Sermon for Advent 4

Readings: Isaiah 7: 10-16

Psalm 80 :1-8, 18-20

Romans 1: 1-7

Matthew 1:18-25

Advent 4 is traditionally a time to think about the blessed virgin Mary. I wonder what comes to mind when you think about Mary? As a child I must have seen Mary as a figure of some importance as I can remember the excitement I felt the year I was chosen to be Mary in the school nativity play. However some of the first things that come to mind when I think about Mary are terms such as meek, mild and obedient. Yet when I consider things more deeply I realise that these are not really words that sit well with Mary when we really consider her story.

So who was Mary? She was the daughter of Anne and Joachim, but according to the legends she was no ordinary daughter. Anne and Joachim were a reasonably well of couple but had no children. Joachim went into the wilderness for 40 days to pray and was rewarded with the birth of a daughter Mary. This story has parallels to those of Sarah and Abraham and Eli and Hannah, and would have marked Mary out as a special person.

However we don’t really know that much about her background or upbringing. The gospels tell us that she was betrothed to Joseph, who was a carpenter, a skilled craftsman. All probably fairly normal for a middle class girl of her age in that time and place.

Then along comes an angel. Now I don’t know about you but if I was just getting on with life, washing the dishes or whatever one day and suddenly there’s an angel wanting to speak to me, I would probably be a quivering heap on the floor. However in the accounts we have Mary appears remarkably calm. When the angel tells Mary God’s plan, Mary’s first response isn’t to say yes. It’s more of a hang on a minute, can we just have a quick chat about this. She answers back to the angel and questions him, that’s not been meek and mild, that’s more brave and bold.

Of course, as we all know, Mary did agree to God’s plan, but that in itself was yet another brave and bold act. With that yes Mary must have known she was signing herself up to nine months of ridicule, of being the main topic of gossip among the local population. Just imagine what the women would have been saying when getting their water at the well, have you heard about that Mary, got herself knocked up and is saying it was an angel and God doing it? Who does she think will believe that?

And then there was the impact on her relationship with Joseph. As we heard in today’s gospel reading Joseph’s first reaction is to dump her and cancel the wedding plans. Mary has gone from a nice middle class girl to someone shameful that he no longer wants to be associated with. Then Joseph gets his own angelic encounter, although in this case it is in the form of a dream. There was maybe a heavenly assumption that an actual angel may have been too much for Joseph to cope with!

Matthew’s gospel is the only one that records Joseph’s angelic dreams, it is also the only one that tells us anything at all about Joseph’s reaction to Mary’s news. I always feel a bit sorry for Joseph, the bible writers don’t seem to include him much at all. Yet his life must have been turned upside down as much as Mary’s by this unexpected pregnancy.

Both Matthew and Luke give a genealogy of Joseph, although they differ in their details both show Joseph to be descended from King David. In Matthew's gospel Joseph gets to have two more angelic dreams, one telling him to flee to Egypt and one telling him when to come back, and that’s it. In Luke’s gospel he is in the story of the journey to Bethlehem, the birth of Jesus, the return to Nazareth and the story of the 12 year old Jesus getting lost when visiting the temple, and that's it. It is assumed by his absence that Joseph had died by the time Jesus starts his earthly ministry.

However, I think Joseph like Mary was a very brave man. Not only was he risking the ridicule of the local gossips by standing by Mary and caring for Jesus as his son, he was possibly risking his business as well. After all people may think twice about ordering their new dining room furniture from that Joseph whose gone a bit funny in the head , claiming to have dreams of angels even dragging his whole family of to Egypt on the basis of a supposedly angelic dream. What if he does that when he’s half way through making my table and chairs?

To do the task that God called them to, to be the earthly parents of Jesus, Mary and Joseph had to be far from meek and mild, they had to be bold and brave, to potentially risk everything, family, friends, financial security, and their social status. The young Jesus couldn’t have had two better role models to help shape him and give him the strength for his future ministry.

Their bravery and boldness was rooted in their faith and they can be an example to us today. In a world that is increasingly secular, or even hostile to religious faith, we all may need some of that courage if we are to follow the command of Jesus to make disciples of all men. The great thing is, that we are not alone in this. We are supported by the great cloud of saints including Mary and Joseph. In a few minutes we will be asking Mary to help us, using the words “Hail Mary, full of grace, the lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.”

I for one, can’t think of anyone else I would rather have on my side.

Amen

Mothering Sunday Sermon

Readings: exodus 2 1-10

Colossians 3 12-17

John 19 25-27

May I speak in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy ghost.

Mothering Sunday is a day for thinking about the role of mothers in our lives. Mothers often play an important role in the Bible, not least that of Mary the mother of God. However motherhood in the Bible, as in modern life, can often also involve great sacrifice and tragedy. In our first reading we have the story of Moses and his mother. Moses was born at a time when the Hebrews were ruled by the Egyptian ruler Pharoah. Pharoah like many dictators became a bit paranoid that the Hebrews would rebel against him and so ordered all hebrew boys born to be killed. Moses's mother Jochebad comes up with a very risky plan to save him. She places him in a basket in the river when Pharaoh's daughter is coming. She is risking that the daughter of her enemy will have pity on a small child. The risk pays of, and even better Jochebad is able to offer herself as wet nurse to her son so she can still be with him. When reading this story I couldn't help thinking of the pictures and stories from Afghanistan and Ukraine of desperate mothers handing their children over to strangers as it seems their only hope of survival. Mothers across the world today are still taking great risks to try and protect their children. It can be seen that one aspect of being a good mother can be to protect their child.

Another aspect of motherhood that can be seen in the Bible is the role of mothers to be supportive. This is perhaps most clearly seen in Mary and her support for Jesus and his ministry. Mary still loves and supports Jesus even when others mock him and right through to his painful end on the cross. Loving support that must have cost Mary so much. My own mum always offered me her support, even with activities that when I've talked to her about them as an adult, I've discovered she thought I was bonkers to do. Without that support though I might not have the confidence to be up here talking to you today, of course you might not think that a good thing!

We are more used to thinking of God as father. There are however, also references to God acting as a mother such as sheltering Jerusalem like a mother hen shelters her chicks. God as mother is often seen as a protective role. But I think God also shares some of the other characteristics of being a mother. He supports and encourages us. In Hosea God says it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, I who took them up in my arms. He protects us, in Deuteronomy he is described as like an eagle that hovers over it's young, He spreads wings to catch you and carries you. In Isaiah God says as a mother comforts her child so I will comfort you.

God is also prepared to suffer for us and with us. The theologian Jürgen Moltman says that "when we feel pain we participate in His pain." God suffers most obviously through the cross. However he also like a good mother shares in our suffering. There are many other examples in both the old and the New testaments where God is described as being like a mother.

The mystic Julian of Norwich also talked about God as mother. She wrote 

"Jesus Christ therefore, who himself overcame evil with good, is our true mother. We received our being from him and this is where his maternity starts, and with it comes the gentle protection and guard of love which will never ceases to surround us"

We can see that God has within his nature many aspects that we associate with motherhood. He provides shelter and nurture, protects us, guides us and shares in our suffering.

 Motherhood is an important theme in many of the biblical stories. However many stories also have the lack of motherhood or the giving up of a child as a key theme, from Sarah and Abraham, through Hannah who gives her much wanted son, Samuel to serve the lord, to Elizabeth and Mary. The sad truth is that in the world today not everyone is able to have a good relationship with their mother, and not everyone that wants to be a mother is able to be one. A mothering relationship though, does not necessarily have to be a blood one.

Jesus from the cross gives Mary and the disciple John a new relationship, although John I am sure would never replace Jesus in Mary's heart, it gave both John and Mary a new and deeper relationship. This is something I think we as a church today need to think about. We are in relationship with each other as the body of Christ. There may be those among us, who for whatever reason need to be mothered and those among us who are good at providing that mix of support, advice and comfort that a good mother would. We may at different times in our lives be in both groups. However I am not sure we are always very good at either giving or receiving this support. Some may find it difficult to reach out and admit they might need something, others may worry that if they offer something they will be rejected. As a community we need to try and be conscious of the needs of others and also be willing to accept help, support or just a friendly person to talk to when it is offered.

As Christians we are called to try and live our lives in a way that reflects something of the nature of God. This includes the nature of God as mother. This means offering support, advice and comfort in times of need. It also means standing up for and defending those who are weak or unable to defend themselves. Saying that this is what we should do is easy, working out how to do that in practice might be a bit more difficult. Maybe we need to start by building relationships among ourselves that are supportive and nurturing. Our second reading today gives us some ideas for how to do this. Be compassionate and kind, that's the easy part and then it gets harder, be humble, meek and patient, and finally the big one, forgive each other. If someone has upset us, caused us a problem or had an opposite view to us about some aspect of church or our life together, it can be very hard sometimes to forgive. Lent is a season of penitence and for confessing our wrongs and asking forgiveness, we need to remember that sometimes we need to forgive. Paul tells us how to do this put on love and give thanks to God.

Mary and John developed a new relationship and a church based on comfort, support, encouragement and hospitality. This is the model we need to follow today, both as a church and as individuals in our relationships with each other.

Amen