“The Faith of Mary—The Faith of Christians”: 12/24/2006
Pastor David Nicol
Micah 5:2-5a Hebrews 10:5-10 Luke 1:39-45
Over the last few decades, Protestant Christians have begun to rediscover the Virgin Mary. That’s odd, really, since she’s fairly easy to find—right there at the beginning of Luke’s Gospel, throughout the Gospels actually, and again in the creeds. Somehow, we lost her when we still said the creeds, and when many Protestants have been saying the creeds less often; we’ve found her again!
I think finding Mary, blessed, faithful Mary, is a good thing for Christians. I’m not suggesting Protestants try to imitate Roman Catholic devotion to Mary—we don’t think about the Communion of Saints that way—but when we lost Mary, sometime during the Reformation, we also lost the examples of many of the saints who had gone before. We didn’t abandon the principle of imitating the saints; we just tended to focus it on the most saintly members of our congregations. That’s not a bad thing to do—in fact, learning how to live like a Christian is far easier when we have an example to follow—but in our drive to reform the Church, we’ve lost sight of some powerful examples in the Bible. These we need to regain, because the example of the lives of faith of Biblical saints helps us understand what to look for in good examples of faith in our own communities: while we still might have some work to do, I think rediscovering Mary, blessed, faithful Mary, is a good thing for Christians who want to know what the faith of Christians should look like.
When Christians have faith in the transforming power of God, through a life-giving relationship with Jesus Christ, it doesn’t matter who we are, how much money we earn, what education we have, or where we come from. When we believe that the Lord will fulfill his promises to us, we can do amazing things! God doesn’t measure using worldly standards—God measures based on faith, usually choosing to work through the least-likely people, in the least-likely places, because faithfulness does not come just to those people who expect to have it, and is often found in greater measure in those people who don’t expect to have it!
Luke tells us that when Elizabeth heard Mary’s voice, the baby in her womb leapt for joy, and filled with the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth praised God and prophesied about both Mary and Jesus! Finally, Elizabeth explained why Mary was blessed—“Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” Elizabeth cried out!
As Elizabeth said, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Mary was blessed; but Mary was blessed not just because she would become the mother of Jesus Christ, God-Made-Flesh, but because “…she…believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her.” Mary believed, and so she was blessed! Mary, the unwed, teenage mother… the least of the least… someone whose life was forfeit according to the Law for suspicion of adultery, someone who if she lived would spend a life on the edge of society, without the guarantee of economic security, without any worldly guarantees at all…Mary, blessed, faithful, holy Mary believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her and so she conceived by the Holy Spirit and carried the Son of God!
While the genealogies in Matthew and Luke both tell us that Jesus came from the family of King David, a royal lineage, he didn’t come from the most-likely branch! Kings are born in capitol cities, in royal palaces, laid on beds of silk, and cared for by great physicians. Even in the Ancient world that would have been the case. It certainly was the case for the children of King Herod in Jerusalem, in the royal palace, surrounded by comfort and all the best that wealth and power could buy.
But the Messiah wasn’t born in a palace, or even in the Great City, Jerusalem. No, Jesus was born to an unwed mother, in Bethlehem, a town on the outskirts of the great city, in a stable, laid in a feed trough, surrounded not by doctors and nursemaids, but by shepherds—solitary nomadic shepherds, the poorest of the poor who lived much of their lives alone, out in the fields, caring for their sheep.
Jesus was born, so that by his life of righteousness, his death on the cross, and his resurrection and ascension, he could reconcile us to God. As Christians, as Disciples of Jesus Christ, we are called to spread the Good News of what God has done for us and make more disciples. If as Christians we have faith like Mary, faith that ‘…believes that the Lord will fulfill his promises to us,’ then it doesn’t matter who we are, how much money we earn, what education we have, or where we live, with God, we can do amazing things! Jesus was born in Bethlehem, not Jerusalem, and if we have faith, then the power of God might begin to spread this Christmas, reaching people who have never had a life-transforming relationship with Jesus Christ. If we in this church have faith, here in Buxton, a small town, in the shadow of Portland, the great city, then God can use us to begin to reach a lost, lonely, hurting world that needs to know the true meaning of Christmas! Jesus was born in Bethlehem to change the world. Because Mary had faith, God used her, the most unlikely of people, to fulfill his purpose in the most unlikely of places. If we have faith like Mary, we, the most unlikely of people in the most unlikely of places might be used by God to bring the Good News not just to our families and friends, not just to Buxton and Hollis and Standish and Cornish, but also to Gorham and Portland! If we have faith, then the revival that shares the true meaning of Christmas, that offers a new and life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ can start here, and spread throughout the county, the State, all of New England, or even beyond!
God uses the most unlikely of people with faith! You can have that transforming relationship today, it’s never too early or too late! If we as a Church have faith, trust in God, and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, the Lord will fulfill his promises to us—and anything can happen!
Micah 5:2-5a Hebrews 10:5-10 Luke 1:39-45
Over the last few decades, Protestant Christians have begun to rediscover the Virgin Mary. That’s odd, really, since she’s fairly easy to find—right there at the beginning of Luke’s Gospel, throughout the Gospels actually, and again in the creeds. Somehow, we lost her when we still said the creeds, and when many Protestants have been saying the creeds less often; we’ve found her again!
I think finding Mary, blessed, faithful Mary, is a good thing for Christians. I’m not suggesting Protestants try to imitate Roman Catholic devotion to Mary—we don’t think about the Communion of Saints that way—but when we lost Mary, sometime during the Reformation, we also lost the examples of many of the saints who had gone before. We didn’t abandon the principle of imitating the saints; we just tended to focus it on the most saintly members of our congregations. That’s not a bad thing to do—in fact, learning how to live like a Christian is far easier when we have an example to follow—but in our drive to reform the Church, we’ve lost sight of some powerful examples in the Bible. These we need to regain, because the example of the lives of faith of Biblical saints helps us understand what to look for in good examples of faith in our own communities: while we still might have some work to do, I think rediscovering Mary, blessed, faithful Mary, is a good thing for Christians who want to know what the faith of Christians should look like.
When Christians have faith in the transforming power of God, through a life-giving relationship with Jesus Christ, it doesn’t matter who we are, how much money we earn, what education we have, or where we come from. When we believe that the Lord will fulfill his promises to us, we can do amazing things! God doesn’t measure using worldly standards—God measures based on faith, usually choosing to work through the least-likely people, in the least-likely places, because faithfulness does not come just to those people who expect to have it, and is often found in greater measure in those people who don’t expect to have it!
Luke tells us that when Elizabeth heard Mary’s voice, the baby in her womb leapt for joy, and filled with the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth praised God and prophesied about both Mary and Jesus! Finally, Elizabeth explained why Mary was blessed—“Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” Elizabeth cried out!
As Elizabeth said, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Mary was blessed; but Mary was blessed not just because she would become the mother of Jesus Christ, God-Made-Flesh, but because “…she…believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her.” Mary believed, and so she was blessed! Mary, the unwed, teenage mother… the least of the least… someone whose life was forfeit according to the Law for suspicion of adultery, someone who if she lived would spend a life on the edge of society, without the guarantee of economic security, without any worldly guarantees at all…Mary, blessed, faithful, holy Mary believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her and so she conceived by the Holy Spirit and carried the Son of God!
While the genealogies in Matthew and Luke both tell us that Jesus came from the family of King David, a royal lineage, he didn’t come from the most-likely branch! Kings are born in capitol cities, in royal palaces, laid on beds of silk, and cared for by great physicians. Even in the Ancient world that would have been the case. It certainly was the case for the children of King Herod in Jerusalem, in the royal palace, surrounded by comfort and all the best that wealth and power could buy.
But the Messiah wasn’t born in a palace, or even in the Great City, Jerusalem. No, Jesus was born to an unwed mother, in Bethlehem, a town on the outskirts of the great city, in a stable, laid in a feed trough, surrounded not by doctors and nursemaids, but by shepherds—solitary nomadic shepherds, the poorest of the poor who lived much of their lives alone, out in the fields, caring for their sheep.
Jesus was born, so that by his life of righteousness, his death on the cross, and his resurrection and ascension, he could reconcile us to God. As Christians, as Disciples of Jesus Christ, we are called to spread the Good News of what God has done for us and make more disciples. If as Christians we have faith like Mary, faith that ‘…believes that the Lord will fulfill his promises to us,’ then it doesn’t matter who we are, how much money we earn, what education we have, or where we live, with God, we can do amazing things! Jesus was born in Bethlehem, not Jerusalem, and if we have faith, then the power of God might begin to spread this Christmas, reaching people who have never had a life-transforming relationship with Jesus Christ. If we in this church have faith, here in Buxton, a small town, in the shadow of Portland, the great city, then God can use us to begin to reach a lost, lonely, hurting world that needs to know the true meaning of Christmas! Jesus was born in Bethlehem to change the world. Because Mary had faith, God used her, the most unlikely of people, to fulfill his purpose in the most unlikely of places. If we have faith like Mary, we, the most unlikely of people in the most unlikely of places might be used by God to bring the Good News not just to our families and friends, not just to Buxton and Hollis and Standish and Cornish, but also to Gorham and Portland! If we have faith, then the revival that shares the true meaning of Christmas, that offers a new and life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ can start here, and spread throughout the county, the State, all of New England, or even beyond!
God uses the most unlikely of people with faith! You can have that transforming relationship today, it’s never too early or too late! If we as a Church have faith, trust in God, and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, the Lord will fulfill his promises to us—and anything can happen!
posted by Rev. David Nicol at 10:00 AM
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