Sermon for the Festival of St. Mary, Mother of Our Lord: August 15, 2021 jj
Rev’d Mark B. Stirdivant, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yucaipa, California
✝ sdg ✝
The virgin Eve fell to temptation when she heard the word of the serpent, the devil in the Garden of Eden, the center of God’s loving attention to all creation. At first, she questioned those deceptive words, but in the end Eve came to desire what Satan called wisdom, his wicked promise she would be like God. Moved by these inner desires that the serpent planted in her, she decided to eat forbidden fruit simply because it looked good. And by that temptation, she gave birth to you and all the other children of Adam under the dark shadow of sin.
The Virgin Mary heard the words of God spoken through the Archangel Gabriel, who suddenly appeared to her in the out-of-the-way hillside town of Nazareth. At first, she questioned those holy words, how this miracle could possibly happen, but in the end Mary said, “Here I am, the servant of the Lord. May it be to me as you have said.” Moved by the Holy Spirit who overshadowed her, she desired the Lord’s will to be done, and not her own, even when the Lord’s will didn’t at the time seem to make a lot of sense. And by her faith in the promises of God, all of which came from hearing His Word, Mary conceived and gave birth to her Savior, your Savior, the Hope of all the world, Jesus the Christ, and in Him, the deathly shadow of sin has been lifted from you.
And so on this day set aside in honor of Mary, all the glory belongs not to her but to the Lord whose Word she heard and believed. Today may have been the traditional day that she died, although that itself is not recorded for us in the Bible. It’s the best guess that she went along with John, when he departed to start the church in Ephesus, especially since John was the one to whom Jesus said when He was on the cross, “Behold your mother!” Anyway, now that Mary’s soul is in heaven with her beloved Son, she along with all the other saints may very well be praying for all of you because whether you see the church or you cannot, you are all still united as one together in worship of the Savior. But that does not mean that you must worship Mary or pray to her, because she is still a fellow forgiven sinner and child of God, saved by grace, just like you. The only distinction for her, once again, is what the Angel Gabriel himself said: “Blessed are you among women,” because she was chosen to conceive and give birth to God the Son.
The Bible calls attention to Mary also as an example, but please note, not as an example of what you should do. Rather, she is an example of how the Lord creates faith in a Christian’s heart. A faith that gives up on anything good that could possibly exist within you, and fully trusts instead in what Jesus has done for you. The word and promise of God to you, His forgiveness and Life, that’s all there is, and all that really matters.
But it seems everything else would matter more to you. The mad rush to get all your “summer-priorities” done now that school has restarted in person, the latest and greatest sales at the mall, another sports season, hopefully COVID free, just around the corner. These things and so many like them occupy your attention more often than the Word of God and prayer. Oh, no doubt, you pray, but your prayers are constantly for things, or some sort of convenience, or something else that will simply fade away soon enough. You are so comfortable with your crutches that you tune out Christ when He speaks the word to rise up and walk. The more you look at the law, the ten commandments, or even personal examples like St. Mary, you find yourself falling far short. Instead of praise and honor, your sins cultivate shame and dishonor.
But it is especially to you that the Lord has shown His favor! The prophet Isaiah comforts you: “Instead of shame there shall be a double portion;” –meaning a more than generous helping of His undeserved mercy! Instead of dishonor you shall rejoice in your lot as a baptized child of God living under the cross. You shall have everlasting joy, because of the forgiveness you have right now in Christ the crucified One! His holy blood was spilt in order to create a new everlasting covenant, that is, a new promise from God for you that can never be reversed.
Though you have acted unjustly toward your Creator, the Almighty Judge declares to you that your death sentence will rest upon His shoulders instead. Though your life has mimicked Eve on many more occasions than Mary, the same powerful Word of God that strengthened Mary’s faith is working on you right now. Your sinful nature is being drowned in your baptism so that Christ who is in you may rise from the dead just as surely as He broke through the garden tomb on Easter. You are the offspring that the Lord has blessed, because He has given you new birth to a new and living hope. You, despite all your sins, are covered in the robe of righteousness. What He has planted inside you will sprout up and grow until the Last Day. God speaks His Word, and the stubborn, selfish, cold heart within you melts in warm praise and joy because of Jesus.
Fellow blessed believers, may your souls rejoice in God your Savior this day along with the Blessed Virgin Mary! Rejoice in sufferings and trials with her who was once an outcast of her society for being pregnant before marriage. For the Baby she bore and nursed and raised was the Christ who suffered for you and for her. Listen to and trust in His Word alone, as she did, for Jesus desires to be born within your heart now and forever. Believe in the Son of God with the faith that the Holy Spirit placed in your heart at Baptism– the Son of God who is begotten of the Father before all worlds. Eat and drink His precious Body and Blood, which was born of the Virgin Mary and suffered under Pontius Pilate. For when all is said and done, even on St. Mary’s Day, the center of attention is not her or you or even the saints and angels of heaven all around you whom you cannot see right now. Rather the center of attention is on Jesus and His forgiveness that He hands out to you today. And with faith you too may boldly say to Him, “Here I am, the servant of the Lord. May it be to me as You have said.”
In the Name of the Father and of the ✝ Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Readings:
Is. 61:7–11 He has clothed me with the robe of righteousness
Psalm 45:10–17 She shall be brought to the King in robes of many colors
Gal. 4:4–7 when the fullness of the time had come God sent forth His Son
Luke 1:39–55 Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!