Mary’s Faith

Preached at St Mary the Virgin, Little Burstead, on 11 December 2022 at 10:30

Prayer

Father, may these spoken words be true to the written word and lead us to the living word, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Do something for God?

Have you ever been asked to do something for God? No, that's not quite the right question.  There are plenty of times when someone in the church may ask you to do something. That will be for God, of course, but it may not be asked in His name.  Perhaps better to ask, have you ever been asked to do something BY God? I know that some of you have, I suspect that most, if not all of you have.  I certainly have, or I wouldn't be standing here now.

Me

For me, it was a long-drawn-out process, that started shortly after I was confirmed, and continued until my second attempt at training, then and only then did it really start.  There were no visions, or angels talking to me, just a slow sense that there were things I could, and perhaps should be doing – despite ample evidence to the contrary, the sense did not go away.  So, eventually, I started asking questions, while getting on with the other things that I thought God was asking me to do.  Each step of the way, my faith was limited to believing that the next step was at least possible.

You

I wonder how that worked for you? Was it a similar, slow process, or some sort of revelation.  Did you get started straight away, or was there a wait?  Did you have faith that all would work out, or did you doubt where you were being led and test what you were working on at every opportunity?  Perhaps you even ran away from it at first, like Jonah.

Mary

For Mary, it was just about instantaneous.  In the verse before our reading started, Gabriel says "Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you."  Understandably, Mary was 'greatly troubled' by this, scared out of her mind, maybe? Gabriel tries to calm her with “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favour with God.” I’m not sure that would cut it either, but what he says next is about as troubling as it gets!

Birthing the Messiah

“You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 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, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”

Different World

We have to remember that at the beginning of the first century the world was a very different place. Before the Renaissance, the absolute belief in various religions was common, there was effectively no scientific method as we understand it today. The Jews – all of them, not just the men – would have known their scriptures very well, they were part of life – taught in every family from the youngest age. Seeing angels would be seen as unusual, but maybe not as scary, something to be desired.

Every young Girl’s dream

Now, there are two schools of thought here. One, is more like a current reaction, the other says that it was every young girls dream to be the mother of the Messiah, if that is true, then Mary’s feelings would have been a little different than the feelings we might have at seeing an angel, and hearing this message. Apprehensive, probably, shocked – yes, that’s likely too, but scared out of her mind – probably not. The story is reported very simply, just the ‘he said’, ‘she said’, so it’s impossible for us to really tell.

About Mary

We have to remember that Mary was likely a young teenager, perhaps only thirteen years old. This is the normal age for Marriage in this community, we should not judge this by 20^th century standards. That means she is not what we would see as a young woman, rather she is a girl, in many ways still a child. Which makes what comes next all the more remarkable.

Mary’s response

Her response is simply to ask how it’s going to happen. It’s sounds like she’s expecting a more normal human method to create a son. After all, she is betrothed – and that has legal status in her world. To break a betrothal requires a divorce, just as breaking a marriage does. She would be expecting to produce children very soon anyway.

³⁴“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

This is a question about what will happen, so Mary is already accepting the message.

³⁵“The Holy Spirit will come upon 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.”

he talks a little about her cousin, and ends with:

“For nothing is impossible with God.”

The Implications

Now, that’s something she would have believed, and maybe that sealed the deal for her. I wonder if she knew exactly what it all meant? She would have to go away, hide from the familiar world – becoming pregnant before marriage, even if you are betrothed, could easily lead to being stoned to death. At worst, she would be an outcast. She has no idea what Joseph will say, but the expectation must be divorce.

Things that have been given up

She has given up her future – at least the one she was expecting, she has given up her husband, she will be a single parent family for all she knows – and that was a dreadful life in those days.

Mary’s faith and humility

Mary’s faith and humility are astounding, her last response to the angel shows that:

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.”

So the deed is done. She has risked everything for God, she has put her faith in the angel’s message and her life on the line as a result. Now she must move fast and get out of her home town before the pregnancy is discovered. She goes to stay with her cousin, Elizabeth.

Two women

When the two women meet, Elizabeth, well past child bearing age is almost at full term, and Mary, only just at child bearing age may now be visibly pregnant. The Holy Spirit speaks to Elizabeth and confirms the angel’s message. Elizabeth says:

“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so flavoured, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!”

Elizabeth confirms the message, and the link between John and Jesus that will become apparent in later chapters. She also says that Mary’s faith is a blessing for her.

What did Mary do now -Magnificat

Now Mary just has to wait for the baby to grow and to be born. There is plenty of time for reflection, and we get the result of that in the song she creates. It’s her thoughts about God, and in many places echoes Hannah’s pray after she had handed over Samuel, her long prayed for son, to Eli for training. It also picks up ideas from various Psalms, Isaiah and Habbakuk amongst others.

Hannah’s Song

I’m going to read Hannah’s song now, so we can get a flavour of the parallels.

^{1Sa 2:1} Then Hannah prayed and said: “My heart rejoices in the LORD; in the LORD my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance.

^{1Sa 2:2} “There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.

^{1Sa 2:3} “Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the LORD is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed.

^{1Sa 2:4} “The bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength.

^{1Sa 2:5} Those who were full hire themselves out for food, but those who were hungry hunger no more. She who was barren has borne seven children, but she who has had many sons pines away.

^{1Sa 2:6} “The LORD brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up.

^{1Sa 2:7} The LORD sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts.

^{1Sa 2:8} He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honour.

“For the foundations of the earth are the LORD'S; upon them he has set the world.

^{1Sa 2:9} He will guard the feet of his saints, but the wicked will be silenced in darkness.

“It is not by strength that one prevails;

^{1Sa 2:10} those who oppose the LORD will be shattered. He will thunder against them from heaven; the LORD will judge the ends of the earth.

“He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.”

Which parallels did you pick up on?

Mary’s Song

Mary’s song is a real celebration of God and all that He has done and will do, both through her and for her. It shows just how well she knows her scriptures and just how close to God she has become. It’s not just her she sees in the song, but the whole of Israel and how God keeps His promises to the whole nation.

Hebrews reading

The Hebrews reading tells us many things that happen ‘by faith’. Noah building an ark, us believing that God created the universe out of nothing, Enoch not experiencing death, Abraham following God’s call.

Our additions to the list

We could add to that list:

By faith, Mary submitted to God, and accepted the message of the angel.

By faith, she gave birth to Jesus, the Christ, the son of the most high God.

By faith, we accept that Mary was a virgin when she gave birth to her first child.

Hebrews 11:6 tells us that “without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

So, each of us can add our own personal statements of things that have happened in our lives, because we have faith in God. Think back to the question I asked at the start, “Have you ever been asked to do something by God?” All of those things go on our list of By faith ...

It doesn’t end there, there will be things that are happening or are about to happen that will also come about because of our faith in God to work through us and work for us.

Mary’s experience should inspire us to be more open and more willing to engage with God’s call on our lives.

What’s on your list of things that have happened, are happening, or will happen by faith?

Amen.