Lectionary Readings
*Note: This sermon was only preached at the 8am service, as Bishop Hodges-Copple preached at the principal service.
*Note: This sermon was only preached at the 8am service, as Bishop Hodges-Copple preached at the principal service.
O come, O come Emmanuel.
Amen.
The Annunciation of the angel Gabriel to Mary has been
the subject of many famous paintings. A few years ago, I made a pilgrimage to
the Holy Land and the Church of the Annunciation was one of the most beautiful
and grand places that we visited. There is something about event that has
captured the imaginations and reverence of so many people. Mary is an
interesting person in the faith today. One theologian has said that part of the
fallout from the Reformation is that Roman Catholics have fixated on Mary while
Protestants have developed amnesia about her. And I think that’s a fair
assessment. Mary has never been much of a part of my spirituality, but I’ve
probably been missing out by not learning more from her example of faith.
In the Orthodox tradition, Mary goes by the name Theotokos- a Greek word which means
“God-bearer.” The Church proclaims that God Almighty, the Creator of the
Universe, took on human flesh and was fully present in Jesus of Nazareth. Hence,
Mary gave birth to God. It is for that reason that Mary is often so highly
regarded in Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions. The story of the angel and
announcing the Good News is such a rich story, I’d recommend spending some time
with it this week as a way of meditating on the birth of Jesus. This morning
though, we’ll focus on Mary’s two responses.
When the angel tells Mary that she will soon have a
child, she says “how can this be?,” with the angel responding “nothing will be
impossible with God.” This aspect of the narrative has perhaps caused more
debate than any other passage from the Bible. Was Mary really a virgin when she
gave birth to Jesus? Each week in the Creed, we say it to be so. After the
Enlightenment, your interpretation of this passage became the litmus test for
orthodoxy. If you said that Mary was not a virgin, it meant that you were a
follower of science and reason; and if you said that Jesus was born of a virgin
it meant that you were a Biblical literalist. Today, it may not be quite that
simple, but still, many people judge faithfulness based on the understanding of
this passage.
But what I would say to you with regards to that
discussion is this- don’t get tripped up by it. St. Augustine once said about
Christmas that “the one who holds the world lays in a manger; he was
simultaneously a speechless infant and the Word of God.” These contradictions
are, according to the logic of the world, impossible. What we’ve lost with our
modern understanding of the world is the sense of wonder. I know that I’m
relatively young, but even I remember life before the internet. If you wondered
something, you had to think about it for a while, or take a trip to the library
to find a book on the topic, or ask someone you trusted to give you a good
answer. But today, it’s really not much of an exaggeration to say that the sum
of the world’s knowledge resides on most peoples’ phones, thanks to Google.
We cannot read the story of the Annunciation without a
proper sense of wonder. The text says that Mary herself was perplexed by the
angel’s appearance. And the specifics of Jesus’ conception are perplexing.
Could God, the Creator of all that is, arrange for a virgin birth? Absolutely.
But was Jesus born of a virgin? I honestly don’t know. But regardless of
whether he was or not, that doesn’t change the fact that nothing will be
impossible with God or that Jesus is the Messiah. Don’t get tripped up in the
detail, but instead experience the wonder of the story.
The other thing that Mary says in this encounter is “let
it be with me according to your word.” This is where Mary can really be a
spiritual guide for us. She was in a tough situation- being pregnant before she
was married, having more questions than she did answers. And yet, she shows the
sort of faith that could move a mountain, unimaginable courage, and openness to
the Spirit. Christmas is about the Incarnation- God’s ultimate “yes” to
redemption, to incarnate love, to all of Creation. But God’s “yes” would not
have been possible without Mary’s. And because Mary said “yes” to God, as scary
as it was, she is remembered as the Theotokos,
the God-bearer.
With every fiber of my being, I believe that God is not
done with us. There is yet love to be spread, light to cast out darkness, and
joy to overcome sorrow. Christmas is not a passive holiday, but instead is an
invitation to become part of the holy story. Mary’s “yes” is an invitation for
us to also say “let it be with me according to your word.” Each of us has the
opportunity to follow the example of Mary and be a God-bearer. Our city, our
workplaces, our homes, our country all could benefit from the love and grace of
God being more fully present, and you can be an instrument of the Gospel.
As we are on the cusp of celebrating Christmas, let our
final preparations in Advent focus on Mary. Hers is a story of wonderment, a
sense that we’ve lost in the technological information age. May we embrace the
wonder and joy of the angel’s proclamation that nothing is impossible with God.
And may Mary’s bold and faithful response of “yes” be an inspiration to us, so
that we might have the grace and power to accept the Christmas invitation to do
the work of the Gospel. Amen.
