December 16, 2001
Isaiah 9:2-7
    RSV KJV NIV CEV
Luke 1:26-36
    RSV KJV NIV CEV

“Hail Mary, Blessed Art Thou Among Women”

Isn’t it amazing that, as well as we know the Christmas story, we know so little about the main characters. We know only a little about Joseph and virtually nothing about Mary. We know nothing about her background, nothing about her parents and nothing about her youth. Out of the blue, she appears in the pages of the scriptures as one who has found favor with God. 

Arguably, this is one of the best known stories in the world, yet even the gospel writers cannot agree about the details.  Matthew simply says, “Now the birth of Jesus took place in this way.  When his Mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be  with child of the Holy Spirit; and Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame resolved to divorce her quietly.  But as he considered this an angel of the lord appeared to him in a dream and said . . .” and the account continues about how great this child will be.

Mark does not even address the issue.  The birth simply is not important to his emphasis in writing about Jesus.  Mark’s gospel begins with the story about Jesus’ baptism by John in the Jordan.

Luke is by far the most detailed of the gospel writers, yet even he does not tell us too much.  His book begins with the birth story of John, the Baptist, about which we spoke last Sunday.  Late in the first chapter, Luke inserts, “In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent to a city in Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgins name was Mary.”  And the story continues.

In John’s first chapter, he begins with a theological discussion concerning the coming of the Word and in that same chapter, launches into the life of Jesus with the Baptism by John.

Compounding the issue is that Matthew’s task is to convince the people of Israel that this baby comes in the line of King David.  It is very important to Matthew that this ancestry be established if Jesus is going to be accepted by the people of Matthew’s day.  Matthew believes that Jesus               is the Messiah, so establishing the line from David is crucial to his Jewish audience.  Thus, Matthew’s account begins with a genealogical list.  It begins with Abraham and ends in verse 16 with these words, “and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary of whom Jesus as born, who is called Christ.”

We hear so little of Joseph, yet the ancestry of Jesus comes through Joseph.  Now wait a minute.  Doesn’t it say that Mary was a virgin whose husband had not “known her completely so she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit?”

Let me try and explain.  Mary was betrothed to Joseph, and in that society, a betrothal lasted for one year, and it was considered to be as binding as a marriage; in fact, it could be broken only by divorce.  If the man to which a girl –– and they were girls, much younger than their betrothed partners –– dies, in the law of that day, the girl was considered a widow.  There occurs in Jewish law the strange phrase, “A virgin who is a widow.” (Barclay on Luke, page 12)

Taken literally, the passage is loaded with difficulties: but seen as a literary technique, we see the story is a signal that this baby is a very special person.  A special entry signified that fact.  Leaders born of virgins were not unfamiliar to the people of that age.  Such writing would be received as ‘here is someone very special; pay attention to him.’  That is why the genealogy could come through Joseph and why Mary could exclaim, when Jesus was left behind at the temple, “your Father and I have been looking for you anxiously.” (Lu. 2:48) and that is why Jesus was repeatedly spoken of, as Joseph’s son. (Matt 13:55; John 6:42)

However you choose to believe it, the story says that a heavenly appearance came and said to Mary, “Hail, favored one, the Lord is with you.”  Mary was troubled in her mind, but the appearance went on to say, “do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  And you shall conceive in your womb, and bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus.  (Lu. 30f)  Why Jesus?  Perhaps because the leader of the Children of Israel, when they came into the promised land after the long trek from Egypt, was Joshua, which is Hebrew for the Greek word, Jesus.

What intrigues me about the Christmas story is its similarity to other significant births in the Bible.  First, there is the story of Abram and Sarai.  Their names were changed later to be Abraham and Sarah.  Abram is called, by God, to leave his home in Ur of the Caldeans (now Iraq).  He and Sarai headed south, not knowing what their destination was going to be.

It’s a long story, but, during the trek God says to Abraham, “I will make of you a great nation.”  Abraham obeys and goes, even though both he and Sarah are getting old and they do not have any children.  They went, believing God could and would do what God promised.  That is the point of the story.

Remember the great story?  It’s found in Genesis 17.  “And God said to Abraham, as for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.  I will bless her and moreover, I will give you a son by her.  Then Abraham fall on his face and laughed and said to himself, ‘Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old?  Shall Sarah who is ninety years old bear a son?’”

The story continues in Chapter 18: three men approach the residence of Abraham and Sarah.  Abraham graciously greets them and makes them comfortable and asks Sarah to prepare some bread cakes for them.  The men ask, (verse 9), “Where is Sarah, your wife, He said, in the tent.  The men say,”The Lord will surely return to you in the spring and Sarah, your wife, shall have a son.  And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind them.  Now Abraham and Sarah were old and advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women, So Sarah laughed to herself.  The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ’shall I indeed bear a child now that I am old’?  Is anything too hard for the Lord?”

I’m sure you remember how the story ends. Sarah does, indeed, have a son and he is named Isaac, which in Hebrew means laughter.  Remember the words, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”

Now, if we turn to the book of 1^st Samuel, we encounter another important birth story.  Hannah and her husband are having a conversation over the fact that Hannah does not have children.   This discussion takes place in I Samuel; it sounds just like a husband and wife discussion of today.  Hannah is weeping.  Elkanah, the husband, says, “Hannah, why are you weeping and why do you not eat?  And why is your heart sad?  Am I not more to you than ten sons?”

Hannah rises and goes to the temple where she sits down and earnestly prays.  She says to God, “If you will honor the request of your handmaiden and give me a son, I will give him back to you all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.”  Eli, the priest of the temple looks in and sees that only Hannah’s lips are moving and he supposes her to be drunk, so he confronts her.  She tells Eli of her prayer request and he says to her, “Go in peace and the God of Israel grant your request.”  She leaves and is no longer sad.

Elkanah shortly thereafter learns that his wife is pregnant, and soon, a son is born to them, and he is named Samuel.  After he is weaned, Samuel is given to the Lord by Hannah, and he is raised in the temple, under the guidance of Eli the priest.  After this effective “internship,” Samuel becomes a prophet in Israel, then a judge –– in fact, the last of the judges.  It is Samuel who oversees the development of the monarchy and Samuel who anoints both Saul and David to be Kings over the land.  Samuel is a key figure in ancient Israel.

In the stories of the birth of Isaac and Samuel, we see that these unusual birth stories signal the beginning of something great.  Abraham is very old and is the carrier of the promise that, through him, there will be as many offspring as will make a nation.  Isaac is the fulfillment of that promise and the beginning of the nation of Israel.  The point is that God is great and will fulfill what God has promised.

Samuel’s unusual birth story and rearing in the temple signals a new role in the political and religious life of the Children of Israel.  Leadership is first under the Judges, of which Samuel is the preeminent judge, and it moves to the Monarchy.  But even here, it is the judge Samuel who chooses the Kings and it is Samuel who sternly admonishes them to be faithful to Yahweh, or they will suffer grave consequences.

Now, centuries later, we have the story of two miraculous births. First, the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth, amazingly similar to the story of Abraham and Sarah.  Both are aged couples, both are told they will be the parents of a son, and both sons –– Isaac and John the Baptist –– are forerunners: Isaac, the forerunner of the Children of Israel and John, the forerunner of Jesus.

The birth of Samuel to Hannah and Elkanah reveals the willingness of faithful followers to follow God and do what they promised.  Hannah promised her son to the work of God.  Samuel is trained and becomes the great leader of Israel.  Thus, if we are observant and apply what we have learned from the birth stories, we will pay attention, because these accounts  signal that great things are to follow.

Following this, Jesus is born.  The angel comes to Mary with the announcement.  Mary goes to Elizabeth the mother of John the Baptist for validation.  Upon hearing the words of Elizabeth, Mary proclaims her willingness to be God’s servant and sings the hymn we have called ‘The Magnificat’.  Jesus is born, and the world has never been the same, from that date until this.

There are two other observations I want to point out to you.  The Biblical writers are always directing their writing to a particular audience.  Once we grasp to whom the works are being written, we can then see the logic of how they wrote.

First, let’s look to Matthew.  Matthew is directing the contents of his work to the Jewish believers of that era.  It is therefore paramount in all of Matthew’s presentations that Jesus be shown as a descendant of King David and that he fulfill all the requirements necessary to be the Messiah.  Matthew’s book opens with the genealogy that points out that Jesus does come in the line of David, and that line comes through his Father Joseph.

Matthew gives few details about the birth. There is no story about a manger or a barn.  It simply says when the wise men came they went into the house where Mary and the child were.

To demonstrate the greatness of this child and the promise that is within him, Matthew validates that greatness by having the birth noticed by Kings from the east who come with gifts to offer to this child.  The story of the Magi appears only in Matthew.

Luke, the only other writer to write about the birth, paints a very different scene.  The emphasis of Luke, in the entire book, is that Jesus is the revelation of God to the poor and the ordinary.  It is Luke who speaks about the poor and Luke who mentions the role of women.  In Luke’s account, to validate this humbles nature of Jesus.  Jesus is born in a stable, because the inns were all full, and the first people who came to see him were not kings from the east but smelly old shepherds, in from the fields.

Unfortunately, we know the end of the story.  It’s hard for us to get into how the people must have felt at that time.  I often wonder how I would have felt.  Would I have believed?  Would I have gone to worship that child, if I  had had the opportunity?  I don’t know?

The story impresses me, though –– first, because of this young girl named Mary who is willing to be used by God.  She says, ”Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”  It is the act of obedience that allows great things to be done by God through people.  Almost all the great religious leaders of history have been people who answered a call and were willing to respond.  This Christmas, are we willing to do what we feel God wants us to do?  Are we willing to be whom we feel God wants us to be?  That attitude must exist if we expect great things to happen in our midst.

It seems to me that Mary’s song is for all people of all generations to grasp.  Mary is singing for every person who has ever doubted that God remembers his promises.  She sings for every oppressed one who grasps for a sign of hope.  Those who are embittered and filled with hatred can hear of the prince of peace, and the one who validates all lives, if they will listen.

Mary’s song says to every one who has ever encountered the living God, that God will be part of whatever happens next.  Emmanuel, “God with us,” is the good news of this season.

Don’t get hung up on the details of the story, they are means of transporting the real essence of the story to your heart and mine.  It would be lovely to know how it all actually took place, but it really isn’t necessary.  If God can use an old lady like Sarah, a despondent woman like Hannah, an elderly couple like Zechariah and Elizabeth, and a young girl like Mary, then God can use you and me.

So let your souls magnify the Lord.  Let your spirits rejoice in God.  Open your heart to allow God to use you, as Mary did.  Who knows?  You, too, may hear the angels sing.