What Mary Knew

Luke 1:39-45(46-55)

I am indebted this week to many creatives and theologians, including Debie Thomas of Journey with Jesus and Jennifer Henry, public theologian and justice advocate in the United Church of Canada. I encourage you to learn more about them and their work by following the links embedded in this sermon.

Today, this last Sunday of Advent, we are witnesses to the first Christian worship service in human history. Wherever two or three are gathered, Christ promised us, he will be in the midst of them. The Visitation is the prototype of that promise. Two women come together, greeting one another in a call and response that is echoed by the life leaping in their wombs. Elizabeth, the elder, proclaims a prophetic blessing over the approaching Mary, who responds with a song of praise that continues to echo through the ages. Mary’s hymn is the first Christian offertory anthem, the offering up of her life and the life within her to a God of promise and justice and mercy. Mary, the first preacher, bearer of the living Word, has been visited by a heavenly being and promised a heavenly kingdom. And so, like every Christian after her, Mary seeks out fellowship, community, and comfort in another. She finds it in her cousin Elizabeth, the mother of John. When Elizabeth and Mary come together, they are an icon of the church, full of joy and possibility and anxiety and anticipation. When we are at our best, we reflect their image and embody their connection. When we are steeped in the Advent season, we hold space for their part in our sacred story.

I imagine many of you are familiar with the popular song “Mary Did You Know.” This song is famous and infamous for being both very catchy and not entirely respectful of Mary’s role in salvation history. The lyrics are made up of a list of questions for the Mother of God, asking her if she knew what her son would one day be capable of. I’ve heard some truly moving renditions of this song, and it is entirely okay to listen to and enjoy it this season if it’s meaningful to you. It is a wonderful way to engage with the reality of Mary’s parenthood, a reminder that Jesus was born a human child to a human mother who dreamed of his future and watched him sleep and kissed his forehead and held him close, as we hold and are held by our own families. AND- Mary did know. When the Angel of the Lord came to her and Mary gave her consent to become the Mother of the Most High, when Mary looked up at the heavenly messenger and said “Here am I, the servant of the Lord,” she knew. Perhaps she didn’t know the specifics at the time, perhaps the miracles of walking on water and calming of storms were not listed in the milestones of her baby book for her future child, but Mary knew. We know this, because she told us so. Let us not fall into the age old trap of silencing prophets, or ignoring the voices of women. Elizabeth knew. Mary knew. It is because of what they knew, what they consented to take on for the world, that we are here today. Let’s listen to their voices. Let them tell us what they knew.

Within days of the news that she would conceive and bear a son, the young and unwed Mary rushed away to the countryside to see her cousin Elizabeth, who had also inexplicably become pregnant in her advanced age. Like Mary’s partner Joseph, Elizabeth’s partner Zechariah is a background character to this story. At the news of his wife’s pregnancy, Zechariah has been struck speechless, and will remain this way until the day his son is born. By contrast, Mary and Elizabeth are animated with words, brimming over with speech and song. As soon as Mary’s voice reaches Elizabeth’s ears, the child who will prepare the way of the Lord responds to the sound. As soon as Elizabeth lays eyes on her young cousin, the Holy Spirit fills her up with love and with joy. Any Catholic can tell you the words she spoke and the power they continue to hold. “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” This is the Hail Mary, the prayer that has for generations served as grounding, guiding, and penitence for faithful Christians. The words the Spirit gave to Elizabeth, the words Mary heard when she was seen and understood fully by another human being for the first time, continue to spring from the lips of faithful people around the world. Elizabeth knew Mary. Elizabeth knew without being told that Mary was with child. Elizabeth knew in her very body that she was in the presence of God. Because of what she knew, Elizabeth became the first Christian convert, the first to confess Mary’s child as Lord.

In response to Elizabeth’s knowing, Mary too is filled with the spirit and proclaims the Gospel, the first to preach a sermon about Jesus. Mary’s sermon, the Magnificat, echoes the song of the prophet Hannah, an affirmation of the promises of God that have been kept across the generations. Mary’s song tells us what she knew, and how she knew. Mary knew God, knew the scriptures, knew the promises made to her ancestors, she knew the prophesies of her foremothers. Mary knew what she was capable of, and what God would accomplish through her. Mary knew that the world was being turned right-side up again, because she had said yes to God. When we read faithfully the words of Mary’s song, we can have no doubt that Mary knew.

I want to share with you a rewrite of the more well-known song, “Mary Did You Know?” This rewrite was done by public theologian Jennifer Henry, and I think it pairs well with the Magnificat.

Mary did you know,
that your ancient words
would still leap off our pages?
Mary did you know,
that your spirit song
would echo through the ages?

Did you know that your holy cry
would be subversive word,
that the tyrants would be trembling
when they know your truth is heard?

Mary did you know,
that your lullaby
would stir your own Child’s passion?
Mary did you know,
that your song inspires
the work of liberation?

Did you know that your Jubilee
is hope within the heart
of all who dream of justice,
who yearn for it to start?

The truth will teach, the drum will sound, healing for the pain
The poor will rise, the rich will fall. Hope will live again.

Mary did you know,
that we hear your voice
for the healing of the nations?

Mary did you know
your unsettling cry
can help renew creation?

Do you know, that we need your faith,
the confidence of you,
May the God that you believe in,
be so ever true.

Mary knew who her son would become. She knew what God had told her, that Jesus would be great and would be called the Son of the Most High, that he would ascend to the throne of David, that his kingdom would have no end. Mary knew that her son’s birth would inaugurate a new age, that God would fill the hungry and convict and convert the rich and the proud. Mary even knew that generations to come would know her name, and would call her blessed. Mary knew.

What Mary didn’t know, is that she was preparing the way for us. When Mary gave her fiat, her consent, her yes to the angel, she knew she was embarking on a dangerous path. Unwed, young, a woman in a world built for men, she had every reason to be afraid. Perhaps she doubted her strength, or her body’s capacity, or the words of the angel themselves. And so she rushed, like so many before her and so many since, to the safety and security of a trusted friend, a chosen family. Mary sought out the faith and understanding of an elder, a relative with a lifetime of prayer and study and her own testimony to God’s miracles. By being utterly human, by accepting a call from God and recognizing that she could not live out that call alone, by reaching out for help, Mary models for us what it is to be Church. We are not meant to go it alone, our faith and our salvation are not personal or private. Saying yes to God can only happen in community. Look to your left and to your right, before you and behind you. These are your Elizabeths, your Marys, your siblings in God’s kingdom. Each one of us carries the living Word of God within us, and each of us is fully capable of proclaiming it. Mary knew, and because she shared that Good News with the world, so can we.