Mary Sunday

Calvin and Hobbes is a permanent favorite comic strip, especially including Calvin's occasional forays into theology, always on the mark if a step over the line for many folks. But the humor in religion, often hiding subtly waiting to be seen, can be what makes religion credible and tolerable at all, that's each person's call. Anyway, here's our gospel reading for church this morning:

Matthew 1:18-25

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

“Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,”

which means, “God is with us.” When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

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So, for Advent the Sunday before Christas Day is "Mary Sunday" because we read about her conception of Jesus via the Holy Spirit. The church has fashioned the story into the Doctrine of the Virgin Birth, as it's told by Matthew relating it to a passage in Isaiah that Matthew with his specific agenda regards as messianic prophecy:

Isaiah 7:10-16

Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test. Then Isaiah said: “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted.”

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There's no point this morning to dig into Matthew and Isaiah as I would with folks in a small group Bible study. A people can have and believe whatever they choose about their God, and over the Christian ages this story has become one of our most cherished.

Here in Matthew the angel visits Joseph. Luke's story of the angel visiting Mary may be our favorite, but the two stories meld beautifully exactly as our having Matthew's We Three Kings show up with their gifts at Luke's manger in the stable with the sheep and angels creates a complete Nativity story for us. They are our stories and we can tell them as we like them and understand them as we will. For me, I wouldn't change a dot or tittle of our Christmas.

RSF, PTL, and a Happy Christmas to all

T90