|
|
“Mary’s Pilgrimage”
Matthew 1:18-25
A Sermon Preached by The Rev. Douglas M. Donley
Throughout her life, Mary heard
voices. The voices came from those near
and those farther away. The voices told
her what to do and what not to do.
She heard Gabriel first. At least that’s who she thought it was. She heard him say she was somehow
special. She heard about how God had a
plan for her. But the plan was kind of
nebulous. It was one of those grand
prophetic ones all about raising up the poor and crashing down the mighty from
their thrones. Yeah, she’d heard that
before. Hannah said something like that. She had overheard it once and it rang
true. It was a great thing. An audacious thing Gabriel told her. But she wasn’t sure if she could do it. Maybe he was talking to the wrong person.
You see, she had heard other voices,
too. All her life she heard people tell
her she was not allowed in the synagogue because she as not a man. She had met the bouncers at the gate and they
didn’t let her in. She learned early that
as a woman, she could not own property.
She knew that the only way for her to get some kind of social standing
was to get married and have babies. But
not just any babies, male babies. They
were the only important ones. All of
this came from the Bible. All of this
made religion seem a bit too foreign to her.
When she was really bold, she would secretly think, “Why waste my time
with that.” But really, what was the
alternative?
So she did what she was supposed to
do. She found someone to marry her. Actually, she didn’t find him. She didn’t even have a say in the matter. Marriages back then were financial
arrangements between two men, of course—the groom and the father of the
bride. Mary had been bought by
Joseph. Oh, they didn’t call it
that. They called it a dowry. The financial transaction was even in the
liturgy: “Who gives this woman to be married to this man”. Mary’s dad said he did and that was
that. It didn’t matter that Joseph was
older—a lot older. It didn’t matter what
Mary felt for Joseph. Mary was Joseph’s
and that was that. Where he went, Mary
had to go. What he said, she had to
do. It was the way of the world. She had always heard that God wanted it that
way.
Gabriel told her something was going
to happen to her and it sure did. She
tried to hide it at first. Long robes
conceal a lot. But the morning sickness,
the nausea, the mood swings and the sheer terror of what was growing inside her
was about as much as she could take. She
didn’t feel like “Blessed Mary”. She
felt like Mary the laughingstock, Mary the sideshow, Mary the oddity. If anyone took seriously Gabriel’s words,
Mary might be killed. What he said was
too dangerous, too messy, too threatening, certainly too much for Mary to
handle alone.
Luckily, she had
They spoke long into the night about
how they would teach their children right from wrong.
They would teach them what they had
learned. That it ain’t necessarily so,
the things that you’re liable to read in the Bible, it ain’t necessarily
so. Whenever someone quotes scripture to
put down women or to restrict people, see if it passes the prophetic smell
test. If you look hard enough in
scripture, primarily at the Prophets, you will find that religious-based exclusivism is called by them idolatry. It’s a way of losing your focus on God and
going after another god altogether.
That’s what
Mary and Elizabeth would teach their
children to look out for the weak and to defend the voiceless. They would teach them that whenever religion
told you one thing, you should always check to see what the prophets would
say. They would teach them to value
women, to stand up for the outsiders. And
to give hope to a world in need.
After some time with
This was when Mary’s life changed
from a journey to a pilgrimage. A
journey is something that happens as a series of events, places and people
strewn together. On a
journey things clarify themselves.
A pilgrimage is going to a specific destination. Mary was on a pilgrimage after she began owning
the Magnificat. Hers was a pilgrimage of bearing a child who
would fulfill the dreams of a struggling world.
It was not a surprise to her that
Joseph wanted to shun her. It’s what men
do. Nothing Joseph did surprised her anymore.
But she kept surprising Joseph, and everyone else, too. She had a power and a peace that surpassed
her age and experience. She had wisdom
and an audacious uppitiness that put people in their
place. Joseph learned who he was dealing
with. Heck, it was a matter of
survival. Eventually, I like to think, he
thanked God for her.
Mary did not stay in the place where
she had been told she was going to be because of who she was. Mary listened to the angels who pointed her
in a different direction. Mary refused
to give up her hope. Mary set her own
faithful future in motion.
To hear Matthew tell it, it was all
about Joseph. I’m sure Joseph spoke to
his share of angels. Not the least of
which was Mary.
Sisters and brothers, think about
those who have made you into who you are.
Think about those who have nurtured you and given you your sense of
suspicion at the present ways of this world.
Think about how they offer solutions and point us toward a hopeful
future. Look at them and remember that
their angelic vision is one that we need this Christmas season. Mary made a pilgrimage but it was more than
simply a pilgrimage from
And this Sunday, you have that same
kind of power in your fragile hands.
May our December pilgrimages bring
us together with people who will remind us of who we are and remind us of who
God is and where God is. The gift that Mary brought to the world was a
concept of God not far off, not as a warrior, a judge, a cosmic scorekeeper,
but a companion. Emmanuel: God-with-us. God as close as a friend who reminds you of
who you are.
May our pilgrimages bring us to places where we might remember who we
are or who we always wanted to be. If we help someone live a dream, then maybe
we are sharing in Mary’s pilgrimage. And
God is with us.
(Singing)
“O come, thou Wisdom from on high,
And order all things far and nigh;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And cause us in its ways to go.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.”
Amen.