Fourth Sunday in Advent

Fourth Sunday in Advent (B)

December 24, 2017

Text: Luke 1:26-38

            Lutherans have an irrational fear of Mary.  Luther himself didn’t.  Neither did the early Lutheran fathers.  And most importantly, Jesus didn’t.  She’s His mom.  That ought to give her some credit with you.  I suspect it’s a particularly American Lutheran problem.  To be frank, it’s probably a part of the whole “That’s too Catholic!” phobia, which is a ridiculous argument about anything, and I’m telling you right now, if that’s ever your argument, you’re gonna have to do a lot better than that to convince me.  The Roman Catholics do a lot of great things that we also do, like reading from the Bible and praying just to name a couple, and as I’ve told you before, don’t let Rome have all the good stuff just because you have some phobia of being “too Catholic.”  It’s silly.

            There are, of course, any number of things we reject in Roman doctrine and practice, and Mary is often at the epicenter.  We should mention these as things we do not do or believe with regard to Mary.  We do not worship her.  We do not pray to her.  We have no Scriptural command to pray to her, nor any indication from the Scriptures that she could hear us if we do, or could help us if she hears us.  She does pray for us, as do all the saints in heaven, but whether she’s aware of what’s happening to us here, we don’t know.  Probably not.  The cult of Mary grew up around this idea that her Son, Jesus, is a stern Judge who doesn’t really like us and wants us all to go to hell.  That’s not the real Jesus, but that was how He was often portrayed in the Middle Ages.  As a result, it was taught that if you want to get on Jesus’ good side, you ask for Mary’s help.  After all, what’s He going to say to His mother?  You get her, the softer, more loving one, on your side, and you’ll have Jesus on your side.  So people began to invoke her.  Slowly she came to be regarded as “coredemptrix,” our redeemer along with Jesus, which is frankly more than a little blasphemous.  It was said that she was conceived without sin to explain how Jesus was conceived and born sinless.  That’s what the teaching on the immaculate conception refers to… It’s not about Jesus, it’s about Mary.  But it doesn’t really solve the problem.  It just backs it up a generation.  Nor do we believe that Mary was sinless.  The Scriptures are pretty clear.  She was a sinner like us.  She didn’t always believe in her Son.  She didn’t understand when He was twelve years old that He must be about His Father’s business (Luke 2:49).  When He was older and causing significant embarrassment to His family, she went with His brothers to get Him and bring Him home like someone who was insane (Mark 3:21, 31).  She isn’t perfect.  She has her faults.  It was also taught that Mary was immediately raised after her death, and bodily assumed into heaven, which is where you get the idea of the Assumption of Mary.  There are other things we could mention, but these are the main ones, and clearly these things we reject and condemn as false and dangerous teaching. 

            But don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.  If the Romans err by giving Mary too much credit, the Lutherans fall off the horse on the other side.  Mary is the main saint.  She is the main saint, not because she’s somehow less sinful than the rest of us, but because She is favored by God, and the Lord is with her (Luke 1:28).  The word “favored” in our text comes from the Greek for one who has received grace from God.  You’ve heard the Romans translate it as “Mary, full of grace.”  It’s not her grace, it’s the grace of God.  That’s why she’s the main saint. 

            That, and because of what happens next, and how she responds to it.  She’s troubled at the appearance of the angel and this strange greeting, as anyone would be.  But the angel preaches the Gospel to her.  The word “angel” means “messenger,” and here Gabriel is doing the angel thing for which he’s been created.  He preaches that Mary need not be afraid, for she’s found favor, she’s been graced by God, and now she’s going to have a Son.  But not just any son.  THE Son.  Mary is the mother every Jewish woman since Eve has longed to be.  Her Son is the promised Messiah.  And more.  He’s the Son of God.  No human father will be involved in this conception.  God is His Father.  The eternally begotten Son of the Father, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, will be born of her.  In time.  In the flesh.  The promised Son of David, to establish the davidic throne forever. 

            Mary naturally wonders how this is going to happen.  After all, and for the record, she is a virgin (v. 34).  She may be young, but her mother taught her how this works.  But with Mary, it will be different.  Remember all those women who were barren in the Old Testament, but were promised a son and miraculously conceived?  All three of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob married barren women.  Sarah conceived when she was 90 years old and Abraham was 100!  Rebecca was barren at first, but miraculously gave birth to twins, Jacob and Esau.  Both Leah and Rachel (especially Rachel) had their troubles with barrenness, but the LORD gave them both sons of their own.  Remember Hannah, who was very much like Mary, praying for a son at the Tabernacle, and Eli the priest thought she was drunk because her mouth moved but no sound came out with her tears as she prayed fervently?  God gave her as a son the great Prophet Samuel, whom she gave into the service of the Lord.  Finally, recall Elizabeth, Mary’s cousin, who in her old age has conceived a son, St. John the Baptist.  Mary would visit her over the next three months to help with John’s birth.  All of these women were types of the blessed virgin Mary.  If their pregnancies were miraculous, and they were, at least they involved a human father.  Not Mary.  This is how it happened for Mary.  The Holy Spirit came upon her in the angel’s preaching.  The power of the Most High overshadowed her as she heard the Gospel.  The Word of God entered her ear and took root in her womb.  “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14; ESV).  Nothing shall be impossible with God (Luke 1:37).  Not a virgin birth.  Not God born a man.  Not the salvation of sinners in the death and resurrection of this God born a man, Jesus Christ, our Lord. 

            And how does Mary respond?  She believes it!  And this is almost as great a miracle as the virgin birth itself.  This is why she’s the main saint.  She teaches us what it is to be a Christian.  She teaches us what it is to be the Church.  It means to believe the Word of the Lord, no matter how impossible.  “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; may it be to me according to your word” (v. 38).  Those are incredible words of faith.  That is the posture we take toward our God.  We are His servants.  May it be to us according to His Word.  And what happened to Mary happens to us.  The Holy Spirit comes upon us in the preaching of the Gospel.  The Word of God enters our ear and takes deep root in our hearts.  Jesus is conceived in us.  He is with us and in us.  And we are highly favored, graced, by God.  We need not fear.  The Savior comes to us.  Our sins are forgiven. 

            St. Mary should be highly honored among us because she is Theotokos, the Mother of God, our Lord Jesus Christ.  She is the mother of Jesus, and as we are baptized into Jesus and made one with Jesus, she is the mother of us all.  She is the model of faith.  She is the model of the Church.  The Church is the mother who gives birth to us by giving birth to Jesus in us by Baptism and preaching.  She is the mother who feeds us and nurtures us with Jesus in the Supper.  The Church is a picture of Mary.  Mary is a picture of the Church.  We honor Mary and we honor the Church because she brings us Jesus.  For in the end, it’s all about Jesus.  Not Mary.  Her last recorded words in Scripture are these, and they refer us to her Son: “Do whatever he tells you” (John 2:5).  She always points us to Jesus.  She doesn’t want the attention.  She wants us to hear and believe in her Son.  We honor Mary, not for Mary’s sake, but for Jesus’ sake. 

            For Jesus is the One we worship and to and through whom we pray.  He hears us and He answers us.  He is not angry with us.  He does not long to damn us.  He is our one and only Redeemer from sin, death, and the devil.  He came for us.  He gave Himself for us.  He died for us on the cross.  He is risen and lives and reigns for us.  He loves us and wants us for His own.  He is the only mediator we need.  He alone is sinless, and He takes away our sins.  He sits in heaven at the right hand of the Father in His body, and He rules all things for the good of His people.  Tonight begins the celebration of His holy Nativity, His birth of the Virgin Mary.  We’ll hear a lot about Mary tonight and in the coming days of Christmas (there are Twelve of them, after all!).  But in hearing of Mary, we’ll hear the voice of Jesus.  Don’t shy away from her, Lutherans!  She’s beautiful.  She’s beautiful in her faith.  She’s beautiful in her bringing us Jesus. 

            It’s almost Christmas.  Just a few more hours.  You can almost hear the angels singing.  We can hardly contain our joy.  This morning St. Mary gives us our final Advent instructions, the last few moments of Advent preparation.  We are the Lord’s servants.  May it be to us according to His Word.  That is the posture of the Church.  That is the posture of faith.  That is the posture that receives Christ and His eternal salvation.  Merry Advent, beloved!  Rejoice!  Emmanuel comes.  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son (+), and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.