There’s Something About Mary
December 24, 2006
The Cost of Christmas
I heard that Jesus went to the mall and watched a movie Saturday. It wasn’t exactly the real Jesus, but it was a life-size cutout of Jesus. The youth group from “Lamoni United Methodist Church” in W. Des Moines, IA., went to see the movie "The Nativity Story", and took turns pushing a ‘cardboard Jesus’ on a two-wheeled handcart through the mall’s halls. The faces of shoppers all around them registered surprise and curiosity. Chatter at the food court quieted when the kids pushed Jesus by. Kiosk shopkeepers asked what was going on. One older man burdened with shopping bags was so fascinated, he nearly stumbled into a glittering Christmas tree.
The youth pastor, Steve McElroy, explained that the cardboard Jesus was an exercise in living their faith and "taking Jesus Christ with them everywhere," Earlier, McElroy had talked to the 20 youth in his church about the challenge of living as a Christian. The discussion became more real, when he showed up with the cardboard cutout and asked the youth group if they would take Jesus with them any time they were together. "It’s one thing taking Jesus around the church. But it’s more difficult to be a public Christian when you’re hauling him through the mall crowded with shoppers," McElroy said. "It’s a good test."
The teens learned some important lessons too! “Except for one woman who "wrinkled her nose up, people stared at us, but mostly they smiled.", a couple of the teens noticed. Another teen (Agnes Ansong) said, "It was a chance to show people we’re Christians, and we’re not embarrassed about it. We want people to know what we believe in, and that we take the Christmas season seriously."
Over 2000 years ago there was another teen who carried Jesus around. Not as a card-board cut-out…but as a baby! Her name was Mary! And even though she carried Him around in her stomach…believe me… it was just as obvious!
As you may already know, Mary was young… at most 16, when she had Jesus. Her’s was a ‘teen-pregnancy’. That was 1 strike against her! Besides being young… she was poor…. That’s 2. And then 3rdly, she was a female… and in the society of her day… that was a 3rd strike against her. Everything was going wrong in her young life. Unmarried, pregnant, she has to travel a long distance… (not in an ambulance, to a well equipped hospital… but on a donkey to a barn!) She was no doubt scarred… but she didn’t panic.
It got me thinking… what was it about Mary and her young husband Joseph that prompted God to choose them as the earthly parents of the Christ child? There’s “Something About Mary… and there’s something about Joseph” that intrigues me!
• There’s something about this couple that God saw and decided to entrust them as adoptive parents to the most important child ever born.
• There’s something about Mary and Joseph that I want to model my life after.
As we’re going to see this morning and this evening, they were an extraordinary young couple. (This morning: Mary. Tonight: Joseph) Today, we’re going to see that they exhibited some qualities that everyone of us should want to have in our own lives. Qualities that encouraged God to trust them with His treasure! Do you want God to trust you with His treasures? I do! I want God to entrust me with His plans and purposes. I want Him to feel like He can entrust me with His promises. But mostly, I want Him to know that He can entrust me with another precious gift… His people. I want to be God’s trusted servant (like Mary and Joseph were)… so that He can use me in the coming year!
Let’s talk about Mary 1st, because in spite of all her problems… In spite of the instability and questions surrounding her… she exhibited the characteristic of…
1. Unswerving COMMITMENT
Mary would have been perfectly happy I’m sure to be a normal Jewish girl…in a normal Jewish town…
Even her name was ordinary! Every family seemed to have at least one girl in the family named ‘Merium’, (after Moses’ sister). A few weeks earlier a betrothal contract had been signed, and she was engaged to be married to a ordinary guy named Joseph. He wasn’t a ‘scholar’ by any means… he was more the ’Industrial Arts’ type… he was a carpenter, a blue-collar worker. Mary would have been perfectly happy to be an ordinary Jewish wife and mother…BUT God… interrupted in a BIG way! (Has God ever interrupted your life? You’re going along… hum, de, dum…happy and stupid in your sin… when God gets a hold of your life! I’m soooo glad for God’s interruptions!)
Well, God interrupted Mary and Joseph and changed their destiny forever! The angel Gabriel startled Mary one day with a message that God was going to rock her world!!! READ Luke 1:26-36 Now what’s really amazing to me about this whole conversation is the way Mary responded to this shocking news. The angel took the time to give Mary honest and careful answers to her questions, but ultimately the choice to have the baby… was still hers. Look at her response in vs. Luke 1:38 (READ)
Now before you pass over those words with a grain of salt…take a minute to consider the consequences of the decision she was making. 1st, she certainly was risking her family’s rejection and disapproval. She would bring disgrace on her family. What would her friends and parents think? “They’d believe her story wouldn’t they?” Right! Let me ask you… if your 14 yr. old daughter came home pregnant one day and claimed that ‘God did it’… would YOU believe her? I think the movie, “The Nativity” does a great job of showing the tension of that moment. (NATIVITY CLIP)
Then there’s the public humiliation… by saying, “Let it be according to your word”, Mary was offering herself as ‘gossip bait’ in a small town. A Jewish newspaper once described gossip as…”the most deadly bug…it has neither legs nor wings. It is composed entirely of tales, and most of them have stings”.
True! And if you’ve ever been ‘stung’ by the gossip bug, you know what it felt like to be Mary. Tongues were flapping, and just like those teens experienced in the mall, she got stared at! Actually it was worse than that! She got mocked…ignored and shamed. In fact, being pregnant out of wedlock, (unlike our society) brought the bitterest kind of shame. A traditional wedding ceremony required that the bride sit in front of her fathers house for parts of 3 days dressed in white, sig. her purity and virginity. Now what kind of ‘greetings’ do you imagine a ‘pregnant girl’ dressed in her bridal white could expect? It would be devastating!
Ever think about the fact that Mary was the 1st person ever persecuted for her faith in Christ? Even as he grew within her womb! And then there was Joseph! Oh, my! What would Joseph think? Goodbye to that fiancé’! There went her chance for marriage and a family! A righteous man like Joseph wouldn’t want to touch her with a 10 ft. pole! Un-wed mothers were cast out like lepers…left to fend for themselves. If Joseph rejected her, her only 2 choices for supporting herself would be a. slave labor and b. prostitution! Maybe worse…see, by Jewish law, a betrothed maiden discovered to be ‘with child’ was to be stoned.
Mary was lit. risking her life by accepting the angels assignment!
She was risking everything that ever really mattered… (her family, her reputation, love and marriage, financial security) EVERYTHING!…even life itself… in order to serve God! I think about that and I have to wonder to myself… “What am I willing to sacrifice for my Savior in order to serve Him this Christmas? My hopes and dreams? My finances? Habits that would displease Him? It’s a question that deserves our ‘pondering’ this Christmas season…
• What price am I willing to pay in obedience to Him?
• What am I willing to risk in order to follow him?
• My reputation? Relationships? My very life?
I can’t think of a better example of complete devotion and unswerving commitment, than in the life of Mary.
Mary stated her basic attitude towards life when she responded, “I am the Lords servant” Another translation reads, “I am here to serve the Lord”. That was her attitude towards life! Is it any wonder that her natural response to the Lords request was, “Whatever you say Lord!” When that’s your attitude… God will use you! “Whatever you want Lord!” Is that your response to life’s challenges? It’s the response of every growing, vibrant & (I might add) fulfilled Christian. Mary didn’t have to understand the whole process before she accepted the Lord’s assignment… once she was sure that it was God’s desire… SHE DID IT!
I think the reason so many people have trouble following the Lord is…
1. We haven’t really ever consecrated ourselves to be the Lord’s servant (no
matter what)… and
2. We don’t operate on faith, because we have to know all the
nitty-gritty details before we act.
If you’re anxious this morning as to how it’s all going to work out in your life…. If you wonder if ‘going out on a limb’ for the Lord is going to result in falling out of the tree… then learn from the faith of Mary, that when God is in it… it all works out! If you are truly going to have a “Mary” Christmas this year… it starts with the character trait of unswerving commitment to the Lord and His purposes in your life. The ‘safest’ place you can be is in the center of His will!
But there’s another side of Mary that we don’t talk about much. She was a woman of…
2. Unshakable CONVICTIONS
If you read the bible you find that the mother of Jesus was a lot more fiery and revolutionary than we’ve been led to believe. Lynn Hybels of Willow Crk. Church says that "Nice girls, don’t change the world." I like that! See, if "nice" means meek and mild and ‘mind-your-own-business’, then Mary wasn’t a ‘nice girl’. She would have scared the ‘willy’s’ out of nice girls!
I read an article recently entitled, “The Mary We Never Knew”, by Scot McKnight. He writes that, ”There are actually are 2 Mary’s. One wears a Carolina blue robe, exudes piety from a somber face, often holds her baby son in her arms, and barely makes eye contact with us. This is the familiar “Blessed Virgin Mary”, and she leads us to a Christmas celebration of quiet reflection. Another Mary—the “Blessed Valorous Mary”—wears ordinary clothing and exudes hope from a confident face. This Mary utters poetry fit for a political rally, goes toe-to-toe with Herod the Great, musters her motherliness to reprimand her Messiah-son for dallying at the temple, follows her faith to ask him to address a flagging wine supply at a wedding, and then finds the feistiness to take her children to Capernaum, to rescue Jesus from death threats. This Mary followed Jesus all the way to the Cross—not just as a mother, but as a disciple, even after his closest followers deserted him. She leads us to a Christmas marked by a yearning for justice and the courage to fight for it. Like other women of her time, she may have worn a robe and a veil, but I suspect her sleeves were rolled up, and her veil askew more often than not. “
I think He’s right! Mary had a lot of fire in her bones! If you doubt that, read the words of the song she broke out in called the “Magnificat”. It’s found in Luke 1:46-55. Luke tells us that as soon as the angel Gabriel left Mary, she hurried down to the home of her older relative Elizabeth, to share the Good News. Mary knew that Elizabeth was way beyond child bearing age. In fact, Elizabeth put the ‘pause’ in menopause! But by God’s grace, she was going to give birth to a special son (John the Baptist). They made a great pair! One’s old and doesn’t have any children…the other is young and doesn’t have a husband! But they’re both pregnant. And they’re both ready to announce the Good News to the world.
The instant that Mary crosses the threshold of Elizabeth’s home, little John starts doing a break-dance in her belly! She responds by bursting into a blessing for Mary. “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!”
Mary echoes back with what God is doing in her womb, "My soul glorifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” –Luke 1:47-48
Mary is pumped over what Gabriel has told her and what Elizabeth has confirmed: Her son is the Son of David, the Messiah and future king. She’s excited that God is about to establish justice by ushering in the kingdom that all of Israel, especially the poor, have yearned for. She’s happy that God has "been mindful of the humble state of his servant. And that from now on “all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name" (Luke 1:46-49). But that’s not all! She goes on, and it sounds more like a call to arms than anything else! READ 50-55.
Man! That’s gutsy stuff! “Mary! Don’t you realize that if Herod hears you talk about “bringing down rulers from their thrones” and “sending the rich away empty”… your goose is cooked!” She’s talking about overthrowing the Roman government here! This isn’t a song… it’s a rally cry! That’s why I say that Mary is a woman of unshakable convictions! And God used that!
• Does God want us to be people of unshakable convictions?
• Should we be concerned about the injustices of the world?
• About the poor and downtrodden?
I think we should! And you can paint the “Blessed Virgin Mary” as a quiet, calm, tender example of religious spirituality and piousness if you want… but the REAL Mary… the “Blessed Valorous Mary”, was a little more dangerous than that!
Like the rest of His followers, she’d eventually learn that Jesus was ushering in a new kingdom not by wearing Herod’s crown… but by dying on a Cross, rising from the dead, and sending His Spirit to work in us. Justice for the poor wouldn’t come through a political revolution, but through changed lives that reflect God’s values and concerns. But the point remains: Mary, before anyone else, sees and announces the radical nature of Jesus’ mission. She was one gutsy lady! I don’t know about you, but I want to be a person of godly convictions like Mary!
See a ‘belief’ is something you argue about, but a conviction is something you’ll die for. Mary was willing to die for Jesus, even before He was born! Now I understand that the whole idea of having ‘convictions’ today is kind of looked down on. It’s seen as being ‘politically incorrect’, but if you study history, the people who made the greatest impact on this world (for good or for evil)… haven’t necessarily been the smartest, wealthiest or the best educated. They’re the ones with the strongest deepest convictions. Marx , Gandhi, Buddha, Columbus, Luther… all changed the world because of their convictions. In 1943, 100,000 young people in brown shirts filled the Olympic stadium in Munich, Germany (the largest stadium in the world at that time). They formed a sign with their bodies for a fanatical man standing behind the podium. The message read, “Hitler, we are yours”. Their commitment and convictions allowed them to conquer Europe. Convictions are a powerful thing!
Like the old cliché goes, “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.” Do you have any convictions? Values, morals, truths that you’re willing to die for? See, too often, we have strong convictions but they’re about weak issues! (Go Raiders!). That’s fine I guess, just as long as we don’t have WEAK convictions about strong issues! (what’s right and what’s wrong, premarital sex, abortion, drug abuse, the Truth of God’s Word, evolution vs. creationism, etc.)
Christ-like convictions give you a sense of meaning and purpose in life. Without them you’re at the mercy of your circumstances. Other people determine how you’ll live. Which only leads to confusion, hopelessness and discouragement. Mary’s life was dominated by her conviction to follow God’s will, no matter what! When you have that kind of conviction, you don’t wonder about what the meaning of life is…you know it! You live it!
I want to end with a story that kind of sums up what I’ve been trying to say this morning. It’s written by a dad and Pastor named Phil Callaway about his son. It’s called, “My Little Shark Hunter”…
“Ever since he was knee high to a Doberman, the boy was fearless. Take him to the ocean and he’d jump in looking for sharks. Take him to the mountains and he’d see how high he could climb. One day when he was 5, I watched in horror as he jumped off a roof—a garbage bag duct-taped to his back. We couldn’t be more opposite, my son and I. The higher he climbs, the more he believes God is with him. Not me. I believe God put us on dry land and says, "Lo, I am with you always."
In his first year of college, he called one night to ask me for money. "I’m sorry," I said. "You have reached this number in error. Please hang up and call your Uncle Dan. “Dad”, he said, "I scaled a 300-foot cliff today," he said, undaunted. "You would’ve loved it!." Right. His father who contracts vertigo standing on a skateboard. For years I’ve wondered what God would make of our son. Would he call him to be a ‘crash-test dummy’? A professional bungee jumper? Or would he fulfill every North American parent’s dream by settling down in a huge house with a nice wife and provide us some grandchildren to spoil. The unexpected answer arrived by e-mail one day:
Dear Dad and Mom,
I just want you to know that I met a couple nice girls and we’re planning on being married. In Utah. Not really. But I did meet Lucy. You’ll like her a lot. It’s surprising how quickly you can find a ‘Justice of the Peace’ down here. Lucy owns a tattoo parlor, but seldom works. Her father won some money in a lottery, so she’s set for life. I won’t need to work anymore either. I’ve bought a Mercedes convertible and you’ll be happy to know I put a ‘chrome fish’ on the bumper.
If you haven’t fainted yet, here’s the truth. It may be more shocking. In the country of Uganda, the Lord’s Resistance Army is committing atrocities against children that are too awful for me to put in this letter. Over the years they’ve abducted 50,000 kids, and turned the ones they haven’t murdered into soldiers. I’d like to work with street children in Kampala. I’ll be living with local missionaries. It will mean lots of needles, and I’ll need to raise a little money too.
Dad, you told me once that Jesus came to comfort us, not to make us comfortable. I guess I’ve been comforted enough; it’s time to offer some to others.
Your son, Steve
"Where do you think we went wrong?" I asked his mother. "Couldn’t he just have a beach ministry in Hawaii?
Maybe we blew it taking him to other countries and showing him what the real world looks like”. Don’t you just hate it when your son practices what you’ve been preaching?" "It’s what we’ve prayed for all these years," she said with a grin, "that he would live life on purpose." And so one month ago, we hugged our firstborn son goodbye, as he embarked on a grand adventure half a world away. It’s funny the questions people ask when they hear he’s in Uganda. "Aren’t you worried about his safety?" I have my moments. Check a list of the most dangerous spots on earth and Uganda nears the top. But is safety what we’re here for? Isn’t ‘Complacency’ the most dangerous place on earth? Isn’t ‘Suburbia’ sucking the life out of our teenagers more than any foreign country ever could?
I sat with a missionary the other day who is pouring her life out in Pakistan, patching bodies and souls for Jesus. She’s the only missionary in her area whose parents support her being there. I must be honest: I understand. There are times I’d rather Steve was home making good money—putting it away for my nursing home bills. Yet I cannot hope for more than this: that my children will hear God’s voice despite a noisy culture, and that they will obey. I’ve shed a few tears, for sure. But mostly I’ve been giving thanks. For a son who’s a much improved version of his father. For e-mail and cheap overseas phone rates. And I’m thankful there are no sharks in Uganda.
That story is very close to home for me right now, because it’s the story of a mom and dad, who with fear and trepidation have to release their son for a dangerous mission. And the kid embraces it! Sound familiar? Jesus was sent on a very dangerous mission and accepted it. Mary & and Joseph were given a dangerous mission… and with courage, commitment and conviction… they accepted it. In the same way, God is sending us out on a dangerous mission… the mission of spreading the good news about Christ and His love. How He died to pay the price for our sins. He may choose different ways for us to carry out that mission… but we’re all called to the same thing. Are you ready to accept it?
I imagine that as Mary sat holding her son on that 1st Christmas morning, she ‘pondered’ the dangerous mission that she’d be sending her 1st born son on. Of the tremendous suffering that he would have to endure. I can imagine that humanly, she wanted to protect him. To shelter him from the pain of this world. But she also realized that He was the SOLUTION for the pain of this world, and the sin that brings it. So sacrificially she gave Him up… God (His Heavenly Father) gave Him up… so that he could fulfill His grand plan for our salvation. (SING: Breath of Heaven)
This Christmas, I want to encourage you to develop the character traits that Mary had. To make an unswerving commitment to Christ and to develop unshakable convictions about God and how He wants you to live your life. I challenge you to ask yourself… “How will it be different this year?”
You know what will make all the difference in the world? If you’ll open up your life and receive God’s gift of Jesus Christ. Christmas means… YOU MATTER TO GOD! You matter so much, that He sent the very best, and He wants you to return your best… your life.
See, when you come to Christ, you give Him all you’ve got… and then you’ve never had it so good! Some of you found that out this year! There’s a lot of reason for celebration in your life
