Difference between revisions of "Sermon for December 11th, 2016"

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Luke 1:46-55

46 And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47     and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
    Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
   and holy is his name.
50 His mercy is for those who fear him
    from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
    he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
    and lifted up the lowly;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
    and sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
    in remembrance of his mercy,
55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
    to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

Mary's Song of Praise: According to the Promise

One day, Jesus was standing in the midst of an angry crowd of people, several of whom were preparing to throw rocks at a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. With great compassion, Jesus looked to the woman, and then to the crowd, and said, "whichever one of you is without sin, cast the first stone." There was silence. And then from somewhere out in the crowd, one lone rock came whistling right past Jesus' ear. With an annoyed look on his face, Jesus looked into the crowd and said, "Mother, I wasn't talking to you!"

That's an old joke that works on several levels. If you grew up, like me, in a Protestant church, and you laughed at that joke, it's probably because you've known a few mothers like that (or maybe even had one). Strong, opinionated, always right, and not afraid to remind her children of this fact in public.

If, however, you grew up Catholic, you might have laughed at this joke for an entirely different reason: The Roman Catholic doctrine of the Immaculate Conception teaches that Mary, at her own conception and birth was made immaculate by God, free from the stain of original sin, and that she went on to lead a completely sinless life.

The joke, then, pokes at the idea that when Jesus said those words "whoever is without sin, cast the first stone," his mother (according to the doctrine of the immaculate conception) actually could have done just that, therefore defeating the point her son was trying to make. Of course, if she had thrown the stone, and killed the woman caught in adultery, would *that* have been a sin? Or... since Jesus *commanded* whomever was without sin to cast the stone, and Mary was without sin, would not throwing the stone count as disobedience to God, and therefore also a sin?

Obviously, it's complicated. And by now, I've probably completely ruined the joke.

• Mary's observations are in the aorist tense. God has already done these things? Is doing? Will do?
• Pride as the root of all sinfulness, everything else flows from that.
• Jesus' core teachings are anticipated in his mothers prayer.
• Seven strong verbs: God is a God of action in this world. This is not spirituality, this is politics.
• Since we are all made in God's image, we are to see God in each other, and therefore work for justice for all.
• To be pregnant is to be hopeful. And anxious. And patient. And reliant upon God.
• Luke 4:18 - Jesus says pretty much the same thing, also in past tense (quoting Isaiah).