Of all the triumphant saints that the church on earth remembers and celebrates, the most blessed must surely be St. Mary, the Mother of Our Lord, for she did what no one else did: She conceived in her womb and gave birth to the Son of God! In St. Mary, the Mother of Our Lord, we see demonstrated the way in which the Lord saves us. NOT by St. Mary but by the Son that she bore and to Whom she gave birth. Not only that, St. Mary also gives to us an example of true Christian humility and faith before God and love and service to her neighbor. Therefore we celebrate her feast day as a celebration of our salvation in Christ, as a thanksgiving to God for what He has done for all people through St. Mary's Son, and as an example of our own lives as Christians.
Consider first of all God's choice of St. Mary. Her cousin Elizabeth says to her, “Blessed are you among women!” Is Mary better than other women? Is she prettier? Is she smarter? Is that why the Lord chooses her? No! Why does the Lord choose Mary to be the mother of His Son? Perhaps it is because she is sinless? The one person who has no sin? No! Hardly. For doesn't Mary herself say that her spirit rejoices in God her SAVIOR? If Mary had no sin, then why would she need a Savior? It is true that Mary's family was in the line that descended from King David, as was Joseph's her husband. But among all the descendants of David, why pick THIS girl? Why choose Mary? The answer is this: Mary is chosen because the Lord tells her she is chosen! She is chosen, not for anything in her, but because the Lord, in His grace, called her to be the mother of the Word-made-flesh. And this is the first way in which Mary shows us our salvation. When the Lord chose you and claimed you in the waters of Holy Baptism, He didn't do so because of you. He didn't do so because of your parents. He chose you by grace. There isn't anything inside you that sparked the Lord's interest. He didn't see that you would have faith or live a good life. He didn't see that you were going to turn out better than others or be less of a sinner. No, in the midst of your being dead in trespasses and sins, the Lord chose you by grace to be His own child. There is nothing to do there but rejoice that the Lord has chosen you in Christ to be His own!
Now the fact that the Lord chooses an earthly mother for His Son also teaches us how God saves us. He saves us by sending His Son. But Jesus doesn't come as a vision or a sign in the heaven's or as an animal form or as a mess of feelings inside us. His Son becomes a man. A human being. The eternal Son takes on a human nature in Mary's womb. When Jesus is conceived, He has a human nature given by His mother in her womb. There He grows as one of us. He is born as one of us. St. Mary reminds us that God saves us by becoming one of us. That the Son of God is a human being. St. Paul tells us why: He is born of a woman so that He may be born under the Law and redeem us who were under the curse of the Law! Jesus is born of the flesh of Mary so that God can do what people do: suffer, and bleed, and die. St. Mary is a reminder not only in her giving birth but in her bitter sorrow at the cross, that the One who is born from her will save us from our sins by giving Himself into the horrible death of the cross. To celebrate and remember St. Mary is really to remember that Jesus is a man in order to save us from our sins. Only by being a man could the Son of God suffer a death which takes away our sins and blots them out of God the Father's sight.
St. Mary is also a reminder to us that the Lord comes to us through means. The Son of God became man but He didn't do it by just becoming man and dropping out of heaven. He uses the earthly means of a human mother by which He takes on His flesh and is born to the praises of angels and shepherds. Just so, it is a reminder that the Son of God who is in the flesh does not come to us except through means. Thus the Lord doesn't take us into His death and resurrection except through the water and word of Holy Baptism. He doesn't absolve our sins in any other way than the voice of our pastor or another Christian. And just as He hid Himself in the flesh and in the womb of Mary, until He was brought forth for us, so He hides that same flesh and blood under the bread and wine in the Holy Supper of salvation. Mary is a reminder that our Lord can be located and found in a certain place. He is in her womb. He is in a stable manger. He is in the Jordan River. He is in Galilee or Jerusalem. He is on the cross of Calvary. He is in the Upper Room and alive. He is here, in His church, in water, word, bread and wine, delivering that salvation which rescues us from sin, death and the devil. Mary is even a picture of the church. For she bears the Word in her womb, giving birth to the Son of God, just as the church is the place where the Word is and she is our mother, as St. Paul says, giving birth to us as the sons of God in holy baptism.
Through Mary, the Lord also teaches us about faith and good works. Hear again Mary's words when she sings, “My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior!” That's faith. Mary's whole life was to say “Amen” the Lord's Word. She was chosen to be the bearer of God's Word and she did so gladly and with trust that the Lord would provide for her and care for her. So she teaches us that our highest good is from God and that the One who has put His Word in us by Baptism and praching and His Supper will also provide for us and care for us. See how Mary rejoices in her Savior! So she teaches us that we should have no higher joy than in learning what God has done for us and how He has done so. But see also Mary's humility and love of her neighbor. Think about this: Mary has the most honored position of any person of all time. We know that when people get money or fame they begin to do anything they want and live only for themselves. Consider the actor who wants to entertain but becomes so famous and rich that they just walk over everyone else and leave a trail of destruction behind them. Or someone who is elected to govern, and they desire to serve the people; yet when they get to Washington and get a taste of their power and authority they begin to serve only themselves. And that's just money and fame! Now consider Mary, the bearer of GOD HIMSELF! If ever there was an occasion for boasting, looking down upon others and going crazy with power and fame, it would be Mary. But what does she do? She goes to Elizabeth and helps here in her pregnancy. She goes and serves her neighbor. What a lesson for us! We ought to pray that the Lord would give us such humility that Mary has, that is so confident in God's goodness that it doesn't worry about anything but going and helping others! That is truly the work of the Spirit in Mary and in us. Learn, with St. Mary, to trust in the Lord's Word and to humbly serve Him and those around you!
So, then, St. Mary. She is the picture and model of our salvation. For when we remember her, we are remembering all that Christ is and has done for us. St. Mary teaches us that as she was chosen by God's grace for this holy calling so we too are chosen by God's grace to be His own. As Mary was the one whose flesh was given to the Son of God in His human nature, so she teaches us that our Savior is one of us, to bleed and die and rise for our salvation. He who is born of a woman gives us new birth into His kingdom! St. Mary teaches us that the Lord works through means. Just as His incarnation used the womb of Mary, so He still comes to us by earthly means: water, words, bread and wine, for our salvation. And Mary teaches us about our Christian life, that our first and highest duty is to rejoice in our Savior by faith. Then, we who have Christ in us by faith, live, as Mary did, for the glory of God and the service and care of others. Today we celebrate and remember St. Mary, the Mother of Our Lord, not for her own sake but because in her, we see ourselves, who are saved by God's infinite grace and mercy through His Son and hers, our Lord Jesus Christ. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
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