Mary, Mother of Our Lord Sunday

August 15, 2004

Christmas in August? Seems like Christmas comes earlier every year, but this not an effort to get a jump-start on the Christmas celebration. Today, August 15th, has traditionally been a day to celebrate Mary, the mother of our Lord and her life of faith. And so we will look at Mary and see an example in her that can guide our lives.

The first thing we need to do is to remove Mary from her pedestal. Yes, you heard me right. Too often we place Bible figures in a category all by themselves. We look at the unique things that have happened in their life and we think we are not like them. Wrong! They are just like you and me. That is why they are so important for us. They give us a window into how God sees us and works with us. This is the big thought for today – “You are just as special as Mary in the eyes of God!” You are! Mary was an ordinary woman who God chose to be a part of His plan of salvation and through whom His glory was made known to the world.

The Big Picture – The first thing we need to look at this morning is the “Big Picture.” Mary illustrated her seeing the big picture through her praise to God. She speaks of “generation to generation” and “Abraham and his descendants,” and “our fathers,” which shows that Mary knew she was part of a bigger plan, something bigger than herself. God’s plan of salvation is something that has carried on through all time and all peoples. Mary is just a part of this plan as Abraham and all his descendants were too and as we are today. God’s plan of salvation doesn’t rest on any one individual; it rests on Him and how He fulfills it through us.

Let me illustrate from my own experience. This past Saturday, August 7th, we got an e-mail from my Aunt that my Uncle’s stepfather was lost in the back woods of northern Minnesota. His name is Thor, and if his name is any indication he is an avid outdoorsman. Thor is 83 years old and owns a cabin near Ely, MN. Well cabin is making it sound more than it is, it is a shelter with sod roof and all and an outhouse a ways from the place. Thor and family spend a lot of their time at this cabin and it is not unusual for him to take long walks in the woods.

On Saturday, as the story goes, he decided to take another path and explore a part of the woods he hadn’t been in for awhile. He hadn’t planned on being gone long so he didn’t take any survival gear like a compass, extra water or matches. But being a more unfamiliar part of the woods and being overcast, Thor got lost. Losing his direction and not wanting to make the situation worse Thor decided to find a safe place for the night. So in the midst of cooling temperatures and a constant rain Thor found a niche in a tree and settled in for the night.

The next day did bring any good fortune. The sky had not cleared like Thor had hoped. He even tried to follow tagged trees by the Forest Service to see if they would lead to a trail but that proved futile. Thor was lost and not getting anywhere fast. At this time search and rescue were looking for him too but to no avail. Final Thor had to settle in for another night in the woods.

Monday morning things changed. The sky had cleared and Thor caught the sunrise that helped him find his direction and eventually he stumbled on a cross-country ski trail. Soon after he was greeted by on of the Sheriff Deputies and several others who were searching for him. Thor was found and doing well!

But I don’t share this story to show how Thor overcame the odds and survived. I share this because of his comment to a newspaper reporter. This is what Thor said, “‘I have to give credit to all of the people who came from everywhere to try to find this lost soul,’ Nordwall said. (The St. Louis County Rescue Squad, Morris Township First Responders, Eagles Nest Fire Department, the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Department, Minnesota State Patrol and volunteers from an area YMCA all helped in the search.) ‘I think that’s the biggest part of the story.’”[1] Thor knew the story was bigger than him. We too need to recognize that God’s plan of salvation is bigger than any one individual. But that said God also cares for each of us as individuals, which lead to my next thought.

Ordinary is Extraordinary – God uses the ordinary to become extraordinary for Him. Mary wasn’t any different from any other young woman in Israel. She gave birth like any mother would. She was a mother like all mothers and raised Jesus like any parent would a child. But God took what was ordinary and made it extraordinary. If God can do that in the ordinary life of Mary He can transform your ordinary life as well. Remember, you are just as special as Mary in God’s sight.

A song that ran through my head as I was preparing this sermon illustrates this point that Mary was just like any other mother. It is a contemporary Christmas song that you can probably hear on the local Christian radio station in December. It is entitled, “Mary Did You Know.” In the song by Mark Lowery and Buddy Green the question is raised over and over, did Mary know as she looked at her child, Jesus, that He would be the one who would perform miracles, teach the crowds with authority and ultimately go to the cross for us and be our Savior. As a human mother I am sure that Mary didn’t fully know what would come. She raised Jesus like any mother would raise a child. But she also knew that Jesus was special because of the Word of God that came to her. Mary had to trust God just as we have to trust Him each day of our lives.

Mary was like any other mother, like any other human – she was a sinner in need of a Savior. She sings in her Magnificat that gives praise to her God her Savior. You only need a Savior when you are a sinner. Sin breaks us down, lowers us, and makes us “ordinary.” There is nothing in Mary, nothing in us, that makes us good in God’s sight. But it is in realizing that it is not about us, that we can be just ordinary, that the sweet, awesome power of the Gospel shines through. And we can become people who magnify God’s love.

Magnify – Mary’s song is often called the Magnificat based on the first line, which states that Mary’s soul magnifies the Lord. Magnify, to make things visible, is how God uses us to reveal His plan of salvation, His love for the world. Through us God magnifies His glory. When we confess our sin and look to God for forgiveness, we magnify God. When we turn to His word for strength and guidance, we magnify God. When we help others based on God’s love for us, we magnify God. When we share the story of Jesus Christ and what God has done for us, we magnify God. Just as a magnifying glass is uses to help us see things that are small and hidden, so God reveals to us, blinded by sin, His redemptive love through things that appear ordinary but really are extraordinary by the power of God.

We are called to magnify God to the world. And often that is done in our ordinariness. When people see that we are just like them but have the love of Jesus in us, it is very attractive and we magnify God. When we are broken and hurting but have a hope in our Lord to rescue us, we show the love of God to others. When we share of the joy we have in Jesus, yes in spite of our sinful nature, we give a glimpse of God to others. God knew in His infinite wisdom that to win over the hearts of sinners He had to show that His love can shine through the sinner, that nothing can separate us from His love.

The big picture of God’s plan of salvation at work in the lives of ordinary people who don’t lift themselves up but magnify the glory of God is what the Bible stories are all about. Mary’s story is not of an extraordinary young woman, but of an extraordinary God who works in our lives. All the stories in the Bible and of other Christian “saints” are examples to us that God can take the ordinary and make it extraordinary for His plan of salvation. And it reminds us “We are just as special as Mary to God.” He loves us and cares for us! That is truly a story worth knowing.

Amen.

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[1] 2004 St. Paul Pioneer Press and wire service sources, “83-year-old’s hike in woods no walk in park,” by Steve Kuchera, Duluth News Tribune, Posted on Tues., August 10, 2004.