Mary, Mother of Jesus

Turn with me to the first chapter of Luke. On Sunday mornings we have been looking at the meaning of Christmas. We’ve seen the lights which represent Jesus as the light of the world. This last Sunday Michael talked about the genealogy of Jesus – his family tree – and how we have been grafted in. This evening I want to talk about our response to Christmas. How can we receive the great things God gives us in Christmas. Let’s read about Mary.

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” 34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.” 38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. (Luke 1:26-38)

Luke tells us a lot about Mary and her response to this announcement, much more than Matthew tells us about Joseph. Perhaps Luke does so in order to hold her up as a model of what responsive Christian faith looks like. What can we learn from her?

First, Mary responded thoughtfully.

Mary is minding her own business when suddenly an angel appears to give her a message from God. I’m not sure if there’s a good way for this to happen. Should God send a letter of warning so she could be prepared? There’s no good way to do this. You can’t be prepared. The angel just appears and whenever an angel appears the usual message is, “Fear not” because most people are a little shocked at this unusual sight. How does Mary respond? Luke tells us that:

Mary was greatly troubled and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. (Luke 1:29)

That word translated “wondered” is an accounting term. It means to add things up, weigh things out, or ponder them intensely. Of course Mary is “troubled” – as any normal person would be by such a time. She’s asking: “Am I really seeing an angel? Is this a hallucination? What is going on here?” Mary

shows us that responding in faith is a whole-person experience that includes the mind.

People will sometimes complain about faith as being void of reason. It’s just a jump in the dark. They think when you go to church you’re supposed to check your mind out at the door. Don’t think. Don’t reason. And definitely don’t question or doubt. However, no one can accuse Mary here of anything like “blind faith.” She doesn’t say, “How wonderful. An angel is speaking to me!” No, we’re told that Mary was great troubled. She thought this out. “How can this be?”

Sometimes we’re tempted to think that people of older times were less sophisticated. They were gullible and ready to believe any superstition. But of course people were not less intelligent two thousand years ago, and Mary responded much as we would respond if an angel showed up and started talking to us.

We’ve been trained by our culture to not believe in the supernatural. Mary had been trained by her culture to not believe that God could ever become a human being. While the barriers to believing are different the Christmas message are different, they were every bit as big as the barriers people face today. Mary doubted, she questioned, she used her reason, and she asked questions – just as we must today if we are going to have faith.

You may remember the doubts of Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist. When and the angel says that even though Zechariah and his wife are old they are going to have a son, Zechariah is very doubtful. In response, the angel says that Zechariah will not be able to speak until his son John is born. However, when Mary expresses doubts, there is no hint of divine disapproval. What’s the difference? I think Zechariah’s doubt was one that said, “That can never happen” while Mary’s was one of, “Wow, how can that happen?”

Sometimes at church we aren’t allowed to wonder and to question. Youth are sometimes discouraged from asking questions that may have a tinge of doubt. “You shouldn’t have doubt,” they are told. “You should just believe.” But the truth is it’s good to ask questions. God certainly isn’t afraid of our questions and his word is truth. There is no way we can understand all there is to know about God and the way he works. That leads to questions. If we’re not allowed to ask them here, where can we ask them? If youth don’t feel like they can ask those difficult questions then they won’t. However, when they get to college atheist professors will answer them and not in the light of scripture. Our youth need to feel free to ask questions and have them answered the best we can.

Second, Mary responded gradually.

Mary’s faith happened in stages. It’s gradual.

Christian faith requires the commitment of our whole life. Since we’ve grown up in the church hearing the stories of the Bible we don’t think about it, but very few people go from being uncommitted to being fully committed in a single stroke. Instead, it’s a process. What does the process look like? It can look very different for different people.

Some people compare the response of Paul and the two men on the road to Emmaus. Paul immediately received the message. When Jesus asked, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me,” he knew what Jesus was talking about. However, with the two men on the road to Emmaus it took some time with Jesus explaining what had happened. There are other conversion stories as well. For example, the first time the Philippian jailer heard the Gospel there was a flash of recognition, he accepted God fully, and he was baptized immediately. The philosophers in Athens had different reactions. Some scoffed and called Paul a fool, others were intrigued and wanted to hear more before they would believe, and others were ready to believe.

Mary seems to take that middle route, she wanted to hear more. She shows us that conversion and acceptance come at different speeds to different people. We can’t standardize when and how they

should happen. By looking at Mary’s process we can learn much for our own journeys.

Her first reaction was measured incredulity. When she first hears the angel she asked:

“How will this be?” (Luke 1:34)

Mary finds this hard to believe. Nevertheless, her reaction is measured. She doesn’t stop the conversation. She asks for more information.

Her second stage is simple acceptance. She says:

“I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.” (Luke 1:38)

She is not saying, “It’s so clear now! I get it!.” Nor does she say, “I love this plan and I’m excited to be part of it.” Instead, she’s saying, “It doesn’t all make sense to me, but I will pursue, I will follow.”

This is important for us to see. There are times when we won’t understand. All our questions won’t be answered. But we still need to be able to move forward in faith. Sometimes we can only do what

Mary did – just submit and trust despite the fears and reservations. But that gives a foothold for moving

forward.

A preacher told the story of a woman who had been regularly attending church services even though she hadn’t been brought up going to church. In fact, she’d she ever gone to a church before. When the preacher asked her where she was regarding her faith, she answered something like this:

I used to think Christianity was ridiculous but I don’t now. In fact, it’s dawned on me that the alternatives are even less credible, and I don’t have any good reason to not embrace it. Yet I still don’t feel it and I’m scared of what it will mean. Still, here I am. I want this. I just don’t know how to receive it.

I think that’s how it was for Mary as well. Her first reaction was measured incredulity. Her second reaction is simple acceptance.

Finally, we see her exercising faith from the heart. When Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth who was pregnant with John the Baptist, it all came together for her. Elizabeth, by the power of the Holy Spirit, perceives that Mary carries the Messiah.

39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” (Luke 1:39-45)

The knowledge and insight of Elizabeth confirmed what the angel said and gave Mary deeper assurance of faith. She then burst into praise.

46 And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed. (Luke 1:46-48)

Why does faith take so many different paths? It is because true faith is not something that you simply decide in yourself to exercise. It’s not a process of which you are in complete control. God has to open our hearts and help us break through our denials.

Mary responded thoughtfully. Mary responded gradually.

Third, Mary responded in wonder.

We just read verse 46 and 47 where Mary said her soul glorified the Lord and her spirit rejoiced in God. It’s just two ways of saying the same thing. What she means by the repetition is that she has been moved to the very depths of her being. Mary is not saying, “I think this could add value to my life” or “This is just what I need to reach my goals in life.” She is not weighing the costs and benefits and deciding to do something. Instead, she has been caught up wholly: her thinking is convinced, her feelings captivated, and her will gladly surrendered.

She is still amazed though, that this would happen to her. There is a note of joy and astonishment that God is blessing and honoring her. We too should all be amazed that God is working in us. In the carol “O Little Town of Bethlehem” we sing,

O holy child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray;

cast out our sin, and enter in, be born in us today.

It’s a bold image. We are like Mary. Everyone who puts faith in Christ receives, by the Holy Spirit, “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (as Paul put it in Colossians 1:27). We should be just as shocked that God would give us – with all our flaws – such a mighty gift. And so no Christian should ever be far from this astonishment that “I, of all people, should be loved and embraced by his grace!”

We often think of Christianity as something we do rather than as something Jesus has done for us. If it’s something we do – go to church, read our Bibles, pray – then there’s no surprise. There no astonishment at being a Christian. However, if Christianity is something done for you, to you, and in you, then there is a constant note of surprise and wonder. John Newton wrote the hymn:

Let us love and sing and wonder,

Let us praise the Savior’s name.

He has hushed the law’s loud thunder,

He has quenched Mount Sinai’s flame.

He has washed us with his blood

He has brought us nigh to God.

Can you hear the awe and wonder? It’s all because of what Jesus has done for us. He has done it and that’s a miracle.

Mary responded thoughtfully. Mary responded gradually. Mary responded in wonder.

Fourth, Mary responded in willing surrender.

“I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.” (Luke 1:38)

This is a statement of obedience with much to teach us.

This is not a blind obedience. Nor is it coercion. Mary isn’t giving in because she doesn’t have the power to resist. Throughout the Bible we have examples of people who said no to God. Mary could have said no as well, but she willingly surrendered.

I have two questions for you. First, are you willing to obey anything the Bible clearly says to do, whether you like it or not? Second, are you willing to trust God in anything he sends into your life, whether you understand it or not.? If you can’t answer yes to both of these questions then you have never said: “I am the Lord’s servant.” Those questions are accurate indicators of what God is asking for from us.

Consider this. If the distance between the Earth and the sun – ninety-three million miles – was no more than the thickness of a sheet of paper, then the distance from the Earth to the nearest star would be a stack of papers seventy feet high. The diameter of our galaxy – the Milky Way Galaxy – would be a stack of paper over three hundred miles high. Keep in mind that there are more galaxies in the universe than we can number. Now, if Jesus Christ holds all this together with just a word of his power (and Hebrews 1:3 says he does) do you think Jesus just wants to be your personal assistant? If Jesus really is like that – and he is – how can we treat him as a consultant rather than as Supreme Lord?

Mary surrendered her will to God. Think for a moment all she was being asked for – because I’m sure Mary certainly did. She was about to have a child. It would change her life forever. Even if Joseph stayed with her people were going to figure it out and realize the baby was born early. She would always be seen as the bearer of an illegitimate child. The whole community would think she had either had sex with Joseph before they were married or had been unfaithful to him. Yet she said, “I am the Lord’s servant.” She knew what she was getting into and accepted it.

I think in part Mary was able to do this because she connected what was being asked of her with God’s promise to Abraham. Do you remember the promise God made to Abraham? God said to him, “I want to bring salvation into the world through you and through your family.” Abraham responded, “What do you want me to do?” God answered, “Leave your homeland, your family, your friends. Leave everything you know, all your security. Go out into the wilderness.” “Where do you want me to go to?” wondered Abraham. “I will tell you later,” said God. The book of Hebrews says:

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. (Hebrews 11:8)

It was exactly the same with Mary. Like so many other teenagers, she had dreamt of her future life. Maybe she had thought of the house she and Joseph would live in and the number of children they would have. But now God’s calling to her throws all that into doubt. Who knows what kind of life now awaits her? It doesn’t matter. When she says, “I am your servant,” she goes out not knowing what the future held for her.

As Christians we must basically do the same thing as Mary and Abraham. Becoming a Christian is not like signing up for a gym. Here’s all the things you are promised to receive. The Christian faith is not a negotiation but a surrender. It means to take your hands off your life. John Wesley’s “Covenant Prayer” expresses it well:

I am no longer my own, but thine.

Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.

Put me to doing, put me to suffering.

Let me he employed for thee or laid aside for thee,

exalted for thee or brought low for thee.

Let me be full, let me be empty.

Let me have all things, let me have nothing.

I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.

And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

thou art mine, and I am thine.

So be it.

And the covenant which I have made on earth,

let it he ratified in heaven.

Amen.

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Maybe we think it was easier for the great heroes of the faith in the past. Perhaps they had spiritual resources for such a thing that we do not. Don’t believe it. We actually have better resources than Mary did. We know the end of the story. We know how Jesus lived, died for our sins, and was raised back to life. We know so much more than Mary could have known. If she willingly surrendered her life surely we can too.

There’s a Christian fable that goes with this thought.

There is an old story of a king who went into the village streets to greet his subjects. A beggar sitting by the roadside eagerly held up his alms bowl, sure that the king would give handsomely. Instead the king asked the beggar to give him something. Taken aback, the beggar fished three grains of rice from his bowl and dropped them into the king’s outstretched hand. When at the end of the day the beggar poured out what he had received, he found to his astonishment three grains of pure gold in the bottom of his bowl. “O, that I had given him all.”

On that day when Jesus returns no one is going to think they have given Jesus too much, but will we be like the beggar wishing we’d given him more. When asked, Mary gave all she had. What will we do?