Readings:
Sermon:
However we visualise Mary, mother of Our Lord, few of us actually see her as a radical social and political activist. The received image is one a young, vulnerable, obedient young woman, Godly in every respect, and devoted to the upbringing of her child – the Son of God, who was of course the most superbly behave child ever. The Holy Family are seen as the ultimate image of domestic bliss, and Mary’s role in this is central.
So it comes as a bit of shock to discover the perhaps the most radical feminist theologians of our time, having initially been deeply suspicious of Mary, now embrace her role in the story of salvation with enormous enthusiasm, seeing her as a great role model not only for women but for the oppressed generally. And so it is with both political and radical liberation theologians - Mary is seen as a radical bringer of liberation to the poor and oppressed. So how has all this come about?
The Magnificat begins with those famous words:
"My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name"
There are nostalgic memories for those of us who were reared on Book of Common Prayer evensong. The trouble is that the nostalgia dulls the radical nature of what is said. Mary’s response to the angel’s message is one of ecstatic joy – she ‘magnifies the Lord’, she doesn’t speak of God as her mate or her friend, but emphasises the transcendence, the greatness, the otherness of God. The amazing thing for Mary is that this God who is so great, so totally other has looked on her, lowly and poor as she is. God, the greatest, most unknowable force within and beyond creation makes himself know to a poor simple lowly young woman and calls her to the greatest responsibility imaginable. It’s extraordinary stuff – but what is really extraordinary is not that fact that this one-off event took place 2000 odd years ago in Nazareth, but what it tells us about the nature of God, what it tells us about how God does God’s business. The creator of the universe, the creator of all things, calls the simple, lowly and humble to be his agents in the world, not the well-to-do, the powerful, or influential. Mary was no movie-star or indeed the daughter of a media-mogul, but an ordinary peasant girl. And so it is for us – the greatness of God comes among us in those who are humble and lowly.
However the problem is that most of us realise that deep down we’re not very humble, that we do get ideas above our station, that we are not worthy of God’s call to us. Yet Mary reminds us of God’s radical mercy, of God’s radical forgiveness:
His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
This is a real problem for those who think justice ought to be seen to be done, those who believe in ‘an-eye-for-an-eye’. Mary reminds us that God is a God of mercy ‘…to those who fear him’. For those who do repent, for those who are willing to face the consequences of their misdeeds, God is merciful. And so it is for us - we make mistakes all the time, we both do and say things we regret, yet if we truly regret what we’ve done, if we truly confess our errors to one another, and are prepared to accept the consequences, then God is merciful. If we are willing to pay the full cost of our sin, them we find that we don’t have to – God’s mercy is overwhelming.
But we mustn’t rest too comfortably on all of this, because God remains a God of justice – Mary makes this very clear…
"He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty."
For those who don’t repent, for those who are looking for an easy way out, God ensures justice prevails. And this justice is simply the overturning of the established order of things.
"He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly."
This is revolutionary stuff. What would it mean in our world today? What would it mean in our Church today? No wonder it makes some people uncomfortable. This is no longer some weak effeminate ideal mother - this is someone preaching revolutionary values.
"[H]e has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty…"
this doesn’t bode well for the rich industrialised nations of the western world – who, compared to others we are the rich, however you may want to construe it!
Perhaps Mary’s most radical assertion is that Mercy and Justice can co-exist. So often we see them as opposites – if I am merciful to you that I let you off the full consequences of justice; if I demand justice against you then I am not being merciful. Mary says ‘No – God is not like that – mercy and justice can co-exist – mercy is the fulfilment of justice... and justice the fulfilment of mercy... but only by the grace of God. Incredible stuff!
And it is when we allow mercy and justice to co-exist and to complement each other that God is able to see fulfilled his promise of peace and protection for his people.
"He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever."
God promises his people peace and protection and we are heirs of that promise. God’s will for his people is that they should know him in his fullness, that they would live in peace and prosperity. This is our ultimate goal, but I would suggest is less to do with the externals of peace and prosperity than it has to do with that deep inner peace and creativity of those who live the spiritual life with discipline and with humility.
So Mary’s agenda, or rather God’s agenda as Mary understands it is a radical one: the Grace of God poured into the ordinary and the simple among us; God’s mercy available to all those who truly come to Him is penitence for their sins; God’s justice for all not as a contrast to mercy but as it’s fulfilment; and finally God’s promise of peace and protection realised in our generation as heirs of the promise to Abraham – a promise that is just a much our today as it was Abraham’s in his day.
A radical agenda? – yes indeed. A shocking agenda? – yes indeed. Mary a plaster cast saint?- not a bit of it, but rather God’s chosen vessel for His Word. When we too say Yes to God as Mary did, we will find ourselves caught up in this amazing, radical and exciting agenda for a new understanding of what it means to be human in the light of the Word made Flesh – Jesus come among us.
Eternal God,
as Mary waited for the birth of your Son,
so we wait for his coming in glory;
bring us through the birth pangs of this present age
to see, with her, our great salvation
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.