Let Go

The Rev. Dr. Skip Ferguson

Manassas Presbyterian Church

Manassas, Virginia

December 11, 2016 - Third Sunday in Advent

Let Go

Psalm 126:3

The Lord has done great things for us,
    and we rejoice.

A woman,

a young woman,

a girl, really,

so young – 13, 14, we’re not sure.

A young woman from an ordinary family –

a family without power,

connections,

influence, money.

A young woman named Mary –

this was the woman,

of all the women in the world,

this was the woman God sent the angel Gabriel to,

to say to her,

“you will conceive in your womb

and bear a son,

and you will name him Jesus.

He will be great,

and will be called the Son of the Most High,

and the Lord God will give to him

the throne of his ancestor David.

He will reign over the house of Jacob forever,

and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

(Luke 1:31-33)

This was the woman who was chosen by God

to give birth to our Savior,

the Messiah,

the Son of God.

The Bible tells us so little about Mary.

Later writers tried to fill in the pieces

with fanciful stories that are fun to read,

even if they are not scriptural.

One story tells us that Mary’s father Joachim

was a man of great faith

and was in fact quite wealthy.

One day an angel appeared to his wife Anna

to tell her that she would give birth to Mary:

telling her in language reminiscent of Gabriel’s,

“You will conceive and give birth

and your offspring shall be spoken of

in the whole inhabited world.”

The story goes on to tell us that

when Mary was three years old,

Joachim and Anna took Mary to the Temple

to be raised by the priests,

her life devoted to God.

Her parents left her

and she lived in the Temple

where, the story tells us,

“she received [her] food

from the hand of an angel.”

(The Infancy Gospel of James)

As fun as stories like this are to read,

the Bible tells us

all we really need to know about Mary.

Her response to Gabriel,

17 short words,

not even a proper tweet,

paint as complete a picture of Mary

as we could hope to have:

“Here am I, the servant of the Lord;

let it be with me according to your word.”

Or, in the more elaborate Elizabethan English

we find in the 400-year-old King James Bible:

“Behold the handmaid of the Lord;

be it unto me according to thy word.”

(Luke 1:38)

These words tell us everything:

They tell us that Mary, child of God,

mother of the Son of God,

was a woman of such profound faith,

such deep faith;

a woman who put her trust,

her life,

completely in God’s hands,

completely:

“let it be with me according to your word.”

She let go

to let God lead her through life.

Mary’s faith –

so strong as she stood looking into

the eyes of Gabriel,

the very same angel who had visited

her cousin Elizabeth’s husband Zechariah

in the temple

to tell him that Elizabeth would give birth

to one who would,

“be great in the sight of the Lord,”

and … who would,

“make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

(Luke 1:17)

Our text from last week.

Mary would faithfully follow her son

throughout his ministry,

follow him with hesitation,

every step along the way;

all the way,

even to the foot of the cross.

No parent should have to witness a child’s death

as Mary did,

and yet still,

her faith was unwavering.

After Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection,

Mary remained with the apostles,

listening to Jesus’ teaching before his ascension,

his words to all of them, including Mary:

“But you will receive power

when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;

and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,

in all Judea and Samaria,

and to the ends of the earth.”

(Acts 1:8)

Mary returned to Jerusalem with the apostles

to await the coming of the Holy Spirit

on that first Pentecost,

She and the 11,

all of them together, Luke tells us,

“constantly devoting themselves to prayer”,

as they waited,

waited in faith.

It is too easy to hear Mary’s story

and see just the nativity Mary,

the Mary of the crèche,

the tender mother rocking her newborn son,

singing the baby Jesus a lullaby

with Joseph quietly standing watch,

a flickering lantern in his hand

casting shadows on the oxen, cattle and donkey.

We need to look beyond that Mary,

to the Mary who pondered,

treasured in her heart

the words of the shepherds;

pondered, perhaps, the words of the prophet

who had spoken of the one on whom

“the spirit of the Lord would rest,

the spirit of wisdom and understanding,

the spirit of counsel and might,

the spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord..

who would decide with equity for the meek

and judge the poor with righteousness.”

(Isaiah 11:2ff)

We need to see the Mary who welcomed the Wise Men,

strange men who had come from far distant lands,

foreign men who had come seeking her son,

her son,

telling her that they’d been guided by a star.

Mary occupies such a prominent role

in the Roman Catholic faith.

Prayers are offered through her,

Ave Maria’s sung to her:

“Hail Mary, full of grace”.

Within the Reformed tradition

that we are part of,

we tend to shine a light on Mary

primarily during the Christmas season

as we hear the birth narrative,

but then we turn our attention elsewhere.

There is so much we can learn from Mary,

from her life, her faith.

Mary shows us how we are to live:

humbly, obediently,

letting go,

letting God lead us;

as we rejoice in the Lord.

Our 150^th Anniversary Committee

has chosen as its text

words from the Psalmist:

“The Lord has done great things for us,

and we rejoice.

(Psalm 126:3),

our text today.

Mary could have written those words.

“The Lord has done great things for me,

and I rejoice.”

She would have understood Paul’s words

written to the Philippians,

a Christian’ community established by Lydia,

another woman of deep and profound faith:

“Rejoice in the Lord always;

again I will say, Rejoice.

Let your gentleness be known to everyone.

The Lord is near.

Do not worry about anything,

but in everything by prayer

and supplication with thanksgiving

let your requests be made known to God.

And the peace of God,

which surpasses all understanding,

will guard your hearts and your minds

in Christ Jesus.”

(Philippians 4:4ff)

Christmas is a time of rejoicing,

a time of great joy as we prepare ourselves

for the coming of our Lord:

the baby born in the stable,

and our Savior who will come again in glory.

Christmas is a time of lights, gifts,

music, food,

family and friends.

We sing “Joy to the World!”

for we rejoice in our Lord,

rejoice that God is with us,

our Immanuel;

rejoice that Mary had her baby

and named him, Jesus. 

We can rejoice, even if we are struggling,

feeling ourselves knocked about,

burned out,

worn out,

left out,

for Christmas brings us hope:

“The light shines in the darkness,

and the darkness cannot overcome it.”

(John 1:5)

Even in the midst of our rushing around,

our busy-ness,

we can find joy in faith,

we can know peace in faith,

we can find comfort, assurance in faith.

All we need to do is let go,

and let God’s Spirit fill us,

let God’s peace wash over us.

As Mary once sang out,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has looked with favor

on the lowliness of his servant.”

(Luke 1:47)

Mary invites us to join her song,

to rejoice with her,

not just in in the weeks leading up

to Christmas,

but always.

For the Lord God has done great things for us,

this church, and each of us,

God’s beloved children.

And God will continue to bless us

with his grace and his love—

our Christmas gifts

from God through Jesus Christ.

We rejoice!

AMEN