Sermon on Mary - December 12th 2005 - Tarvin Ladies' Carol Service
THE VIRGIN MARY (A sermon for the Ladies Carol Service) Some people think of Christmas as being the story of Jesus? birth. If it is a birthing story, then it should be about Mary?s experience rather than Jesus. That?s what I want to focus on tonight ? story of what happened to Mary and how she came to be in this unique situation. Poor Mary ? and she must have been poor, or else why would her parents have been marrying her off to the village carpenter and not someone a bit more well-heeled. On the face of it, Mary seems to have led a life in which she had no choices; over which she had very little control. Her marriage would have been an arranged one. She was a minor ? maybe twelve or thirteen years old ? far too young to make her own decisions and living in a culture where gender equality didn?t exist and women had no rights. She is instructed by an angel that she will give birth. She is told that it will be a boy and she is even told what name she must give the child. Then she finds herself going into labour in a strange town, far from home and the support network of female relatives and friends who she might have looked to for assistance with the birth. A lot of us here will have had children and have graphic memories of going into labour for the first time. It was a bit scary, even with the aid of modern drugs, technology and the professional expertise with which we expect to be surrounded. But this girl ? still a child herself was forced to give birth in a cave, surrounded by animals and animal smells, lying on straw and only a man to help her. Then she has to put the baby in an animal?s feeding trough because there?s nowhere else to put him. Sometimes I think that the miracle of Jesus? birth was that they didn?t both get an infection. We are not given a detailed account of the birth in the Bible but simply told that she gave birth to a son. How did Mary deal with it all? We don?t know. We don?t know how long she was in labour for, whether she needed stitches, if she cried for her mum, how Joseph coped, etc. It would be understandable if we were to think that Mary?s experience of childbirth was horrific. But think again. Mary had something which many people can never achieve. She had God on her side. He wasn?t just inside her, in the form of Jesus; he was all around her, under and over her, in every moment of her whole life, before, during and after this birth. And that made Mary, even though she was just a female child in a man?s world, a powerhouse for God. Why did God choose her? That?s a mystery! She had no qualities that made her suitable for the task except that she was available and willing to do the job and then, God put her through a process for which she had absolutely no training whatsoever ?? he just promised to be with her. And that?s where ?poor Mary? becomes the most blessed of women. She accepted the job in a leap of faith, without knowing anything about what lay before her. Wow! Now we can see that Mary was quite a girl. She says to God, ?It shall be according to your will?, which in our language means ?use me as you see fit and I wont say ?no? just because I?m unqualified, unskilled and inexperienced.? Mary?s message to us is that if we respond, God will take us beyond our limitations. We don?t have the honour of giving birth to the saviour of the world but, because we are blessed by his presence in our lives, we can share in the promises he made to Mary. As He did for her, so He does great things for us, He extends His mercy to us, and He performs mighty deeds for us. And because Mary didn?t say ?no?, we are privileged to have God in our lives. After two thousand years of publicity, many people take Jesus for granted ? take Christmas for granted. We give presents and many think it?s because Jesus received presents at his birth. But Jesus was himself a present; the greatest gift the world has ever received, given by God to His children on earth. Mary knew that. She well knew that the child she carried in her womb was like no other. Every mother wonders at the miracle of birth when she holds her child for the first time, Mary knew more. She knew her child would never be fully hers. And she was right. No wonder we are told that she '?pondered it all in heart?.
Mary is a great role model. She followed where God led. And he led her to an awful place, both that night as she struggled giving birth, and later on at Calvary, when she was destined to watch her son face the agony of crucifixion. I pray that none of us will ever be called upon to watch our child being executed, but if we have true faith we will follow where God leads each one of us ? through the trials of our lives, even into the hard places. Mary knew pain and so will each of us, but she saw God in her darkness. (And by the way, its no coincidence that Jesus was born at night; came to the world in its darkness). If you are one of those people who see Christmas as the story of Jesus? birth, think again! It didn?t end when he was laid in the manger. The labour that Mary endured to bring him into the world has continued through the centuries. For two thousand years fresh generations have experienced God coming into their lives, coming into their world -?right down to us tonight. We believe in Jesus and that makes us part of a great train of witnesses, spanning the ages. We?ve come here tonight, to this carol service, to lift our voices and our souls in gratitude for what Mary laboured to do for us that night. In the words of the carol we sang before this sermon: Trumpets sound and angels sing, Listen to what they say, ?We shall live for evermore because of Christmas day.? Amen. |  |