I find the topic of Mary an interesting topic for us in the Episcopal Church. Because the church is so diverse, there are a variety of positions on Mary, which range from persons believing in the Immaculate Conception, Assumption into heaven, and the Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven to Mary simply being a role you want your daughter to play in the yearly nativity pageants. I have also found that because of the variety of beliefs in the Church regarding Mary, talking about Mary can be a theological minefield sometimes. I don’t want to enter that controversy here. In true Episcopal fashion I encourage us all to pray, reflect, and come to our own belief. But, what I do want to talk about today is an aspect of Mary I think can be neglected, particularly in those paintings of angelic Mary meek and mild with gloss and glitter around her along with a team of dedicated fat cherubs. I want to talk about some of the difficulties of Mary’s life briefly as we enter this festive season and sing of heavenly Mary.
This week we had the Longest Night service, and while I was preparing for that service and thinking about this sermon a series of thoughts blended. One of the things that came to mind was a mediation on this day before the birth. For us, we are excited: family has arrived, dinners are planned, music rehearsed. We are ready to have that magical and spiritual experience that Christmas can be. However, for the Holy Family the experience of today would have been quite different. After a long journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem there is now the anxiety of trying to find a place to stay for the night. Mary is nine months pregnant, which I imagine is not the most comfortable of states. Bethlehem is busy, and there is no place to stay. Mary and Joseph have both had experiences where they know, they have faith this baby is going to special, but if it is from God, why can’t they even find a decent place to stay? If this baby is the Son of the Most High, why are they relegated to a humiliating stable? Mary and Joseph, particularly Mary go through a time of uncertainty and struggle in their faith. If God is with us, then why this struggle? If God favors us, why this uncertainty, pain, and humiliation?
And we know that this was not the first time they as a couple faced this: there was the question of whether the marriage should even happen after Mary is found to be with child...for both Mary and Joseph there was the uncertainty, the struggle of what to do, how to act faithfully in response to God’s action and this faith in a bigger plan. This theme will continue in the Holy Family’s life: we know after Jesus’ birth, there is the vision to Joseph to get up, take his family and flee to Egypt to escape the Slaughter of the Innocence, the killing of male babies by King Herod. Mary and Joseph who probably just wanted to go home to Nazareth are now refugees...and they are the lucky ones.
Later, in the Gospel according to Luke, we hear after they return to Israel, they take Jesus to Jerusalem for Passover when he is twelve. As we know, Jesus goes missing. They think they lost him; in a panic they look for him...the same panic any parent would have. Again we see an incidence of panic, fear, uncertainty in the context of a faith that this child is special. And we have these examples of anxiety for Mary and Joseph...and we haven’t even got to Jesus’ public ministry yet.
I think it is worth mentioning too that Mary was most likely a marked woman throughout her life. I imagine for most people of her time, a virgin birth was about as believable as it is today, and the scandal of Jesus’ birth would have followed her and Joseph throughout their lives. In the Gospel according to Mark, Jesus is referred to as “son of Mary” by a crowd, which was not an endearing term. Men were named after fathers, so Jesus should be “son of Joseph.” And I wonder if this mark on Mary did not influence Jesus growing up...it could explain Jesus’ particular care and consideration of women in his ministry.
And if all that were not enough, we know that Mary bore witness to her son’s ministry. She would have seen the triumphs, the dangers, and ultimately bear witness to the public mocking, torture and execution of her son. “Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee...blessed are you among women.”
On the flip side, to her great joy and honor, Mary is one of the first to witness the resurrection of her son, our Lord, and she is there at Pentecost when the Church receives the Holy Spirit. Mary’s life is a tumultuous one, and I honestly think it was a rough one, with more pain and uncertainty than we give her credit. But, what I find most profound about Mary is this: with all the anxiety, with all the uncertainty, with all the agony and sorrow, when the Gospel of Luke is being compiled, what is remembered about her? What is her theme? What is her song? “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” In the end, Mary’s song is a song of victory, of justice; it is a song of profound faith.
So regardless of where one is in their understanding or belief about Mary, I think as Christians we can echo the words of the Archangel Gabriel, with a reverent respect and adoration: “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb Jesus.”
AMEN.
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