Bearing Jesus

2 Samuel 7:8-16; Romans 16:25-27; Luke 1:26-38

Over the past two thousand years since the first Christmas, and the life of Jesus, and the rise of the early Christian church, there have been many people who have wondered who Mary, the mother of Jesus, really was. The Roman Catholic Church has taken Mary and glorified her beyond any recognition or honor that the scriptures, themselves, may give her. And, there are many who continue to pray to Mary, as though Mary had some kind of inside track to God and can plead our cause better than Christ, who the scripture says is our brother and mediator. Indeed, there are probably as many prayers prayed to the blessed virgin as there are to Christ, himself. And this does seem kind of odd (doesn't it?), when you think about it, since the purpose of Christ's birth as a man was so that we could have reconciliation with God through Jesus. Nevertheless, Mary's name is still lifted up in prayer, as though she were a god.

But, in fact, Mary does deserve honor. After all, as our gospel lesson says, she was chosen by God to bear his Son to the world. She had found favor with the Lord. The angel's words to Mary were, "The Lord is with you."

Now, for that particular day the very thought that an angel would appear to a lowly woman and say such a thing was unheard of. The society at the time of Christ believed that if God or an angel was going to speak to somebody it would be to a man and not to a woman. And, what's more, if God or an angel was going to speak to a man, it would be to a powerful man, or a very religious clergyman, as opposed to a common peasant, or to some dusty lay person.

So, God's coming to and honoring a young lowly peasant girl was certainly a very revolutionary thing to do, at least in the mind of those who lived during the time of Jesus' birth.

Thus, one of the most obvious lessons we can learn from this passage is that greatness in the eyes of God doesn't necessary lie in the power of a person, or in the religiosity of a person, or in the high position of a person. Rather, most often, those who God loves, those who are favored by God, those who the Lord is with, are the poor, the lowly, and the very least of society.

Surely, there is something for us to learn in all of this. Most of all, we should be reminded that no matter who we are, no matter how unimportant we may think we are among all others, we're still a part of God's plan. God can use us. We may not be able to speak Greek and Hebrew. We may not be able to trace our lineage back to royalty. We may not have a million dollars over in the Kent State Bank. We may not live in the nicest house in town. Our health may not be what it used to be. And, yet, in spite of it all, God still uses us. And that, my friends, is one of the miracles of Christmas.

Indeed, if it was a miracle that God chose a young peasant girl from the town of Nazareth to be the mother of Christ, then it is certainly a miracle that God still chooses to make use of persons like ourselves to do his work as the body of Christ.

But, there's something else for us to remember. For, if God chooses the humble and the lowly to do his work, this simple fact should, in itself, keep us humble. We have all run into persons who have truly believed that only they were fit to be God's instrument in the world; that only they were wise enough to be the conduit of God's knowledge; that only they were wealthy enough to provide anything meaningful to make a difference; that only they were fair enough to be a vessel worthy of God's use. Such thinking has always been a problem for the church. And such persons would be humbled if they would only remember Mary: a simple, lowly, peasant girl, who, in her humility, found favor with God.

I am reminded of an author of religious books who was embarrassed when he realized that people thought that in order for him to have written books like that he must be a very holy man. When told this, the author, who was an elderly man, said, "Well, makes me want to creep into Heaven, unnoticed."

Or, I am reminded of another bit of wisdom: Have you ever thought of it, that only the smaller birds sing? You never heard a note from an eagle in all your life, nor from the turkey, nor from the ostrich. But you have heard from the canary, the wren, and the lark. Likewise, the sweetest music comes from those who are small in their own estimation and before the Lord.

This was Mary. When the angel came to her and told her that she had found favor with God, she was troubled. She was surprised. But, the angel was going to give her even more surprising news. He told her that she would become pregnant, give birth, and call the baby's name Jesus. And then the angel told her that this would all take place, not by a man, but by the Holy Spirit, so that the holy One to be born would be called the Son of God.

Many Christians call Mary, "the mother of God." In fact, technically, that's exactly what Mary became when she gave birth to Jesus. For the Christ who came to earth in the man, Jesus, was none other than God, himself. And all of this was accomplished through Mary. And this makes Mary important, not only among women, but among human beings. After all, she was the very first to share Christ, to bear Jesus, to the world.

But, I would like to suggest that everyone who bears Christ to the world becomes like Mary.	Everyone who has Christ in their heart is capable of giving birth to the Christ child, over and over again, by simply telling Christ's story.

Now, one would think that telling Christ's story wouldn't be that hard to do. But, more persons are unfamiliar with the gospel story than we may realize. Several years ago a famous evangelist was travelling through Missouri. Passing through one of the county seats, he strolled near a bus station and decided to take his own little survey. At the town's busiest corner he asked people: "How does a person get to heaven?"

He stopped 29 people within about 20 minutes and only seven persons were able to give the correct answer. And, yet, in that very spot a person could see the spires of five churches.

There are many churches in this town, as well. And, yet, how many persons in this town could answer that question correctly? How many persons have actually met that baby in the manger. Or, to ask the question in another way: "How many of us have really been about the business of bearing Jesus to the world?"

Howard E. Butt, Jr., a millionaire grocer, once said, "God doesn't issue a special call to pastors and leave everyone else uncalled. Every Christian should think of him or herself as having a divine call for making Christian witnessing a full-time career."

L. C. Hester of Whitehours, Texas, is a plumber. He packs a New Testament with his tools. He is known as "the witnessing plumber." A minister described him by saying that the man had won hundreds to Christ since he had become a Christian. Many will listen to a lay person who will not listen to a preacher."

Just as it was Mary's opportunity to bear Jesus into the world, so is it our calling and our opportunity is to share Jesus with the world, as well. Amen.