Advent Lutheran Church

"Mary Said Yes! (Advent 4 Midweek)"

            Grace and peace to you from God the Creator and the Lord Jesus.  Amen.

            Mary said “yes.”  That’s really how all of this started, of course.  Her “yes” was the human part of the divine-human spark that led to the Incarnation, the enfleshment of God, the birthing of the God-man, Jesus.  It’s important to note that this Creator of all that is, this almighty, Holy God, wanted and maybe even needed a human “yes.”  And God still does.

            Mary’s “yes” is a response to God’s call, delivered by angel, a call that would shape Mary’s life in ways that she could not even imagine.  All she knew for sure was the nature of the God who had called her.

            She sings of that nature in terms of a great reversal that’s coming: the proud are scattered, the powerful who abuse their power are simply knocked over while their victims are graciously treated to an elegant feast; the insensitive and irresponsible rich are left out in the cold as the starving poor are seated at an elegant feast – it’s called the Kingdom of God, and it’s a reversal of what we experience.

            And, it’s not so much that we’re headed toward the Kingdom as it is that the Kingdom is heading toward us.  And that should make us at least a little nervous.  You and I celebrate this celebration by Mary, we say “Come in the world, Lord, and set things right, just like Mary says!”  But we neglect to notice that it is we who are the powerful, and that even though you and I might not have $1 million in the bank, in comparison with the rest of the world we are wealthy beyond measure.  Are we so sure that Mary’s not singing about us?

            But even if she is, I believe that we’d still cheer her on.  Whether we find ourselves needy or self-sufficient, there is something in us that looks beyond our present individual circumstances to a God-filled future in which God has his way even if we do not have ours.

            In some parts of the Church, Mary carries a title, and the title is Theotokos, which means “the God-bearer.”  To her fell the burden and privilege of bringing the Son of God into the world.  She’s the only one who did it physically.  But what if she isn’t the one to actually do it?

            Meister Eckhart was a mystic who lived in the 14^th Century, and his words are instructive for us today.  He said, “We are all meant to be mothers of God.  What good is it to me, if this eternal birth of the divine Son takes place unceasingly but does not take place within my self?  And, what good is it to me if Mary is full of grace if I am not also full of grace?  What good is it to me for the Creator to give birth to his Son if I do not also give birth to him in my time?  This, then, is the fullness of time: When the Son of God is begotten in us.”

            It’s true: there are no sidelines, no observers; “the eternal birth of the divine Son” is to take place within us; that’s God’s desire.  And what if we said “Yes!”?  Said “Yes!” and gave birth to Christ in our most intimate relationships as well as in our most casual acquaintances?  What if we said “Yes!” and gave birth to Christ in our conversations about politics and the economy?  What if we said “Yes!” and actually gave birth to Christ is the middle of our hard hearts that don’t want to forgive?

            When we say “Yes” to God’s desire, the Spirit forms us for what God want us to do.  That Spirit may take us to places that we never dreamed that we would go, but it’s how Christ comes into the world now.

So when the gift-giving and gift-receiving hubbub settles down at your house on Christmas Day, or whenever it does, take a few minutes to reflect on God’s greatest gift, still waiting to be delivered into this world, and how God waits on your answer.

Good news: It’s Advent.  It’s time to live “Yes!”  Amen.