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Meet Father KempThe Third Sunday in Advent – 13 December 2009
Some people find Jesus’ virgin birth overly mythical and fanciful, something hard to believe because it is so different from the humdrum of daily life. However, in our family, we believe in the virgin birth of Jesus and we have experienced something similar on a small degree. You see, baby #4 is our un-expected baby, the baby who was not planned, at least not planned by us. When we told Edith that Mommy was having another baby, she put her hand on Emily’s leg, looked her in the eyes and said, “It’s OK Mommy, it is not your fault. It is my fault. I wanted another baby and I have been praying that God would get you pregnant again.” Out of the mouths of children come the greatest and most cherishing truths!
The doctrine of Jesus’ virgin birth is a unique Christian doctrine; no other religion has a similar doctrine. Some people have argued that the early Christians had the “Annie Get your Gun” complex, the “Anything you can do, I can do better” complex, and stole this idea from Greek mythology, which is teeming with stories of the gods impregnating women. However, the story of virgin birth of Jesus is not a story of a naughty, lustful god overpowering a young woman, like the story of Heracles birth when the god Zeus deceived the woman Alcmene. The Annunciation is a story about God’s grace, his undeserved and unmerited salvation that came through his only begotten son who came into this world through the womb of the Virgin Mary. I believe it is a story of God’s grace because the first thing Gabriel says to Mary is that she is receiving the free gift of God’s grace. The Greek word we translate as “highly favored” (kecharitomene) means to receive God’s grace. In fact, the only other passage containing this Greek word is Ephesians 1:6, “his glorious grace…which he has freely given (kecharitomene) us.” God gave the Virgin Mary his grace, his grace that made her highly favored in his sight and if Mary, a recipient of God’s grace, was favored in God’s eyes, I humbly suggest to you that she should be favored in our eyes. Therefore, I would like to focus our attention on three qualities or aspects of Mary. First, Mary’s uniqueness. Second, her humility. Third, her reception of God’s grace. I would like to focus on Mary because by seeing how she received God’s grace we can have a clearer understanding of how we receive grace through the child born to Mary, Jesus.
The Virgin Mary is unique; there never has been, nor will there ever be someone like her. However, her uniqueness is not her supposed sinlessness, which some Christians refer to as the Immaculate Conception, for only her son Jesus was uniquely sinless. Nor is Mary unique in her virginity. There were other virgins in Nazareth Gabriel could have appeared to and there have been many, many more throughout history. What makes Mary unique was her relationship with God, God the Son. No other woman has ever or will ever carry her Creator in her womb. No one else will cloth God with flesh and bone. No one else will swaddle God as an infant. No one else will nurse God when he is hungry. It is shocking and even a bit embarrassing to say these things. We are embarrassed to say a young woman gave birth to God, swaddled God and nursed God. We want God to be above our human struggles, we want him to be unaffected by our human needs. We want him to be human, but not really human. That is why Christians have erred on Mary. Some Christians are so uncomfortable with Jesus’ full humanity that they make Mary into a super-human, demi-god, who floats above the filth of humanity unscathed. However, if Mary if a super-human, demi-god, then her son is also a demi-god who is not able to be the propitiation for our sins. Other Christians, also uncomfortable with Jesus’ humanity, reject Mary altogether and whisper amongst themselves that she is a discardable remnant of superstitious times. However, if you discard Mary you must discard the humanity of her son and what is left is a Gnostic Jesus, a Jesus who only appears to be a man and who hovers around dispensing wisdom not redemption. Mary is unique because in her womb and in her womb alone God took upon flesh and she is unique because of her relationship with Jesus, God the Son and because of her unique relationship with Jesus, one Baptist minister rightly said of Mary, “[R]ember her. Admire her. Bless her. Be inspired by her.”[1]
The second quality found in Mary worthy of our admiration is her humility. The Gospels tell us that Mary treasured all these things concerning Jesus’ birth in her heart. (Luke 2:19) How many people quietly treasure a visit from an angel? How many women would quietly treasure a visit from wise men bearing precious and expensive gifts? How many mother’s would not boast or brag about the marvelous behavior and abilities of her child who was God ? How many mothers would not write a “How to” book on raising God? Mary was humble and her humility was magnificent. However, it is imperative to remember that Mary’s humility did not arise from any powers within herself, but through God’s grace. The undeserved favor God, must by its very definition, cloth us in humility. Thus, Mary’s humility is a testimony, not to herself, but to the unfathomable riches of God who out of his incomprehensible love clothed her in his most lavish and intricate fabric of grace. Therefore, Mary is an example, a superb and magnificent example of humility, so let us pray that God would cloth us in the same fabric of humility that he clothed Mary.
The third and final quality or characteristic of Mary I would like us to ponder this morning is Mary’s reception of grace. I could be wrong, very wrong, in my belief, but I believe that no one has received the underserved grace of God in all of its facets and dimensions like Mary, and some dimensions of grace are not pleasant. Mary’s response to God’s grace was, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” Yet, while she humble spoke these words she knew that her unwed pregnancy would be a public disgrace, a disgrace that would follow her for the rest of her life. God’s grace meant she would suffer as the Prophet Simon told her, “A sword will pierce through your own soul.” (Luke 2:35) Mary humbly and joyfully received God’s grace knowing his grace would bring not just her salvation, but pain and suffering. As someone has said, “The highest and most precious gifts of God do not always come to us in attractive colors. Grace can perplex. Grace can frighten. The grace of healing may have the face of a hypodermic needle or a surgeon’s knife. The grace of patience may have the face of pain. The grace of humility may have the face of defeat. O, how we need to learn from Mary not to lash out at God for the frightening forms of grace. Instead, like her we ought to wait and ‘consider in our minds’ how this strange event might be grace.”[2] When Mary received God’s grace, her privilege to bear and raise God’s Son, it was costly, it was painful, but Mary joyfully received all of it.
My daughter Edith was praying that my wife, Emily, would get pregnant, but Mary was not praying for a pregnancy. However, when God’s grace to her came in the form of a baby whom she named Jesus, she received God’s grace regardless of its painful consequences. The grace of God, which he freely bestows through his Son Jesus, disrupted Mary’s life, goals and ambitions. God’s grace does not change, it will disrupt our lives, it will disorder our goals and it will disturb our ambitions. God’s grace does not come in beautifully wrapped Christmas present, it does not come as an artificially sweetened medicine; it is not a narcotic that numbs the pain of life. It comes in ways we would not expect, it arrives in ways we might not prefer, it is given is ways we might find embarrassing, humbling and perplexing. The perplexing, humbling, and frightening Grace of God has one source: Jesus, the source of grace that grew in Mary’s womb, survived on Mary’s milk, and was born in order that he might die on our behalf. Therefore, let us, through God’s grace, live as Mary did, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.”
[1] John Piper, Bless the Mother of Jesus, but Mainly Be the Mother of Jesus, http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/TasteAndSee/ByDate/2009/4407_Bless_the_Mother_of_Jesus_but_Mainly_Be_the_Mother_of_Jesus/
[2] John Piper, Christ Conceived by the Holy Spirit, http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByScripture/23/429_Christ_Conceived_by_the_Holy_Spirit/
