I'd like to quote an inspiring
speech given in a recent box office hit. A few of you
may recognize it. But knowing what movie it is - is not
important. Instead what I want to focus on is the
recognition of one's place in the movement of history
and the critical part each and every person plays in the
final outcome - that in this story - ultimately affects
the fate of all humankind. One of our heroes says to all
those gathered:
"I see in your eyes the same
fear that would take the heart of me.
A day may come when the courage of men fails
When we forsake our friends and break all bonds of
fellowship.
But it is not this day.
An hour of woe and shattered shields and the age of
men comes crashing down.
But it is not this day.
By all that you hold dear on this good earth, I bid
you stand."
These were men who faced sure
death, outnumbered and surrounded by the enemy more than
100 to one. But their task was to draw attention away
from two of their number who had gotten behind enemy
lines. And though the outcome seemed certain, they had
faith, they believed, and they acted as one who knew he
had been chosen for this moment and this task.
And such was the faith of Mary,
pregnant with the child of God. Think about it. This
young woman, engaged to Joseph, is - in the eyes of her
society - in big trouble. According to Israelite law,
she should have been dragged outside the gates and
stoned to death. And even though Joseph kept his
engagement promises and married Mary, you know how
people are….talking and whispering whenever she went to
the marketplace or passed her on the streets. The
beginning of their married life together was threatened
by death. If not physical - then character slander. Only
a few insiders like Elizabeth would have found the Holy
Spirit story believable. And, as we know, the child was
at risk because of Herod's fanatical purge of children
under the age of two. Their social station was the lower
working class who had no privileges in Roman eyes.
And yet, Mary sings of how
future generations will call her blessed. That God has
looked with favor on her, done great things for her. And
she rejoices in the face of such unfavorable odds. How?
How can she take such a precarious situation and say,
thanks God, this is great!
Mary was fortunate in that she
knew the story of God from the very beginning of human
history. She knew the interplay of God with her
ancestors. She knew that God chose people from all walks
of life to be his servants and changed their lives
forever. As a child she would have rehearsed over and
over again the list of faith filled events much as we
have in the New Testament book of Hebrews. By faith Abel
offered to God a sacrifice. By faith Enoch was taken. By
faith Noah, warned by God, built an ark. By faith
Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out, By faith
Jacob blessed each of the sons of Joseph. By faith
Moses' parents hid their son. By faith Moses chose to
share ill treatment and led his people out of bondage.
By faith the Israelites passed through the Red Sea. By
faith the walls of Jericho fell after the Israelites
marched around it. By faith Rahab the prostitute
received the spies in peace although she could have been
tortured and killed by the people of her city. And the
list goes on with Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David and
Samuel and the prophets. This litany of faithful people
would have given Mary the strength and courage to accept
this challenge from God and consider it a blessing
though it was sure to bring with it heartache and
separation of families. Mary's song continues by telling
how those who do not embrace God's will for their lives
eventually are brought low by God's almighty strength
and power. To be chosen by God for this task of
motherhood affirmed for Mary her place in God's
unfolding purpose for the universe.
Kids and parents too, when you
open the cover of a Bible, there is a page that we
usually call the presentation page or dedication page.
When someone gifts you with this book and writes your
name on that line, they are saying that you have a place
in the great epic adventure of men and women and their
creator. They are saying that the adventures contained
inside these pages are valuable for you as you prepare
for your future with all its inherent dangers and
excitement. They are asking you to read it, learn it,
and find the heroes within that give you strength to
accept whatever task it is that God will set before you.
In the alternate gospel reading
for today, Jesus says, I came to bring fire to the
earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a
baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am
under until it is completed! Do you think I have come to
bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather
division!
Jesus is the man who began as
Mary's baby. He understands full well that the message
he has to share will not be accepted by everyone. He
knows quite well the political situation of his time is
balanced by a mere thread and anything could set off a
power struggle that could bring death to himself and his
people. But he knows the message has to be shared.
People have resolved their problems the human way for
thousands of years and we continue to have war. Jesus'
sacrifice and his way of life even today just don't seem
to gain sufficient inroads in people's lives to stop the
violence.
What is the fire that Jesus
spoke about bringing to the earth? So many think of it
as the end times destruction, but I believe it has to do
with the Holy Spirit, faith and the fire that can burn
within each and everyone of us.
Our world faces the same kind of
political upheaval and possibility of war as did those
in Jesus' day and every generation before and after. And
each one of us will face these crises in different
capacities. Some of us will as soldiers, some as
diplomats, some as nurses, doctors, teachers, factory
workers, homemakers, mothers, students, policemen, road
crew, athletes, etc. But you will come face to face with
moments that will demonstrate to the world the heritage
to which you belong and how firmly you grasp the
faithfulness of God. As Christians we know that there
will be men and women who will falter and fail in the
task set before them. But if we hang on to the valor and
courage of the men and women in this book and cling to
the strength and example of Jesus Christ, this will not
be the day that we fall but the day that we accept the
challenges of the world with the our faith on fire. AMEN