#AdventUs REFUGEE

Caravaggio (1571-1610), (detail) Rest on the Flight into Egypt 

REFUGEE

Mary is so tired.  

So much traveling.  So much upheaval.
  

Mary is every mother who has had to gather her children and leave her home.

Less than a year ago she was still a girl.   Faithful, yes but I also think it was her innocence that allowed her to accept the words of the angel so easily.  “Of course I’ll have the Son of God.  Why not?”

Mary is every weary mother who left her girlhood behind sooner than she would have liked.

Mary has grown up a lot in the past months.  Faced the possibility being divorced, shamed and forced to raise a child alone.  Traveled away from home while heavy with child. 

Giving birth without her mother and aunts in a cave with only her husband.  In a time when men had nothing to do with childbirth.

Mary is every woman who has given birth in dangerous circumstances with little support.

Mary is every woman who has had to rise too soon from her childbirth bed, still bleeding and sore, still so very tired. 

Mary is every woman who has had to grab her children, put them in boats on dangerous waters and carry her child on foot so many miles.  

Mary is everyone woman who has heard of the carnage and death that took place after she left.

Mary is so very tired.

The Real Miracle of Mary's Faith

 

I guess this is an offensive picture to some people.  St. Matthews in the City in New Zealand posted this on a billboard .  I  guess it shows Mary a little "too far from perfect".

They put the picture up to get people to think and it makes me think.

 It makes me think how Mary could have reacted in such a situation.  Even with single motherhood so common today, it's still a frightening prospect to consider having a child on your own.  I was raised by a single mom and swore I would not do that to my kids.  Some things just aren't in your control.

But this is in a part of the world where to this day, women are imprisoned for being raped, and stoned for adultery.  How interesting that God chose to challenge this obsession with the purity of women by coming into this world this way and the church ended up using Mary to reinforce that purity obsession.

Anyway this is where some of my thoughts about this picture took me for my sermon...

Mary is not particularly amazed or shocked at the news that she will bear the son of God.  She is more confused by the fact that she is going to have a child at all.  She may be young but she knows where babies come from and since this baby is apparently not coming the way most babies to, she wants to know how this is going to happen.  The angels accepts it and she accepts it.

She accepts it all.  She accepts that she is going to have a son that will not just be her baby but will belong to the world.  She accepts that God will use her to bring a Savior to the world.  She accepts that she will be unmarried and pregnant.  She accepts that God will take care of her and that this is all good news!

To me the miracle of Mary's faith is not that she believed she would conceive a child without a father.  

Faith is more than believing in miracles.  

In fact I think you can believe in miracles and not have real faith and I think you can doubt miracles and have faith.  

True faith is trusting God and believing that it will all work out for the good.  

And the true test of faith is believing that when it doesn't look as though things will turn out well at all.  If Mary was perfect it was in that complete trust.    She trusted that God would take care of her.

And God did.  Not that she had an easy life.  She had to give up her son.  She had to accept that he was not just her little boy, but that he belonged to the world.  

You hear about mothers having a hard time giving up their sons to their wives - imagine giving your son up to the world!  And kneeling at the cross watching the life you carried in your womb and nursed from your breasts, whose scraped knees you kissed dying before your eyes.  

And still we read of her in the upper room praying with the disciples after her baby boy rose from the dead.  If we had that kind of faith, we would not stress out over a picture of her with a pregnancy test, or get all upset that someone's blog claimed she was far from perfect.  We would know what God could do with someone who is far from perfect.

We Don't Need the Immaculate Conception and neither does Jesus.

"The Annunciation" Brigid Marlin

My friend and former secretary, Anita wrote this wonderful meditation about Mary, Mary: Less is More.  And a couple of comments got hung up on her opening statement that she was "far from perfect".  Okay, I can understand Roman Catholics and Orthodox not liking that perspective.  But the name of the blog is "Living Lutheran"  And surprise - we Lutherans see things differently!  

I agree that Lutherans need to reclaim some appreciation for Mary but Mary being perfect and sinless?  Um, no.   In fact, I think the whole idea of the Immaculate Conception, that Mary HAD to be conceived without sin in order for her womb to be worthy to hold Christ kind of chips away at the whole idea of the Incarnation and God entering this messy sinful  world.  And it begins with entering the womb of a young girl who was, like the rest of us, far from perfect.  Mary doesn't need to be perfect to hold Jesus.  And neither do we.  

And don't even get me started at how this image of a virgin mother totally messed up expectations of being the perfect woman.  

I have to quote Jen Vannette's comment because she expresses it well:

I get tired of focusing on "perfect, sinless" Mary. She really can't teach me anything. I loved this reflection, Anita, because you are right. From today's perspective (and even from Mary's own time perspective), she wasn't the ideal choice.

The Mary that hesitates, I can relate to. I can learn from her faith. The Mary that was a ridiculously strong women when you really consider what she went through: public ridicule for getting knocked-up and at first without Joseph's protection until he wised up and got on board with the plan (which I can also relate to and learn from), the mere idea of riding a donkey while in labor (I barely handled a car ride while in labor!), giving birth, unattended in a barn?! This is one strong woman! I can learn from that Mary.

But, perfect, unassuming, Mary? Not much she can offer me. I'm not perfect, gentle, quiet, or immediately willing to follow God. I may have my moments, but on a whole, not so much. Yet, God used Mary so wonderfully. I loved your line, Anita, "We, too, have received the Holy Spirit through our baptism. Imagine it! What has God conceived — in us?" What, indeed? Praise God! Amen. 

The Annunciation

Henry Ossawa Tanner,. The Annunciation, 1898. Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA

"She shut her eyes and trusted in God who could bring all things to pass, even though common sense were against it; and because she believed, God did to her as he said"

Martin Luther's Christmas Book
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Candlemas, Presentation of Our Lord, Ground Hogs Day, Festival of Lights

Midway between the shortest day of the year and the Spring Equinox, from ancient times those in the cold part of the earth turned their thoughts toward Spring.

In Rome February was added to the calendar - 'februa' - meaning cleansing or purification - and there were purification rites during this time to get ready for Spring.  


And in Her infinite wisdom, the Church neatly fit in with this need to wash off the cold and grime of winter with The Feast of the Purification of Mary, which Protestants have turned into the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus.  


And for the former pagans who enjoyed their February Festival of Lights - the church gave them Candlemas, a time when all the candles to be used for worship would be blessed.  In some places folks would bring their candles from home to be blessed for a little extra protection at home.

And being midway between winter and spring, people naturally begin to wonder when will we have a winter thaw? 

And so from ancient times people have looked for signs.   


The ground hog's ability is traced back to the Germans but the Romans had some rodent to do it as well.  

All this to say, it's been a long winter.  We could use a little sunshine.

Rita Nakashima Brock on "The Importance of Mary's Virginity"

There is an interesting piece in the Huffington Post on how Mary's virginity is more about resistence to the Roman Empire than Mary's "purity:"

Rita Nakashima Brock writes:

We might describe the story of Mary as a powerful rejection of patriarchal family systems and imperial powers that oppress everyone subject to them. By blessing her and trusting her with the Spirit in human flesh, God challenges the rich, proud, and haughty, which means those who love her story and follow Jesus ought to be doing the same. 

The Importance of Mary's Virginity

I wish she had fleshed this out more and spent less time on a history lesson.  However, this is a blog post in the Huffington Post, not a religious journal.  

But the idea intrigues me as it goes along with my theory that at the heart of many of the stories and legends the virginity and chastity of the early women saints and martyrs are a protest against a culture that gives women no say over who has control over their bodies.  I said more about this when I wrote about Santa Lucia last year.

In another life I'd write a doctoral thesis on this subject.  Someday someone will or write a book and I will bemoan the fact that I thought of it first but then remind myself I did nothing about it and be glad someone else fleshed it out.  Hopefully.  Or maybe I will write that dissertation.  I'm not dead yet, as my late husband used to say when I nagged him about things he hadn't done.

Mary, Full of Grace

Wendy Ryan Folk Art

Mary is the highest woman and the noblest gem in Christianity after Christ . . . She is nobility, wisdom, and holiness personified. We can never honor her enough.

~Martin Luther's Christmas Sermon 1531

People in the Western Medieval Church needed Mary.  

Somehow or other Christ was turned into the righteous judge who would shuck all those poor goats off into hell.  

"Christ in Majesty" - Basilica in Washington DC

 The gulf between Christ and the poor wretched sinners on earth seemed insurmountable.  

But there was Mary. 

She was kind and gentle and Jesus' Mum.  If you could get her to intercede on your behalf, Christ would listen to her.  He was a good son.  He would listen to his mom.  

It was a little (maybe a LOT) twisted but Mary is the reason Grace was not lost entirely.  

I think maybe when the Protestants threw out Mary (which was not Luther's idea) we lost some of that kindness and gentleness.  

Until the 19th century when we turned Jesus into a girl.

  I say we bring back Mary and let Jesus be a man again. (But not the terrifying Judge)

Mary - Theotokos

Icon by Kenneth Dowdy

Men have crowded all her glory into a single phrase: The Mother of God. No one can say anything greater of her. ~ Martin Luther

Mary is the Mother of God.

Sometimes Protestants don't like to hear that. Even on our Lutheran Calendar, we call this day of her commemoration, "Mary, Mother of Our Lord" rather than "Mary, Mother of God"

But if you have any understanding of the Holy Trinity or even of the Incarnation, you have to confess Mary as Theotokos, or "God Bearer" as the Church did at the Third Ecumenical at Ephesus in 431.

Protestants sometimes veer off into ancient heresies with simplistic formulations like Mary was the mother of the human part of Jesus and God was the Father of the Divine part of Jesus. BUZZZ! WRONG!! Jesus is fully human and fully divine and Mary carried the whole Jesus, God in Flesh in her womb. If you don't get that , you need to go back and study your church history, Nestorius in particular, because he had the same problem. His side lost. The Church, in her wisdom, decreed that you cannot separate Jesus into a human and divine part.

Unfortunately I don't think today's problem with thinking of Mary has anything to do with confusion about the nature of Christ. People would actually have to have some theological background for that. I think it's partly our discomfort with the whole idea of Incarnation. Of God actually being in a womb and being born in blood and pain and messiness. We are always trying to keep God out of the messiness of our lives. Far better to keep God off far away - because then we can imagine we can leave the messiness of this world to get to God, rather than accept that God comes to us in our messiness.

There may be some sexism involved in the push to diminish Mary's role in our redemption. God forbid there be anything female about God or salvation. Although I haven't noticed that that either the Roman or Eastern church, both whom highly exalt Mary have been particularly respectful of the role of women who aren't both virgins and mothers.

I always enjoyed the way Sojourner Truth ended her famous "Ain't I a Woman" speech:

Then that little man in black there, he says women can't have as much rights as men, 'cause Christ wasn't a woman! Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him.