Loving God, sometimes our vision becomes blocked, and we fail to see the truth of your love for us.  As we gather together today, help us to enter into your vision for us, even as we learn from Mary, and from Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

    How many of you know people where absolutely everything is all about them?  How many of you know people where a disaster could happen affecting thousands of people, and it would still be all about them?  It is almost like a child who says “Look at me!  Look at me!”  And so, we turn in on ourselves.

    And then there is Mary, the mother of Jesus, who shows us a different vision.  She is about as far away from “all about me” as you can get.  In fact, if Mary were focussed on herself, today’s gospel could never have come from her mouth.  A different Mary might have said, “Woe is me - my life is over!  I will just die from embarrassment.  That guy said he was an angel named Gabriel, but how do I know?  Joseph will leave me, my parents will disown me, and I’ll be lucky if they don’t stone me to death.  He had lots of amazing things to say, but how could any of it possibly be true?  Like anybody would ever believe me anyways....”

    However, instead, Mary has this almost prophetic vision where she sees God, and many generations of history, and the future, and her own lowliness and blessedness in the greater scheme of things.  It is a vision that did not come from Mary’s own imagination, but from the power of the Holy Spirit.  As the gift of the Holy Spirit is given to Mary, she speaks words that come from various places in the Scriptures and that place her - at that moment - into the greater picture of God’s activity throughout history.  Mary does not leave herself out of that picture, but she knows her place in it.  She is not at the centre.  God is.

    And so, what kind of a God do we encounter through Mary’s vision?  In today’s gospel, we encounter a God who is both Saviour and Lord.  We encounter a God who lifts up and cares for the lowly and the hungry, but who sends away those who are proud and rich.  We encounter a God who made promises to Abraham and to Israel and who will keep those promises through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.  We encounter a God who is full of mercy and compassion for those who worship and serve him.  We encounter a God who is worth glorifying and who brings forth rejoicing in the hearts of those who trust in him.

    Instead of saying, “Look at me!”, Mary says, “Look at how great our God is!”  Mary sees the big picture.  Mary is aware of her place in the greater scheme of things.  Mary is aware of her value in God’s eyes, as well as her lowliness.  She thinks neither too much nor too little of herself.  Truly, this is a gift from the Holy Spirit.

    I mentioned earlier those who give the impression that absolutely everything is about them.  Some people who do this actually think too little of themselves.  They don’t believe that they’re worth much of anything, and so they try to give themselves some worth by making sure that other people notice them.  Others, of course, think too much of themselves and believe that the world should, in fact, revolve around them.

    Mary, however, leads us into the truth.  Her vision is broad and deep and wide.  She helps us to encounter God and to get a sense of our place in the greater scheme of things.  You see, oddly enough, God’s vision is all about us – not in a self-centred kind of way, mind you – but in a way that values each and every person and that gives each of us our place in the greater scheme of things.

    After all, the announcement that was made to Mary – the birth of Jesus – his life, death and resurrection – all of these things were for our sake, and for the sake of every other person who has ever lived.  Without Jesus, we remain under the power of sin, which keeps us turned in on ourselves and separated from God.  Without Jesus, we have no business at all coming into the presence of God.  Without Jesus, we are on our own in this world with only death to look forward to at the end.

    However, this is not the life that God intended for any of us.  In fact, we were created to live in fellowship with God and with one another.  We were created to live in love, and not in sin and self-centeredness.  And so God makes it possible, through Jesus Christ, for us to become the people that God intended us to be.  In fact, one of the most important parts of that journey is baptism.

    The second reading that we heard today from Galatians (4:4-7) talks about our adoption as children of God, our inheritance as God’s children, and God sending the Holy Spirit into our hearts.  All of these things come to us in baptism.  Today, Abbigail was adopted as a member of God’s family.  As one of God’s children, God promises Abbigail an inheritance, and that inheritance is eternal life.  At the same time, we prayed for the Holy Spirit to be present in Abbigail’s heart, bringing her gifts such as faith, and wisdom, and love.

    God says to Abbigail and to every person who is baptized, “I have made you my own child, and I have made you holy, just like my son, Jesus.  When I look at you, I see a saint – not because of anything that you have done, but because you have put on the new life that is yours through Jesus.”  And then God tells each one of us to grow up into Christ (Eph. 4:15) and become the people that God always intended us to be.

    This is God’s vision for us, and this is the blessedness that is part of Mary’s vision.  I mentioned earlier how Mary leads us into the truth and sees herself honestly in the greater scheme of things.  Mary is both lowly and blessed all at the same time.

    Mary is lowly in the sense that she is not rich or learned, or even old enough to have accomplished much yet.  Mary is also lowly in the sense that she is humble.  She doesn’t know why God would single her out as anything special.  She doesn’t understand why an angel would say such grand things to her as “The Lord is with you,” and “you have found favour with God” (Lk. 1:28, 30).  She certainly doesn’t expect these things, but she accepts them.  She accepts the angel’s message, and she offers herself as God’s servant.  Mary thinks neither too much nor too little of herself.

    Of course, Mary is also blessed.  Because she believes and trusts God’s word to her – because she offers herself in God’s service – because she becomes the God-bearer (the theotokos for those who like Greek) - Mary is blessed and holy and part of the story of salvation.

    Now, unlike Mary, of course, we are not asked to become the Mother of Jesus.  However, if the truth be known, we too are both lowly and blessed.  If the truth be known, we really haven’t done anything so special that God should bless us or love us or adopt us as his children.  In fact, we are sinners, each and every one of us.  We don’t especially deserve God’s favour.

    However, God does not come to us on the basis of what we deserve, but on the basis of God’s love for us.  And through our baptism into Christ and our faith in him we are blessed and we are holy and we become part of God’s story of salvation.  Thanks be to God for this most precious gift!  Amen.

Mary, Mother of our Lord                            Luke 1:46-55
August 15, 2010                                Galatians 4:4-7
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

© 2010 Lynne Hutchison  All Rights Reserved