Calvary Lutheran Church

Ave Maria

Grace and peace to you from him who is, who was, and who is to come, Christ Jesus our blessed Lord and Savior. Amen

Luke 1:26-38

“The angel went to her and said, Greetings, you who are highly favored!

The Lord is with you.’” (verse 28)

Dear Christian friends:

            The name Mary is one of the most popular names in the world and always has been. There are no less than seven different Marys mentioned in the New Testament. In a previous church where I served, we had 23 members whose first or middle name was “Mary” or a variation of it. My wife’s middle name is “Marie.” I believe it would be safe to say that there have been millions and millions of little baby girls who have carried the name “Mary” throughout their lives.  

           But there is one Mary who stands out above all the others. She is sometimes referred to as the “Virgin Mary.” And when those two words “virgin” and “Mary” are put together, almost everyone, especially Christians, knows immediately who is being referred to. It is, of course, Mary the wife of Joseph, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Judah, of the family of David, the mother of Christ, the mother of God.  

          Now God, of course, has no literal mother. But God-incarnate, as true man in the form of Christ Jesus, did. And that mother in whose womb the incarnate-Christ miraculously laid, that mother on whom the helpless infant-Christ depended for all his needs, that mother to whom the Christ-child ran for a drink of water and with a skinned knee for comfort and love, was Mary, the mother of Jesus.

          At Christmas, of course, the central figure of our worship and praise is on the child not on the mother. But of all the other participants of that first Christmas, which included Zechariah, Elizabeth, Joseph, the inn keeper, the shepherds, Simeon, Anna, and the Maji, Mary, the mother of God would have to take the next position in honor after Christ. And so this morning we say with the angel,

“AVE MARIA”

“Hail Mary." You most definitely were highly favored, and the Lord certainly was with you.

            The events of the annunciation, as this text is called, are carefully documented for us in Luke’s gospel. A messenger was sent from heaven to announce that a conception would take place which would involve the very Son of God. The messenger was an angel named Gabriel and the place to which the angel was sent was Nazareth, an obscure town in Galilee. When I say obscure, I mean obscure. Nothing of any significance ever happened in Nazareth. It is not  mentioned even once in the whole Old Testament. The Talmud, the Jewish law book that named many obscure places, does not mention Nazareth. Josephus, the Jewish historian who enumerated no less than 204 towns and cities in Galilee, does not include Nazareth in his list.

            But God’s blessings cannot be deterred by obscurity—God knows where you live. And no blind corner in the nothing town of Nazareth could hide the blessed virgin from the angel. He finds her and gives her a two-fold message. First, she will give birth to a child—a child who will be called the “Son of the Most High.” Secondly, the conception of that child will be made possible by the power of the Holy Spirit.

            Now that is quite a message. And what impresses us most about Mary is the calmness with which she accepted it. After the initial fright of seeing an angel had passed, after a question of practicality had been answered concerning a virgin giving birth to a child, Mary said humbly, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.”

            A lot of women would have been dazzled and overly-excited by the angel’s message. Mary was not. Some might have been immediately puffed up with pride and self-importance. Mary was not. Why? Because the thought of God’s presence with her and in her removed all thought of self. She could not think of her greatness, lest it detract from God’s greatness. She was nothing, God was everything.

            Oh, to learn from Mary; oh, to go through life feeling that God is everything and we are nothing; that whether he makes us popular and famous or leaves us obscure and ordinary, it doesn’t matter, because both can be to his glory. We must learn to be content where God would have us be. We must learn to do what God would have us do. Yes, sometimes we must even suffer what God would have us suffer, but it is all to his glory.  

             God does not put us into situations randomly. Paul told the Athenians, that in him (God) we live and move and have our being. He determines the times set for us and the exact places where we should live. God calls one to a professional life and another to a laborer’s life. God calls one to a religious vocation, another to a secular vocation. God calls one to serve him in married life and another to serve him in single life. He calls one to serve him in wealth, and another in poverty. He calls one to serve in health and another to serve in sickness. But whatever the calling, we accept it with a hearty, generous embrace. Notice, I didn’t say mere resignation, but a hearty, generous embrace.

            That’s what Mary did, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you will.” Genuine humility, that’s what made Mary great. And that’s what made her favored by God. God was willing to entrust his Son to her, because he knew that she would never intrude herself upon the world, or try to get at least a share of her Son’s glory. No. She was lowly when the angel made his wonderful announcement to her, and she remained meek and lowly of heart to the end.

            But also, Mary was great and therefore favored by God because of her courageous faith. Most would have considered such a calling far too difficult to accept. Moses felt that way when God called him to lead the Children of Israel out of Egypt. Elijah felt that way when he thought he was the only believer left in Israel. Many a Christian life is poor and miserable because of cowardice. But Mary didn’t have it. If she did, she allowed her faith to overcome it, especially when she considered the suspicion that would follow her conception.

            Had the Lord forgotten about her engagement? Here she was to bear a child who supposedly had no earthly father. How would she break that news to Joseph? And worst—what would the Nazareth society say about her even without social media? She knew Mosaic Law. She knew the penalty for unwed mothers. Sure, the angel was with her now, but he would disappear and leave her alone to face the neighbors and the town by herself. And who was going to believe an angelic visit and a miraculous conception? I tell you, it took courage for her to say, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.”

            How many times throughout the Bible does God tell us not to be afraid? The psalmist wrote, “When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?” (Psalm 56:3-4). Is there any mortal human being that you fear or feel intimidated by—a boss, a neighbor, a fellow student? Why? We have God’s promise in his word, “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:1). Remember, you and God always make up a majority. The way to overcome the fear of certain people in your lives is to replace the fear with love, yes, love even for enemies. John wrote, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear” (1 John 4:18).

            Are there any circumstances in life you fear? It seems the more prosperous a people, the more fear, anxiety, and worry they possesses. In the poverty-stricken, third-world of Antigua where we used to live we saw some of the most content, happy people we have ever met. Of course, at that time, they had only one television station that came on in the later afternoon and that started with Sesame Street. Here we have a media 24-hours a day that thrives on our fears. Every day, it seems especially now, we are bombarded in the media with reasons to fear because of the political state of our government. Every day a new crisis is reported that deserves our fear. If we were truly fearful of everything the media or friends or relatives told us to fear, we wouldn’t bother getting out bed in the morning. A magazine, USA Weekend, ran a cover story entitled, “Fear: What Americans Are Afraid of Today.” Here are some of the results:

            54% are ‘afraid” or “very afraid” of being in a car crash.

            53% are “afraid” or “very afraid” of having cancer.

            49% are “afraid” or “very afraid” of not having enough money in retirement.

            35% are “afraid” or “very afraid” of getting Alzheimer’s.

            25% are “afraid” or “very afraid” of natural disasters.

           Might these circumstances happen? Yes, but being afraid of them will not prevent them from happening. Be cautious, yes; take preventative measures, yes; but do not fear. Paul wrote to the Romans, “You did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15). When we feel fear coming on, we go to the Father, just like a little child goes to their parent when they are afraid or upset.

            After the circumstances of the birth of Jesus, we don’t hear much of Mary in Scripture. Once at the temple in Jerusalem when Jesus was twelve he had to remind Mary that he was the Son of God and not just the son of Mary. Once at a wedding in Cana, Jesus had to remind her that his absolute obedience to her was ended. Now she was to obey him.

            The next time we see Mary is at the foot of the cross when Jesus’ time of suffering was coming to an end, and he instructed her to look to John as her son who would take care of her from then on. After Jesus’ ascension Mary is seen for a moment in the company of the disciples in Acts 1 where we are told, “All joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus and his brothers” (Acts 1:14). The epistles make no mention of her at all.

            So was Mary the most blessed among all women of the world? There was no crown to wear for her head, no Oscars to win for her mantle, no public office to hold, no company to lead as CEO, no fortune to inherit. But there was something far better. She bore the body that would hang on a cross for the forgiveness of sins for all mankind. She bore the body that would rise from the death and secure the resurrection of all the dead. She bore the body that would be glorified and lead the way to heaven. It is in these things that Mary discovered her blessedness, for she truly was the mother of her and the world’s Savior.

            In her song, Mary predicted that all generations from then on would call her blessed. That is what we have done this morning in our generation. “Ave Maria, hail Mary." Because of the Savior you bore, we certainly do call you and ourselves blessed. Amen.

May we pray:

Dear Lord Jesus, to demonstrate your true humanity, you were conceived and born to a woman—the virgin Mary. How blessed she was to be chosen of all women of the world. And today we, too, call her blessed. But her great example to us is her humility. You, too, humbled yourself when you left your throne in heaven to take the body of a lowly baby. May our faith in you lead us to humble ourselves and to put your interests and your commands first in our lives. And her great example to us was her courage in faith. You, too, showed your courage when you faced the cross with not just courage but joy. May we always overcome our fear of others or of our situations in life by driving them out with love—love for all, even our enemies, and love for you in whom we trust. With Mary we say to you, “We are your servants, may it be to us as you have ordained.” Amen.