Mother
Mary
Introduction
I
guess I am on a Beatles kick for some reason, each Sunday puts me in
mind of another song... this week it was Let it Be... and
particularly the part which goes:
When
I find myself in times of trouble
Mother
Mary comes to me
Speaking
words of wisdom
Let
it be
And
in my hour of darkness
She
is standing right in front of me
Speaking
words of wisdom
Let
it be
What
is it about Mary that captures the attention of so many? Perhaps it
is that she was so ordinary, and thrust into circumstances that seem
so amazingly and mysteriously more than ordinary.
Imagine
this unwed and too young mother of Jesus. Whom Angels spoke to and
Joseph forgave. Who, if the story is right, accepted her fate and her
position with grace and dignity.
This
is not life as most of us experience it. It must have been incredibly
hard.... her life must have been filled with emotions - fear, pain,
even anger... I wonder if part of what we like and admire about Mary
is that even in the midst of that she also found joy.
When
Mary finds that she is pregnant she goes off to see her already
pregnant cousin Elizabeth... perhaps for advice, perhaps to exchange
stories, perhaps just to get some rest and let the men folk go off
and be men folk.
And
what they discover together is that they are happy to be mothers. And
that they are happy that God has plans for their children.
Those
plans involve helping to make the world a better place, and as we
shall see it is totally in line with Gods promises as well as totally
in keeping with what has taken place after their births.
The
white Gifts
The
tradition of White Gift Sunday has its roots in a small Methodist
church in Ohio in 1904. What began as a humble way to reflect on the
love and devotion of the giver and not the value of the gift has
grown into today’s white gift services in many churches across
several denominations. The story is told that a minister’s wife
initiated the idea to solve the problem of inequity of gifts given at
the Sunday school Christmas party. Instead of focusing on receiving
gifts, the focus shifted to bringing gifts to Jesus that could in
turn be shared with people around the world who did not have much.
All the gifts would come wrapped in plain white paper, so that no one
would know which was an expensive gift and which was a more modest
one. No one would feel ashamed of their gift and everyone would
share in the joy of giving to others.
Wrestling
with the Texts
The
Beatles believed that Mary would come and bring them wisdom. They are
not alone in this. Monks worshiped her, poor peasants built shrines
to her. Mary is at the heart of the emotional connection we all have
for God.
Maybe
because she is a mother, and a woman, and those qualities are rare in
the Bible and yet important for most people. We all understand what
it is to be a parent, and we all know what a perfect mother would
be.... whether we are one, or even if we did not have one.
A
mother is protective, a mother is fierce, a mother loves
unconditionally, a mother has high hopes for her children. A mother
gives beyond measure and yet, does it with a smile. Well, our perfect
mother would do this.
And
again, for many people Mary took on these feminine characteristics of
God. Mary was the compassionate one, Mary was the caring one, Mary
was the wise one... and became venerated so much that there have been
times when the Catholic Church tried to ban praying to Mary - people
were praying more to Mary than to God....
As
the Beatles reiterate, it is Mary who is standing beside them in
times of darkness.... and she is speaking words of wisdom.
So
what were the words of Wisdom Mary had to offer in the first place?
Surprisingly there were very few of them captured, or imagined, by
the folks that wrote the story of Jesus... But there is one place,
one poem, one song, that got included.
My
soul Magnifies the Lord, sang Mary when the pregnancy became real
and the baby kicked for the first time...
And
then, like any mother, she goes on to speak of the hope she has for
her child.... of the way God will be at work through Jesus. There are
some wonderfully high hopes I this song, the powerful being
overthrown, the proud being humbled, the starving get food and the
rich go away empty handed.
Again,
we are talking about a vision of the Kingdom of God ... of what it
"could" be like if we finally listen to the wisdom and
compassion of God. It sets Jesus up with a huge and impossible
seeming task; a lot of pressure on an unborn baby....
But
you have to see how this set the stage. This really was the
expectation that people had of the Messiah, this really is what
people were praying for.
Mary
was overcome with Joy because God was finally answering her
prayers.... not only her prayers, but everyone's prayers. Could it be
that the hope Mary feels is part of the reason that so many people
look to her for guidance?
Conclusion
And
when the broken hearted people
Living
in the world agree,
There
will be an answer, let it be
And
though the night is cloudy,
There
is still a light that shines on me,
Shine
until tomorrow, Let it be...
Whisper
words of wisdom.... Let it be...
Who
knew the Beatles were so into Christmas? Well, okay, that is a
stretch... but they were religious in their own way and they were
part of the movement of people who believed at the world could become
a better place.
And
they saw in Mary, the same as we can, a person who sees the joy of
life, who sees the simplicity of faith, and who is there to offer us
wisdom....
As
we approach Christmas we do so with a sense of joy that allows us to
see the goodness of the world around us, even as we know there is
pain and sorrow. There is so much joy and love, so much hope and
peace.... let's celebrate that this year.... knowing that we are
helping to birth Gods love into the world once more.
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