August 15, 2021 – St. Mary, the Virgin

Mary was the mother of God’s Son, but we share the same flesh as her, and are also part of God’s purpose and plan

Let us pray.  Holy and gracious God, we give you thanks for your presence in this time and place, and within each one of us, in the many places we are gathered this day. Help us now to open our minds, our hearts, our whole lives, to receive the gift of your living Word for us this day; and may the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer.  Amen.

Today we celebrate the Feast of Saint Mary, the Virgin – the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ.  All Christians recognize her as Jesus’ mother – the mother of the Son of God.  Some believe that Mary was “ever-virgin” and that the references in Scriptures to Jesus’ siblings were actually to his cousins, not his living brothers and sisters.  Some believe that Mary did not die a physical death but that God ‘assumed’ her into heaven – hence in some denominations today is referred to as the “Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.”  On the other end of the spectrum, in the biblical languages, the word for ‘virgin’ is not necessarily referring to the lack of sexual intercourse but rather to a young woman or a young maiden. So we need to realize that all of these interpretations are basically expressing that the baby that Mary bore – Jesus – was the Son of God.  That’s what each of those beliefs, those doctrines, is trying to express – fully human but also fully divine.

So let’s look at Mary.  And I want to focus in particular on her affiliations in her past and in her future.  Now these affiliations or connections are fleshed out so that they become sources of power and grace – God’s power.  So let me illustrate what I mean in this First Reading from Isaiah.  It’s Isaiah 7:10-15 – 6 verses.  The prophet is speaking to King Ahaz.  He’s the king of Judah and Judah, at that point, is a small little country being threatened by aggressive and hostile neighbouring nations.  All of this is happening about 2700 years ago.  Isaiah is challenging Ahaz not to panic but to wait – to trust that God will deliver Judah, and in just a few short years, such that a baby born could be named ‘Emmanuel’ – God is with us, because it will be plain to see that God is with Judah because Judah will be delivered.

Now 800 years later, the Gospel writers see an affiliation – a connection – between the son born of Mary who is literally “God with us”, and the ancient promise of God coming to reign – of God’s Kingdom being fulfilled.  And so that passage finds its way into the readings celebrating Mary and celebrating the birth of Jesus at Christmas.  Then, into this Gospel Reading, Mary does the same thing.  She rejoices in the fact that the baby she is carrying represents God literally saving God’s people – fulfilling the same ancient promises all the way back to Abraham.  So the connection, or the affiliation, that Mary makes, makes real the powerful act that God is doing.  God’s people have been brought low under the rule of foreign powers – particularly Rome.  But now, God is acting to establish God’s Kingdom of justice, mercy and peace.  Mary places herself, and what God is doing through her, into the great story of God’s saving acts and love.  In other words, that’s the affiliation – the connection – and so therefore, she, little Mary living in Nazareth in Galilee, becomes an integral part of almighty God’s creating and redeeming eternal actions.  It is awesome!

Now, I want to suggest that you and I make these connections – these affiliations – in our own lives, sometimes hardly even consciously, either physically or psychologically/spiritually so to speak.  Let me explain.  For instance, if you’re an indigenous person living in the Red River valley, especially if you’re Anishinaabe, you try and trace your family lineage back to Chief Peguis and to his sons carrying the name ‘Prince.”  That’s the affiliation you explore to see if you’re part of it.  Now if you’re of British or English descent, you might explore whether you’re related to English royalty at some point in the far past. And when you make these connections, if you do, you are somehow connected – affiliated – grafted into something bigger, more powerful, and more wonderful – with greater potential and purpose.  It’s almost as though you feel the blood of those ancient, great people flowing through your own veins.  Now we don’t do this only through physical connection, but also through a kind of psycho/spiritual affiliation too.  Perhaps you strongly identify with a great artist, or musician – maybe a social activist, an educator, or an athlete; and in living into the affiliation – kind of - in your mind and your soul - you realize a greater potential, purpose, and ultimately grace, in our own life.  Now I’m sure as I’m going through this sermon, that you can identify some of those affiliations in your life – either through your physical DNA or through your spiritual DNA.  There are people who identify with and relate to, and in some way connect your life to theirs.

One personal experience for me was this one that happened almost 40 years ago.  During my ordination training, which happened in southern Ontario, Nancy and I went, one summer, to northern Alberta and I was a summer theological intern.  I had recently found out at that time, that my great-grandfather had been an Anglican minister in that parish that I was now serving, back in WW1.  So when I was invited to preach at what would be my first funeral service, the officiating priest spoke to the congregation about my great-grandfather and his ministry, and then concluded that by saying that “today, his great grandson is with us as the preacher.”  I felt humbled but I also felt empowered.  I was meant to be there as part of God’s ongoing plan and purpose in that place – a powerful affiliation with my great-grandfather, Robert Edward Randall, and also part of God’s plan and purpose.

Now, in today’s Second Reading, Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, is making some of those kind of same connections and affiliations for the Galatians.  To his Jewish listeners, he is explaining that this Jesus, the Christ, was born as one of them, and through his life, death, and resurrection has literally made them ‘children of God’, alongside Jesus - alongside him.  To his Gentile listeners, the connection is spiritual rather than physical, and they too, in identifying with Jesus, have been made ‘children of God, alongside Jesus Christ – all of them filled with God’s Spirit, all of them identifying as fellow children of God.

And now, back to Mary, a young woman in Palestine, same flesh as ours – a mother – all of you mothers can certainly identify with her.  All of us are born of a mother – we can identify.  Mary, one who trusted God, yielded herself to God’s intentions, and placed her faith in God’s purpose.  And as we trust ourselves and our lives to God; as we seek out and yield to God’s intentions in our lives and place our faith in God’s purpose, we share in the spiritual DNA of Mary.  Remember there was no glorious choir singing the Magnificat as Mary was struggling with six months of pregnancy.  There were no synagogues or churches named ‘St. Mary’s’.  There were no statues or Madonnas being crafted as she lived out the life that God called her to.  So it is with us.  We are the same flesh and spiritual DNA as Mary.  She is our sister, and Jesus Christ is both Lord and brother of us all.

So as we will pray today in the Prayer Over the Gifts – you will pray these words, “God of mercy, receive all we offer you this day.  May we share, with the Virgin Mary, the joys of your eternal Kingdom, and live with you in unending love.  We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.”  Amen.