THE FOURTH SUNDAY in ADVENT

December 18, 2011

Text: Luke 1:26-38

Rev. Dale G. Bauer

Today, as we get closer to Christmas, Mary, the Mother of our Lord, takes center stage. If you read the stories about her in the Bible, she is an amazing woman. Obviously she is there at the birth of Jesus. But also there throughout his ministry, at his death, and with the disciples at the beginning of the Church. Over the centuries, she’s become larger than life. And literally, in the Latin Church, where she was sculpted in stone bigger than life, in stain glass windows, and in the worship of the Church.

But for us as Protestants, she is generally out of the picture except this time of year, when she naturally is central in the birth of the Messiah. But the rest of the year, we focus much more on the Word, the Bible, and the second person of the Trinity, Jesus of Nazareth.

But for most of Christianity for most of its history, she is honored as

Mother of God

First Believer

First Witness

As mother of God, she occupies a place in the order of redemption, whose virgin birth and faithfulness opens the way to Christ himself. She is given a special designation, Theotokos, the God-bearer. She is the first believer because when Gabriel tells Mary that she will bear Jesus, she not only believes him but acknowledges that she is the servant, handmaid, doulos, of the Lord. And she is the first witness to the power of Jesus through the first miracle of Jesus at the wedding in Cana-in-Galilee, when he changed water into wine.

Mary. Mother of Jesus. Icons reflect the way she has been regarded through the centuries, so join me as we look at her.

Mary, the Mother of God. If you look at her hand, she is presenting her son, Jesus, to the world. Notice that the image of Jesus is more mature than a child. Notice that around his head is a nimbus, a halo which certifies that Jesus is no ordinary kid, but divine. In his left hand is a scroll, turning us to the Gospel of John where he is the pre-existent Word, Logos. His right hand is formed in the sign of blessing, suggesting that he is the redeemer.

Mary, the human mother of Jesus. If we believe that Jesus was fully human, he was a baby, a child, emotionally attached to his mother by deep bonds of affection. She loved him as any mother loves her child. In the icon they are cheek to cheek, with Jesus’ right hand in hers, with his left hand around her neck. Mary picked Jesus up when he was hungry, sick, or skinned his knee.

Mary, mother of the suffering Messiah. Mary knew from the beginning her story and her son’s story would involve conflict, pain, and suffering. Remember, at the temple, Simeon told Mary her heart would be pierced. Here, as in all the icons, Mary supports Jesus with her left arm. But here her face is filled with sadness. Jesus has a nimbus that identifies him as divine. Both of his hands hold tightly to her hand, suggesting the fear and anxiety of death he must suffer. Jesus is looking at archangel Gabriel who holds a cross, suggesting that Jesus shall die. Archangel Michael at Mary’s left, holds hyssop, which Jesus was offered in his agony on the cross and a lance, which was thrust into his side on the cross.

These are some of the faces of the woman we honor today and the role she played in the life of Jesus. It is attributed to Martin Luther that three miracles were part of the nativity of Jesus:

God became a human

A Virgin Conceived

Mary believed

It is still a scandalous mystery that God becomes human, in the form of a small, innocent, and dependent child. It suggests a vulnerable God. Of course, we all know that a virgin cannot bear a child. But from the announcement that she would have a child, even as a virgin, to the death of her son, Mary believed. That was, according to Luther, the greatest of the three miracles. That she believed Jesus was the son of the Most High, that he would bring about the redemption of the world, that he was raised from the dead.

Amen.