I have been at a men’s clergy retreat since Tuesday, and our topic last night was Mary, the Mother of Jesus. We have been looking at the Gospel readings for this coming Advent and trying to understand the season’s emphasis on the end of one era and the beginning of another. The apocalyptic (end time) messages are at odds with the reality of the last 2000 years, and one of the questions I asked on the first day was this: why are so many Christians pining for the end of time? Mary’s Magnificat in Luke 1 is a call for a reversal of how we live. “God has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly, God has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty.” Fine words about God’s justice, but hollow when considered realistically. The powerful are still sitting on thrones, and the hungry and poor are still oppressed and starving. If this is why Jesus came, He failed. That’s as hard to write as it may be to read.
Mary sang about a revolution of the Spirit and of the economy. Her song was a song that has been sung for millennia, and while it may have achieved some gains here and there, those victories were short-lived and fleeting. Generally, the powerful will take anything they can unless they are stopped by the rest of us. The poor will go hungry unless people stand up and demand that they be fed. This is the reason for the commandment that we keep the Sabbath holy; God demanded a day off for everyone, including the animals and illegal aliens. To some, life is cheap, and workers are easy to replace. God formed the first worker’s union.
Mary raised Jesus to change the world, and He did, to a point. The problem is that too many of His followers nodded their heads and went about doing business as usual. We say, “Yes Jesus – we like what You have to say – nice story.” And then we go about business as usual. Which isn’t always a problem, unless people get hurt along the way. One of the points of religion is to challenge our selfishness and proclivity to do what we want, no matter who gets hurt. Religion isn’t about saying the words and ignoring the needs; religion is about becoming something more than our lesser demons want us to be.
Mary wasn’t meek and mild – she was a voice for the oppressed. I called her a “proto-feminist” during our discussion. Mary has been used largely to promote feminine yielding and virginity rather than strength and courage. She said yes to God without knowing if Joseph would be on board. She chose to bear the Messiah freely but with some reservations. God would never have forced her to take on this incredible burden/joy; she had to agree freely. Mary, like Jesus, had free will, after all. Her call took her on a journey that was wonderful and terrifying at the same time. To a lesser extent, that’s our call too. Faith without sacrifice isn’t hard to do, but it is necessary for a just world. True religion isn’t about standing with the powerful, it’s about being present with those who suffer under the yoke of injustice. That was Mary’s call.
Prayer – Holy God, call us out of our disinterest and turn us towards those who need our help. Amen.
Today’s art is of Mary, but I couldn’t find the artist.