Mystic Congregational Church, UCC

Mystic, Connecticut

Sermon from December 18, 2005

“Thoughts About Mary”

Rev. Patricia L. Liberty

Scriptures:

Psalm 89:1-4, 19-26

Luke 1:26-38

On December 14th, this past Wednesday, religious leaders gathered on the steps of the State House in Washington, D.C. for what became a prayer meeting and revival.  Jim Walls, a Presbyterian pastor and leader of the Sojourners Community, was one of the organizers of the vigil.  In his weekly e-mail to subscribers, he writes:  “this was the culmination of a year-long effort by people of faith to teach our nation’s political leaders that ‘a budget is a moral document’.” 

I was proud to be one of the 115 pastors and leaders out of that group who were arrested for kneeling in prayer.  In the final stages of the budget process this week, after praying and making our bet arguments from afar, we decided to take our prayers and presence to the steps of the Cannon House Office Building.  After some powerful preaching on the steps and a press conference that was more like a revival, we continued our praying and singing in front of the entrance, symbolizing the denial of access to Congress for low-income people. 

“Come walk with us!” we said as we invited members of Congress into our neighborhoods to meet the people who will be most impacted by their votes on a budget that virtually assaults low-income families.  We sounded like a choir (and a good one at that) as we sang Christmas carols while being arrested, handcuffed, put into buses, and taken to a large holding cell roughly a mile away.

We all noted now full of faith the day was for those involved.  Many of those who took part in the prayerful and non-violent civil disobedience were from groups such as the Christian Community Development Association, whose member organizations around the country live and work alongside poor people every day.  Their founder John Perkins who, at 75 was one of the oldest people arrested, inspired us all as he has for 40 years of faithful ministry among the poor.

By now you may be wondering why I am telling you this story and what it has to do with either of the texts read.  Here’s why:  Jim Wallis continues,

The text we kept repeating at the Capitol Christmas vigil was from the book of Luke—the best words ever about the true meaning of the coming of the Christ Child.  Mary, the mother of Jesus, herself a poor woman from an oppressed race and an occupied territory, prophesied in her powerful prayer of thanksgiving—the Magnificat—about the Messiah whom she carried in her womb.

My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.  Surely, from now on, all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.  His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.  He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.  He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.

So yesterday, on the House office steps, we tried to put Christ back into Christmas.  Thursday morning, The Chicago Tribune led with the headline “Christmas Scandal Outcry!” and the story of the faith-inspired action in Washington was in dozens of newspapers around the country.  Yesterday, the faith community across the country stood up and spoke up.  Our vigil in Washington was followed by more than 70 vigils in more than 30 states.  We prayed for a change of heart in our Washington leaders.  We prayed for the poor families we serve.  We prayed that those elected to represent us act to protect the common good in ways consistent with the Christmas message of hope.

Jim Wallis is a contemporary prophet, a man of great faith and courage whose witness and preaching I find inspiring.  He is a man of prayer and Scripture and the fruit of his study is a source of frequent blessing for me.  His words bear witness not only to a growing prophetic movement that cares for the poorest of the poor but also to resurgence in Protestant interest in Mary.

Let’s face it, folks.  We Protestants don’t quite what to do wit Mary.  It’s not a new thing.  The roots of Protestant aversion to an over-developed theology of Mary reach all the way back to the Reformation and are woven into the warp and woof of Protestant Christianity.  At the time of the Reformation, leaders like Luther and Zwingli and Calvin preached against the growing devotional movements that venerated Mary because they believed it threatened the clarity of the Gospel message that salvation came by grace and by faith in Jesus Christ.  The idea of Mary as a mediator was unacceptable.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, several developments served to widen the chasm between Roman Catholic Mariology and Protestant aversion to the subject:  first, the promulgation of the two Marian dogmas of the Immaculate Conception (1854) and the bodily Assumption (1950); second, the sharp increase of popular Marian devotion associated with special apparitions of the Virgin at sites like Lourdes, Fatima and Guadalupe.  Roman Catholics, by their over-zealous devotion, and Protestants, by our reactionary neglect, both serve to distort the image of Mary and the place she might rightfully have in our faith.

In an article from Theology Today, Daniel Migliore writes,

We have made Mary the Queen of Heaven, clothed her in purple robes, put a crown on her head, and elevated her high above the earth.  We have made her the perfect lady, praised her untouched virginity, and sent forth our knights in shining armor to prove our allegiance to her.  We have made her the ideal woman, extolled her self-effacement, her passivity, her silent acceptance of her duty, her obedience to her husband, and have expected all Christian women to approximate this idea.  We have made her the total mother, exhausted her significance as a human being and a servant of God in the biological processes of childbirth and child-nurture, and have presented her in this form as the Christian standard for all women to follow.  We have enlisted her as a revolutionary leader of our liberation struggles. 

Little wonder we are a bit confused and uncomfortable with Mary.  That a lot of baggage for one person to carry throughout history.  Poking through the hubris there’s something worth discovering.  Mary’s pilgrimage of faith begins in simple trust in the grace of God.  Migliore notes,

In her trusting and courageous openness to the working of God in the world for its salvation, Mary is presented to us as an exemplary witness of faith.

Her response is reminiscent of Moses, Abraham and Sarah, Isaiah, Deborah, Samuel and countless others who heard God calling them to faith and action.  Her response to God’s call is far from passive, nor is it simple assent to coercion.  She freely assents to the working of God’s grace in and through her.  As one who is open to the working of God and is willing to accept the consequences, Mary is a model of faith for us all.  We cannot forget that Mary’s willing participation in God’s grace came at great risk; women who were with child and without husband were routinely stoned to death.

“A second element in the Gospel of Mary is contained in her song of praise.  Mary’s hymn gives voice to her solidarity with all poor and broken people yearning for God’s redemption and renewal of the groaning creation.”  Mary’s witness is a reminder that radical trust in God never leas to passivity or complacency.  Rather, it is the root of courage connected to conviction and action rooted in faith.

Jim Wallis and his compatriots on the steps of the State House bearing witness to our Nation’s Budget as a moral document are on to something as they claim Mary’s words to speak an eternal truth.  Mary takes her place with other prophets speaking a word of judgment to the oppressors who occupied their land and a government that eclipsed the values rooted in their faith.

We have much to learn from Mary.  Some of the lessons reach beyond the focus that comes at this time of the year.  We read of Mary in other places throughout the Gospels and even onto the book of Acts.  Our hyper attention to her at this time of year is symptomatic of the distortion we perpetuate.

Mary and Joseph have a moment of panic when they realize that their young son has disappeared.  Though he was found in the temple amazing his elders with his insight into Scripture, I doubt that eclipsed the anxiety of his parents.  Mary is present at the wedding in Cana and actually encourages him to perform his first miracle.  She appears in a place where Jesus is preaching; though we are not told why, it is not difficult to imagine.  Think about it.  The disciples struggled with what Jesus was all about.  What do you think his mother was doing?  Let’s not forget that Mary is present at the foot of the cross as her son is crucified for his faithfulness.  She takes her place with the disciples and is named in the book of Acts as one who devoted herself to prayer and the coming of God’s enlivening spirit.

Migliore continues:

Perhaps, beginning this year, we can rearrange our thinking about Mary and let her be what the Bible describes her as being—a woman of humble yet courageous faith from whom we might learn to praise the sovereign grace of God, to cry out against injustice, to acknowledge our daily need for repentance and forgiveness, to receive our commission to ministry from Christ at the foot of his cross, and to hope and pray, without ceasing, for the coming of God’s Word and Spirit to renew the church and empower it for service.

Amen.