Sunday
12/23/18 - Sidney UMC
Sermon Title: “Mary did you know?”
(“Hope is Coming” Series – Part 4 of 5)
Old Testament
Scripture: Micah 5:2-5a
New Testament
Scripture: Hebrews 10:5-10
Gospel Lesson:
Luke 1:39-45
So some people that I know think that the title of the song
“Mary did you know?” makes no sense. Some people have said, “Have you ever told
a pregnant women that she would have a baby?” I can’t imagine walking up to a
woman that is 7-months pregnant and saying, “Did you know that you are going to
have a baby?” I can only imagine what here answer would be. This morning in our
gospel of Luke reading, Mary is told that she was about be pregnant, as she
wasn’t pregnant yet.
In fairness through, around asking a 7-month pregnant woman
about being pregnant, I have seen a show on television about women who didn’t
know they were pregnant. I of course am not a woman. This might be a shock for
some of you to hear! Yet, I just don’t get how a woman didn’t know she was
pregnant until she went into labor. That’s a discussion for another day though!
In the gospel of Luke 1:26-38 we have what is commonly
called the “Annunciation of Mary”. This means, this is the place in the gospel
of Luke where the Angel Gabriel tells Mary that she will bear the Messiah, the Christ
Child. I went to this place in Israel 4-years ago, and it was beautiful. So this
is what Luke 1:26-38 says:
“In the sixth month the angel
Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin
engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s
name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord
is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do
not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will
conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be
great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give
to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob
forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How
can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit
will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore
the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of
God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son;
and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will
be impossible with God.” Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord;
let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her” (Lk. 1:26-38, NRSV).
So, did Mary know? Well of course she did! I don’t think
that the song “Mary did you know?” is meant to be a literal question. I think
it is more to say Mary did you fully realize who this child was that you were
carrying in your womb? I don’t think that Mary fully got all of it. I mean how
could fully understand all that God was, is, and will be.
For the past few weeks, we have been going through Advent
and discussing all that Advent is. In the process of this, I have been preaching
on how Jesus Christ is the “Hope” that “is coming” amongst us. I talked about
how Advent is a season to prepare for Christ’s birth, how can invite him daily
into our hearts, and how can be prepared for this glorious second coming to
earth. In the second week of this the “Hope is coming” series, I talked about
the “Messianic Prophecy”. These are all of the predictions in the Old Testament
or the Hebrew Bible about what the Messiah, what Jesus would be like. Mary,
having been a devout Jew would have learned extensively the Hebrew Bible or the
Old Testament. In the process of this, Mary must of indeed have known much of
what her son Jesus would do. This is because so much of Jesus’ life and death
was predicted in the Old Testament or the Hebrew Bible.
In the gospel lesson that I just read from Luke 1:26-38,
the Angel Gabriel also tells Mary that her much older Aunt Elizabeth is
six-months pregnant. Elizabeth of course is carrying John the Baptist. Jesus’
cousin John the Baptist is the one in whom the Old Testament Prophet Isaiah said
would prepare the way of the Lord. Isaiah said that John the Baptist would
prepare hearts and minds for the coming of Jesus Christ.
Last
week, I said like John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus Christ that
preparing the way for others can be a great gift. We are all called in this
season of Advent, and soon to be Christmas, to prepare the way for each other.
We are called to love, heal, and forgive, as we draw ever closer to the light
that is Jesus Christ.
It is interesting that the Angel Gabriel tells Mary that
her much old Aunt Elizabeth is six-months pregnant, because in our gospel of
Luke reading for this morning Mary then goes to visit her aunt Elizabeth.
Before reading this gospel lesson once again, our reading from the Old
Testament Prophet Micah for this morning, predicts the birth of Christ (Mic.
5:2-5a, NRSV). In this scripture, the Prophet Micah names the birthplace of the
Messiah as Bethlehem. Micah says this Messiah will rule Israel, and will be great.
In fact, the scripture says again that this Messiah:
“Shall be the one of peace” (Mic.
5:5a, NRSV).
On the titles for Jesus Christ, is of course the “Prince of
Peace”.
This morning, once again, The Apostle Paul tells the
Hebrews in our Epistle or letter of Hebrews reading that Christ offered himself
as a sacrificed for us (Heb. 10:5-10, NRSV). In doing so, we can be saved and
reconciled to God’s grace. This means that the light is Christ is in us, and we
can share it with each other, and with the world.
So back to this morning’s gospel lesson from Luke. Did Mary
know? Well yeah! I wonder though if she really knew fully just how marvelous
Jesus would be. I can’t imagine what it would be like to hold and cradle the
living God. Let’s look again at what Luke 1:39-45 says for this morning. It
says in reference to Mary visiting her Aunt Elizabeth who is pregnant with John
the Baptist:
“In those days Mary set out and went with
haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of
Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the
child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among
women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me,
that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of
your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who
believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the
Lord” (Lk. 1:39-45, NRSV).
So John the
Baptist leaps in the womb of his mother Elizabeth when Mary enters the room
with Jesus in her womb. I can’t imagine how exciting and yet terrifying it must
have been for Mary to carry the savior of the world, Jesus. I mean she knew from
the Old Testament or the Hebrew Scriptures that this child that she was
carrying would be the savior of the world. She also knew how he would die.
When the Angel
Gabriel came to Mary, she was likely teenager, and wasn’t married to Joseph
yet. Initially Joseph cut of the engagement, and I can only imagine what Mary’s
parents thought. I mean what is it like to carry and give birth to God in the flesh?
Did Mary know?
Of course, but how could one truly and fully know and understand all that
Christ was going to be and still is? I don’t know about you but I love to see
the children come up for the children’s time every Sunday. They are always fun,
often cute, and oh so honest!
Don’t we look at our
children, grand-children, and great grandchildren with great hope? When the
baby is born and we hold them for the first time, don’t we look upon that child
and wonder what will become of them? We wonder what this child will do, who
they will become, and how their life will be. Imagine what it would be like to
carry and give birth to the living God? “Mary did you know?” She sure did, but
did she really understand it all? I doubt it.
I want to tell
you story about the love of child, as we await the birth of Christ that is
coming very soon. This story is called “A Box of Kisses,” by an unknown author.
This is how the story goes as it says:
“The story goes that some time ago,
a man punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping
paper. Money was tight and he became infuriated when the child tried to
decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree. Nevertheless, the little girl
brought the gift to her father the next morning and said, "This is for
you, Daddy." He was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, but his anger
flared again when he found the box was empty. He yelled at her, "Don't you
know that when you give someone a present, there's supposed to be something
inside it?" The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and
said, "Oh, Daddy, it is not empty. I blew kisses into the box. All for
you, Daddy." The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little
girl, and he begged for her forgiveness. It is told that the man kept that gold
box by his bed for years and whenever he was discouraged, he would take out an
imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there”
(https://www.great-inspirational-quotes.com/a-box-of-kisses.html).
Mary did you know? Oh she knew, and how many of you wouldn’t
trade your kids, your grand-kids, or your great grandkids for anything? Mary
the blessed virgin, the mother of the savior, the Mother of God is carrying the
savior of the world. Very soon, I mean very soon, Mary will give birth to this
miracle, the savior, the Christ Child. Then one day this child that Mary will
deliver soon, will deliver her, will deliver us, and will deliver all of
humanity. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment