, explaining to Mary that “nothing is impossible with God.”
It is here that I think the real miracle of this story begins. This Mary in her extraordinary ordinariness does something amazing. Instead of turning and running, instead of simply saying whatever, Mary shows the courage that can exist in the human spirit. This Mary chooses to be an active participant in this new story with God. She believes that though there are great risks, that in this moment something new is happening that is going to make the world a better place. She chooses to be a part of that moment.

This is where the scripture for today leaves off but the story continues and I want to focus for a moment of what comes next. Mary knows she can not go it alone, and even though she knows God goes with her, she knows she needs earthly support as well. So Mary goes to see her cousin Elizabeth. When she arrives she finds support there and it clearly it inspires her further. She then sings a song, one that harkens back to other songs of women of the faith in the past. It is a song of extraordinary joy, hope and courage that the world will be better because of this new journey in her life.

“My soul proclaims your greatness, Oh God,
And my spirit rejoices in you, my savior.
For you have looked with favor
Upon your lowly servant,
And from this day forward
All generations will call me blessed.
For you, the Almighty, have done great things for me
And holy is your Name.
Your mercy reaches from age to age
For those who fear you.
You have shown strength with your arm;
You have scattered the proud in their conceit;
You have deposed the mighty from their thrones
and raised the lowly to high places.
You have filled the hungry with good things,
while you have sent the rich away empty.
You have come to the aid of Israel your servant,
Mindful of your mercy—
The promise you made to our ancestors—
To Sarah and Abraham
and their descendants forever.”

In this song we hear the real character of Mary. This is no meek and mild Mary. This Mary is courageous believing that what God has started is going to change the world. We hear these words of peace and justice from Mary, I think we can see so deeply her influence on Jesus. Mary is much more than a simple vessel from which Jesus came. It is at least in part Mary’s raising of Jesus that makes Jesus who he is.
It truly is one of my favorite biblical stories. But what does it have to do with us? I imagine that most, if not all of us in this room have a hard time connecting with a story of miracles and angelic visits. The world we live in each day seems very far away from such things. Yet in the story of Mary can have great meaning in our lives, in our relationship and in our faith community.

Some of us in our lives have or will face Mary moments. Maybe they will not come to us accompanied by an angel, but that does make them any less important. These are the moments in our lives when we choose to risk for a better world. In these times, though they are scary, we know that if we begin a new road that, the result could make a difference. In those moments I think there is much to be gained from the Mary story
We can gain courage; those moments are often as frightening as they are exhilarating. The spectacular thing about the Mary story is that Mary is so human. The courage Mary draws on is something that resides in each of us. We too can find the courage in out Mary moments to say “Here, I am.” We can become with God co-creates in a better world in which, “with God all things are possible.”

We can learn as individuals to not try to go it alone. Mary intentionally seeks out Elizabeth. She knows that if she is going to take on this momentous task she needs support. The same is true with us. As we have these moments in our lives, it is those around us that will help us, guide us and help direct us.

Community is an important part these moments. There are many people who may not have Mary moments of their own, or that those moments have passed. Still we can be like Elizabeth, providing support for those who are having these moments. We can provide guidance, strength and experience. We can support those who have the energy, time and imagination, to make the world better than it is now. Mary moments may start with an individual, but they truly involve the whole community.

Yes, we as the Mira Vista Community have much to learn from Mary. After all we are small church, we meet in a space that is not our own and maybe there are those who don’t expect much from us. But can we once again feel that “with God anything is possible?” Can we devote ourselves to finding ways to being a part of the Mary moments, whether they are our own or if we are supporting those of others? I know we can do these things.
As we come to the table today we may not being visited by an angel. But we are reminded that in the meal we once again experience the divine. We can come to the table like Mary ready to have courage, to say here I am. After all, Mary does have a way of looking into our hearts. Or maybe more accurately we have a way of looking into our own hearts and finding the courage of Mary there.
Amen