Sermon on Mary - 4th Sunday in Advent Luke 1: 26-38

One of the joys of my role as Vicar in Eton Wick and Dorney is going at this time of year to the nativity plays at the various schools I am associated with.

One of them I went to was truly wonderful this year – with the songs and actually the way the story was portrayed – but it did have a little hitch when Mary had been visited by the angel and was standing on her stage with her broom calling out to tell Joseph – who was no where to be seen and to the side you could just see a little Joseph on the side of the stage sat on his teachers lap – crying because he didn’t want to go on.

Quite often though it is the other way around – I heard the story of the Inn Keeper who had really wanted to be Joseph when Mary and Joseph knocked on the door and asked for a room he said quite loudly – well you can come in Mary but not Joseph cause I wanted to be him.

And then my friends little girl who dressed as a shepherd cried refused to go on the stage crying to her mum – But I wanted to be Mary.

I start with these stories because when we look at Mary and this story from Lukes gospel we can learn so much about calling and faith – and yet very often we can be like all these little children.

We can either not want to do it at all – or we can think for some reason we should be doing something else not really what God wants us to do.

So what can we learn from this account about faith and calling and how can we apply some of this to our lives today.

Well firstly we see in Mary an openness to hear what God was saying to her.

Tradition dictates that the Angel was a big very bright creature with wings and a tinsel halo!

But was he?

In our accounts of Angelic visitation we see angels appearing quite normal and often it is only afterwards that the individuals realised they had met with an agel.

When the angels appeared to Abraham – they looked just like ordinary people, in fact Abram and Sarai didn’t recognise who they were at first did they.

It seems to me that Mary must have been open to listen to God to be able to recognise that this was God speaking to her through the angel.

I think this tells us quite a lot about Mary and her faith in the God of Israel.

She was ready to hear and to respond to his word.

We don’t know what Mary was up to when the angel appeared to her- but we do know that she listened – the likely hood is that she was quite a busy person working in her home and getting ready for her wedding and yet she listened..

Mary must have had a life of prayer in some way to have listened to the angel.

She allowed time to hear the message amidst the noise around her of wedding plans and life.

So today what about us – would we be open to hear what God has to say to us even now in the midst of all the noise of Christmas.
And if God tried to talk to us  would we hear him.

It always amazes me who God can speak to us in so many different ways – but often it is like we are safely in our homes watching the TV ignoring the constant ring at the door bell – hoping it will go away.

Do we take time to switch off the noise and actually be open to how God may speak to us – through his word, through his creation, through that still small voice, even through an angelic word from someone else.

And when we do take time to listen are we prepared to hear even if what he has to say is quite a difficult thing for us.

What he said to Mary wasn’t an easy thing to hear.

But she listened and obeyed.

Is God trying to say something to us and are we open to listen.

And secondly not only did Mary recognise God’s voice- the voice of the angel but she also was willing and open to do God’s will.

I think this is incredible when we know the context that Mary found herself in and the implication of finding herself having a child when she was not married.

She would have laid herself open to all sorts of problems if Joseph too had not been willing to accept her pregnancy.
At the very least she would have been a social outcast in her society, at the very worst she would have been stoned to death for conceiving out of marriage.

But we have no account of her arguing with God’s messenger, no account of pleading for it not to be her put under this pressure,

Not she simply says – I am the Lord’s servant.

In many ways she had a trust in God which we can all learn from.

She entrusts her life into God’s hands to be used in whatever way he wishes.

And we see her used in the most extraordinary way – a journey to Bethlehem, giving birth in a stable, fleeing to Egypt with a young baby away from all her family support network.

And then of course later she was to stand by the cross and weep as she saw her son dying for the good of mankind.

Perhaps she had no idea what I am the lord’s servant was going to lead too in the future – but she said it and she entrusted her life into God’s hands with the faith that he would be with her to help and protect her.

Does this challenge us at all?

The little girls who want to be Mary in the nativity have really no idea what it’s all about do they – they want to be centre stage – and yet the reality of Mary’s life is fat from being the glamorous mother of our Lord.

Mary was open to God and God used her in amazing ways – her journey of faith must I am sure at times been tested to the limit but she was open to being used and willing- I am the Lord’s servant – can we say that, entrusting ourselves to be used by God in whatever way he wants.

And then finally I think we can learn from Mary in her ordinariness.

Often we do not think we are particularly good at anything and we compare ourselves to others in the church.

Perhaps we feel not so educated as others, or gifted in different ways.

Yet I think that Mary speaks to everyone of us here today.

I wonder what she would have answered if someone asked her what she was good at?

I am sure like many of us she may have said well I’m not very good at anything really – I’m just an ordinary person.

Possibly she did say this – we don’t know much about her – but we can surmise that she was probably not very well educated- that she came from a humble background – otherwise she wouldn’t have been marrying a carpenter.

In human terms she was very little- but God used her for one of the most important jobs in the history of mankind, to grow, develop and give birth to his Son.

What does Mary teach us – to be open and receptive to use the things that God has given us for his purpose.

God can use us as we are

In fact the more we are the people that God wants us to be the more he will use us.

When we are open to seek God – to listen to him and then to be open to what he may ask of us – then he will surprise us as he uses us for his service.

Mary teaches us this and we can learn so much from her.

So in the midst of all the noise this Christmas what is God asking of you, are you open to him and able to say – like Mary – I am the Lords’ servant – I am willing.

Amen