The Real Mary: Triumphalism Reversed

Scot McKnight has produced a volume that is academic and devotional, and irenic and polemic, sometimes in the same chapter. The Virgin Mary is not the one-sided character of the creche (a new word for me) but she is a woman of numerous facets upon which we might meditate. One side of her life that is too easily hidden by the oft-pictured passivity is the Mary of sorrow, the topic of today’s chapter in The Real Mary today.

Joseph and Mary take their baby to the temple in Jerusalem for a two-fold ritual in obedience to the Law. (Luke 2:21-39) Mary is to be purified and restored to normal community relations after her delivery and the boy is to be consecrated to the Lord. Mary cannot be approaching this ceremony without considering its place in the triumphal theology that has been developing in mind since the moment of conception. The baby she carries up to the temple is the newborn King and the consecration may be the end of one cycle as He is given over to the service of God. She must have wondered if this become his coronation, the beginning of the public recognition for all that she has kept relatively secret in her heart.

That is, until the moment that the man named Simeon swoops over to take the child in his arms, lifting his voice in praise to the God who had promised him that he would not die before seeing the long awaited Messiah. Was Mary alarmed at this stranger? He had not only taken her child from the safety of her grasp but he was also receiving revelation similar to hers. Perhaps though, she had come to recognize that the little King would not remains hers alone for very long. Perhaps it was the praise with which Simeon buoyed Jesus above all other temple activity at that moment saying that God could call him heavenward as the promised Christ had come. Perhaps she was relieved that the important announcement of the coming of the King had been made by Simeon in the holiest locale rather than by her. Perhaps her simple joy at the immediacy of God’s presence overwhelmed all other streams of thought. We do well to consider all of these possibilities.

We do well also to consider the immediate reshaping that Mary’s triumphal soteriology takes upon Simeon’s following words. The Christ will divide rather than unite; he will become a person to be opposed by many rather than followed. As Mary certainly struggles to assimilate this new revelation, she is struck personally by Simeon. Her son will be a sword that pierces her own soul. How does she gaze upon the baby now? She knows now that Jesus will break her heart and she knows that she can do nothing to stop it. Mary is now a woman of sorrow.

 

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The N Word

I suppose that legislating the use of the n-word has some symbolic value but its use will continue until those who retain it as a part of their vocabulary can look upon another human being and see the inate worth of that person. Continuing to hang on to the use of a derogatory word, whether it is a cultural affectation or a pejorative, degrades us as people from the inside out. Laws will not hinder the term’s use; souls connected to the Image Creator will.

Hope Iz

Iz once wrote “For without hope I cannot live.” He told a story in the song Hawai’i ’78 Introduction about his father who died of a broken heart. The pressures of life exerted so much force upon the man that what hope he had was unable to push back. Every morning we’re confronted with word of a new slaughter, another on the job shotgun rampage, stories of the best and brightest cheating, and the never ending rancor of political debate that continues to rise in its shrillness. Is it even possible to have hope?

Iz had hope. Paul had hope. I have hope. When the lyrics point you to a hope found somewhere at the end of the rainbow, remember that the rainbow is an arc, not a line up past the clouds. That arch begins and ends right where you are after having touched the heavens. You are made in the image of the one who wants to give you hope, not only in the future, but right now.

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The Real Mary: Witness

Mary is the woman who all believers wish they could be because of her enviable status as the Witness. She alone has seen and heard every miraculous proclamation, watched the life take shape in her womb, and now holds the child Jesus in her arms. We believe from a distance rooted in faith; Mary holds the child in her hands.

She has had nine months to contemplate what everything that has happened to her means, and her theology obtains from the old and new alike. Her belief that Jesus will one day reign on the throne in Jerusalem is unassailed because her witness cannot deduce otherwise. Her people have longed for this king and now He is here. A living, breathing, crying king who draws the Magi and shepherds alike to look upon his countenance and add their knowledge to Mary’s understanding of what she has brought into the world.

Her testimony is about to be challenged by the man she encounters in the temple, Simeon. Does her witness grow with addition of new information or she deadlock her belief against it? How do we respond as our faith is challenged by our maturity? Do we maintain the same simple theology we had as newborn Christians or do we allow or even encourage God to reveal more and more about Himself and His plans as our witness ages?

Luke 2:1-20, Matthew 1:18-2:12

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Kindness

My sermon this morning was on the fruit of the Spirit shown in kindness. We suffer a surfeit of kindness in our world, that goes without saying. The saddest truth that came out in the message was that we have allowed the cultural self-sufficiency influence the way that we act toward one another within the body.

This takes countless forms. We refuse help when it offered in kindness from others. We suffer in silence because we do not want to appear weak in the eyes of others. We don’t listen. In the end, we appear little different from the world around us. There is no fruit to harvest.

The spirit nurtures kindness within us because it reflects the character of the One in whose image we are made. God is kind and merciful toward us in our brokenness, taking His tarnished image and cleaning and polishing it so that it can be attractive to others who see it in us. The Spirit moves us then to allow this fruit to be harvested from our lives. As the Father is kind to us, we in turn are to exhibit this same kindness to those within our sphere.

It takes courage to be kind. Ask and you shall receive it in abundance.

(That wonderful sketch is by Kathe Kollwitz)

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Heartbreak Addie

I suppose it was inevitable that  Addie Kubisiak would be begin to be the subject of scorn and derision from many who position themselves above her rather than alongside her. Addie has made a horrible error, one that will affect her for the remainder of her days but we must remember, it is God who will judge the hearts of those who stand before Him. Regardless of the feelings that well up in our souls at our revulsion to her actions our calling to fall into step with her, love and accept her for who she is – a fellow struggler who slipped in a little deeper than we hope ever happens to us- and to walk her the rest of the way home. Pray for her to know the God of forgiveness and restoration and pray for the child who is already home.

 

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Women Gone Wild

There’s a lot that  the boys can learn about attitude from this article in the latest Utne Reader. Our constant search for yet a greater extreme in our adventures ( “it’s not an adventure until someone gets airlifted out”) certainly takes on a different light when viewed through someone elses eyes. How many times have I wondered what comes next as I aim my mountain bike down a steep trail when what I really wanted to was just kind of cruise a bit.