The text below is from a sermon I occasionally deliver on Mother’s Day.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, does not receive a lot of attention in Protestant churches. This is mostly a knee-jerk reaction from her exaltedness in the Catholic Church. It is as if we Protestants are so afraid of potentially worshiping her that we swing to the opposite extreme and eliminate her from conveying any significant theological reflection. This is unfortunate, not because Mary should be worshiped, prayed to, or seen in some way as miraculous in and of herself, but because she has some things to teach Christians of all stripes. Yes, Mary has some things to say, even to us Protestants! Put provocatively, Mary speaks doctrinally in the NT. Her song in Luke 1:46-55, called the Magnificat (Latin), is one of the most significant theological reflections in all of Christian Scripture.
Mary praises God for his graciousness toward her (vv. 46-49)
God is to be magnified and rejoiced in because he cares deeply for his creation by acting on behalf of individuals. God sees the minute details of our lives. He knows our humble state and seeks to lift us up. God is the sole source of blessing for his people. We do not bless ourselves nor do we provide for ourselves. Mary proclaims that when other people call us “blessed” it is because they recognize that God blessed us first. Further, the very ground of our existence is the gratuitous grace of God. Mary realizes that she is a recipient of God’s grace, which cannot be earned. Our blessedness is the Lord’s doing.
Mary recognizes that God’s grace extends beyond her (vv. 50-53)
God provides for the humble and hungry as he topples the arrogant and prideful. It is easy for us to be stingy with God’s grace. It is easy to take pride in receiving grace as though we are more special than others. But Mary reminds us that God extends his grace to all who fear him. And this is not once-and-done. God’s grace does not begin and end with us. Instead, he has been about the business of extending his grace from generation to generation, times past, present, and future. However, God is not the sole distributor of his grace. We, his people who have received his grace, bear the responsibility of sharing that grace with others. Mary reminds us that God’s grace is not to be hoarded but distributed. She also teaches us that it is not all about God’s grace; it is also about his judgment. As God exalts the humble he humbles the exalted. Rulers and rich who have no need for God are reduced to empty beggars. God could have chosen any of the rulers in the first century to be the bearer of the good news but he chose Mary, who had nothing, to be filled up with his grace.
Mary testifies that God keeps his promises (vv. 54-55)
God’s promises are rooted in his faithfulness, not ours. I once heard someone say that God’s promises are dependant on our response. That is a pretty high view of humanity and the kind of thought process Mary warns against in v. 51. Are we so proud that we actually believe our merits outweigh our failures (or will eventually do so) therefore granting us the right to inherit the eternal promises of God? Scripture is full of people and nations failing miserably in every aspect of life but who receive the precious promises of God in spite of their sins. Mary affirms that God’s faithfulness trumps our faithlessness and this must remain the core doctrine of the church.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
A Loving Community
Jesus told his disciples that all people would know they are in fact his disciples if they love one another (John 13:34-35). Sounds easy enough right? Most devoted Christians would openly declare their “love” for their brothers and sisters in Christ. But isn’t “love” overused and broadly defined in our culture? For example, I love my wife but I also love popcorn. I love my parents but I love my dog as well. “Love” is thrown around in English and has all but lost the sacrificial sense Jesus conveyed when giving his disciples the new command to love. Jesus explained the kind of love he was talking about: “Love one another as I have loved you” (v. 34). The love Jesus commands of us is sacrificial, selfless, and underserved.
The church is community of love. More specifically, it is a community of God’s love. The church exists because of his love. Creation itself exists because of his love. Have you ever thought about why God created humanity in the first place? Was it to fill a void in himself? Was he lonely? Did he need servants? No. The Bible illustrates that God himself is community: “Let us make humanity in our image” (Gen 1:26-27). God is, and always has been, the perfect community of holy, sacrificial love. He created all of creation out of his pure love. Put simply, he loved so he created. God didn’t need to create humanity to fill a void in his heart, stroke his ego by telling him what a great God he is, or to serve him (as in many pagan creation stories in the ancient Near East). He created because he loved.
The church is to be a community that reflects the gracious nature of God’s love. We are to live our lives as testimonies to the love of God which creates and sustains us. Jesus said that if we reflect the selfless love of God, the world will take note (John 13:35). When we love one another in sacrificial and practical ways we actively reflect the love of God. So, “love” is no longer a broadly defined, emotionally hyped word that applies to anything and everything from spouses to favorite foods. Love is sacrificial. Granted, it is emotional as well; no one can truly demonstrate love without having a measure of genuine emotion or feeling in his/her heart. To do so otherwise is hypocrisy. But love is not sheer emotion; love is action-oriented. As the DC Talk song says, “Love is a verb.” Love is demonstrable; it works, it serves, it honors, and it is selfless – like God.
So should our love be for one another. It is not enough to declare “I love my siblings in Christ.” What do I mean by “love”? The world will not notice the kind of love that is simply spoken yet not demonstrated. It sees enough of that in itself. The world will know that we are Christ’s disciples if we love one another in tangible, practical, sacrificial ways. Jesus taught that the most effective evangelistic effort is when Christians truly love one another. It sounds counter intuitive to define evangelism as: reaching out by reaching in but that’s exactly what Jesus calls us to do! As a community of love, the church’s primary evangelistic tool is to love one another first by reflecting the kind of love Christ had for his disciples. Then and only then will the world take notice and want to become part of a loving church family.
The church is community of love. More specifically, it is a community of God’s love. The church exists because of his love. Creation itself exists because of his love. Have you ever thought about why God created humanity in the first place? Was it to fill a void in himself? Was he lonely? Did he need servants? No. The Bible illustrates that God himself is community: “Let us make humanity in our image” (Gen 1:26-27). God is, and always has been, the perfect community of holy, sacrificial love. He created all of creation out of his pure love. Put simply, he loved so he created. God didn’t need to create humanity to fill a void in his heart, stroke his ego by telling him what a great God he is, or to serve him (as in many pagan creation stories in the ancient Near East). He created because he loved.
The church is to be a community that reflects the gracious nature of God’s love. We are to live our lives as testimonies to the love of God which creates and sustains us. Jesus said that if we reflect the selfless love of God, the world will take note (John 13:35). When we love one another in sacrificial and practical ways we actively reflect the love of God. So, “love” is no longer a broadly defined, emotionally hyped word that applies to anything and everything from spouses to favorite foods. Love is sacrificial. Granted, it is emotional as well; no one can truly demonstrate love without having a measure of genuine emotion or feeling in his/her heart. To do so otherwise is hypocrisy. But love is not sheer emotion; love is action-oriented. As the DC Talk song says, “Love is a verb.” Love is demonstrable; it works, it serves, it honors, and it is selfless – like God.
So should our love be for one another. It is not enough to declare “I love my siblings in Christ.” What do I mean by “love”? The world will not notice the kind of love that is simply spoken yet not demonstrated. It sees enough of that in itself. The world will know that we are Christ’s disciples if we love one another in tangible, practical, sacrificial ways. Jesus taught that the most effective evangelistic effort is when Christians truly love one another. It sounds counter intuitive to define evangelism as: reaching out by reaching in but that’s exactly what Jesus calls us to do! As a community of love, the church’s primary evangelistic tool is to love one another first by reflecting the kind of love Christ had for his disciples. Then and only then will the world take notice and want to become part of a loving church family.
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