reflections

For 22nd Dec 2024

Christmas party quiz question: “How many times does Mary, the mother of Jesus, speak in the Gospel of Luke?

Advent 4: God-Bearer

Luke 1:46-55
Micah 5:2-6

Party game

Here’s a Christmas party quiz question: “How many times does Mary, the mother of Jesus, speak in the Gospel of Luke? (You might involve the congregation for answers.) The answer is FOUR . Just four times! If you want to earn extra points for your team, can you recall the occasions and what she is recorded as saying? (See footnotes for the answers.)

These are not a lot of words to begin painting a picture of the person who takes centre stage in today’s address and worship.

Yet through these moments, Mary’s words reflect her “faith, obedience, humility, and maternal love”. They provide a window into her unique role in the divine story.

Ordinary girl

Mary, an ordinary, unknown girl, had an experience of God that turned not only her world but our belief system upside down. Her simple “yes” to God allowed God to enter the world as a human being — God coming to be with His people in humble and desperate circumstances, without a roof over His head and in an occupied country. Pretty good timing!

Her “yes” to God happened in the face of extraordinary uncertainty and danger. Mary didn’t know all the “how”, of God’s promise to her, but she said “yes” anyway. She not only believed in God, but she had “radical trust” in the Lord. She also had “courageous love” for God.

Because of Mary’s “yes,” we can be tempted to elevate her to a special status — and some Christian traditions almost make her part of the Godhead itself. These Marian prayers, hymns, and acts of worship might be very helpful to some, while for others, not so much — we are all different.

However, the gift and example of her “yes” to God might better help our faith journey if we remember and celebrate her “ordinariness”. In this way, she is just like you and me, an ordinary person. God did not choose her because she was special, she became special because she answered God’s call. Her example challenges us to “listen” for God in our lives and to be “brave” — to seek out our courageous selves and, in doing so, allow the ordinary to become extraordinary.

The Face of Christ

Each time we are privileged to see the face of Christ in another human being, or become aware of God’s presence in nature, we experience a divine encounter. Each time we encounter Christ in the pain and horrors of unspeakable tragedy or violence or feel the extraordinary presence of God when we hold the Eucharistic bread, we have the chance, like Mary, to say “yes” to God. In doing so, we become a physical vessel that carries God within us — a “God-bearer”, like Mary.

Mary’s “yes” to God involved a nine-month gestation period, during which her body, emotions, and focus were completely transformed. Carrying an unborn child can be risky to a woman’s health — just ask a pregnant woman or talk to a midwife. It was even more dangerous all those years ago.

Birthing God

Our “yes” to God may also require a long gestation period as we ponder, pray, and meditate on our encounter with the Divine. During that time, we might feel out of control, experience new emotions, and be unsure of what this personal experience might involve. Many people spend years nurturing the seed God has planted in their hearts, feeling a restlessness — a sense that something is missing or that they are meant to be elsewhere. This is often called the process of discernment.

Giving birth to a child, even in the medically sophisticated West, is a time when the mother can feel out of control, facing potential dangers and complications. Our experience of bringing forth our encounter with God might be similar — a moment when we are brave enough to share our experience with others or live a transformed life shaped by Kingdom values.

Let’s look again at the song attributed to Mary after she meets her cousin Elizabeth and shares the news that she will give birth to Jesus. Mary’s Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55) is a song of praise, but it also reflects God’s active role in bringing about justice. It shows that He overturns human pride and power while lifting up the humble, and challenging oppressive systems. The Magnificat underscores themes of humility, warning that pride and self-reliance lead to downfall.

Book of Common prayer

It is little wonder that, at the formation of the Church of England, the writer of the 1662 Prayer Book envisaged a church bell ringing in every community, with people pausing to say Evening Prayer. Imagine every community in England praying the Magnificat — Mary’s Song — words that reassure people of God’s commitment to justice, mercy, and the reversal of worldly expectations. Revolutionary indeed.

Mary’s “yes” allows an ordinary girl to carry God in her womb, to give birth to Jesus, who enables us to experience **God with us** — transforming and encouraging us. Our own “yes” allows us to metaphorically carry God’s vision within us, become God Bearers and bring forth actions that transform the world.