Sermon Notes Dec. 18-Lk.1:26-55

I was raised Roman Catholic in the old days. Part of our devotion was to Mary, where her statue was in church with candles we could light for special prayers. We had a beautiful grotto next to our little church for prayer, where we could ask for our protection of her robe flung over us for ourselves or people in our family. When my then-spouse was in law school at Notre Dame (Our Lady) students and alumni flocked to visit a gorgeous grotto on that model of a campus. I fully grasp why Protestants shy away from devotion to Mary, but I do fear that we do not pay her the Biblical respect she is clearly given, especially in the gospel of Luke. I think that we transferred some Marian devotion to Jesus, but I fear that we have neglected her words and spiritual power.

Mary could well have been very young by our standards; we are not given her age.I wonder how the angel would have reacted if Mary did not consent to the announcement made to her. I think the angel rightly has a male name as the angle seems to misread her feelings. Luke says that Mary is perplexed, not afraid. Mary is a thinker. What we say is ponder is more like tossing it back and forth, considering angles. She does not have a blind faith but she works through the meaning of events, processes them. Maybe Mary was an introvert who needed time and space to work things out on her own. She does the same pondering in her heart after the shepherds see her at the manger scene and when they found young Jesus in the temple at 12. Oh to be hospitable and open to the presence of god in ourselves and others as was mary.

Mary travels, while she is expecting, to go see Elizabeth who is also expecting by a miracle. The child in her womb reacts, actually responds in joy, when Mary greets her. Mary has been doing some deep thinking on the way. This prayer is based on Hannah's prayer, she too has a miraculous birth. More than that, Mary places herself with a list of Biblical women who have the miracle of giving life become possible for them. Then she sees herself as a representative of the poor as well. this birth is the start of a new age. This will be the start of the great reversal by and of, God. Now things will be different.

Her prayers sends chills down our spines because it could well be directed at us an individuals and certainly as members of a nation possessed of extraordinary power. When we are at the top, it is so tempting to treat those beneath with sneers and scorn. I got to see the restored silent classic, Metropolis, a couple of weeks ago. In it the people who live in a veritable Eden on the surface do so on the backs of the proles beneath. when the leader is asked about this arrangement, he replies that they are where they belong.So we treat people without the dignity and respect they deserve, as if they are the help, servants, in our own personal movie. At the same time, we have gotten so touchy, on the lookout for any grievance, any slip that may threaten our sense of self and proper position and status. People gather at holiday gatherings on edge, just waiting to judge and be judged.
The angel tells Mary that nothing is impossible with God. So much social progress has been made since she uttered ti so many years ago. Today’s young people seem to be a more tolerant lot, understanding of human imperfections, yet they retain some measure of idealism for common aims.That may well work for congregations and denominations too. One day the story of Scrooge or the Grinch may well have a social counterpart, where a village discovers Christmas generosity of spirit and peace.