Here I Am

Date: December 4, 2022
Preacher: Rev. Laurie Newman

Sermon

During this Advent, who or what needs a “yes” from you? How might your “yes” change things beyond you?

Sometimes you hear the same story again and again, but then one day, it strikes you in a different way. That’s what happened to me as I read the scripture for today. Though I’ve always before heard this scripture as Mary’s obedient “yes” to God’s call in her life, a particular verse caught my attention. The angel told her: “‘Greetings, favored one. The Lord is with you.’ But Mary was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.” When we hear “much perplexed” in scripture, it hints at understatement. Mary’s first reaction to the angel Gabriel’s announcement is confusion, bewilderment, puzzlement, and fear.

Gabriel goes on to tell her: “…and now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son…”

This raises the question: how much choice did Mary get in this situation? This young woman from the backwater of Nazareth, engaged but not yet married, would become the mother of Jesus, who would challenge the injustices of systems and associate with those most at margins of society; this child of hers would be crucified. Did Mary actually choose that path?

Is there a difference between choice and assent?

Especially when you look at the language translated “servant” or “handmaiden,” which is really “bondservant” or “slave,” the idea of choice is problematic. Did she really select for her future, or was it more that she accepted what would happen to her? Choice usually involves a selection from options. Assent is approval of something presented.

Mary clearly did make a choice to respond with an open heart to what God was doing in her life. This is a call story, and Mary says “yes.” Next week, we’ll hear the passage known as the Magnificat, Mary’s bold, prophetic song of the reversal of social order and her great blessing in becoming mother of the Savior. She is all in! But that’s next week. Today, we have Mary, perplexed.

At some point in our lives, most of us encounter a situation that surprises us and challenges us: a debilitating health issue, the death of a loved one, a divorce, a wayward child, a job loss, an unforeseen tragedy… Even just the normal process of aging thrusts upon us all loss after loss, making some things that once were easy, now difficult. We are perplexed. But Mary models a feisty “yes.” Her assent accepts the reality of the situation and how it will change her life forever. And she says, “Here I am.”

When I gave birth to my first son, someone gave me a card that said, “To become a parent means to forever carry your heart outside your body.” I think that’s really true whenever we love and care deeply.

Some years ago, a friend of mine had a tragedy befall his family. His son was convicted of a crime, put into federal prison, and separated from his family, including his toddler son, for many years. This conviction was bewildering to my friend. I was brand new parent myself, and I could see how the weight of this situation pretty much affected him every single day. He would say to me, “Pastor Laurie, we just have to keep believing that he will get out, and he will still be whole. There is no other answer.” I thought: How does this father live with this suffering?

His feisty “yes” was to continue to love his son in every way he could. He enlisted others like me to write the judge on the case. And then we wrote encouraging letters to his son. When he was able, he spent time with his grandson. He prayed consistently for his son, and visited him prison as he was able. There really was no other choice but to show his love and support in all the ways possible. Of course, that choice transformed the rest of his life, and the lives of his son and grandson.

I thought about how many times over the past nearly three years all of us have adjusted ourselves to the impact of COVID-19 and the disruption of our communities and lives. In ancient Greek philosophy, to be “perplexed” is a catalyst for philosophical progress and transformation. Perhaps in this time of upheaval, what we can take from today’s scripture is the good news of our potential transformation when say yes and trust God—when we accept with clear eyes and honesty what’s real and turn to God with a radically open heart.

Mary assented to an unexpected situation that changed the course of her life. But not just her life. Her “yes” changed the people of Galilee and Jerusalem. In giving birth to and raising Jesus, she helped to make radical change. In her “yes” she made a space for God to work in the world in a new way. Her feisty “yes” brought about new life that continues to impact the world in life-giving ways over two-thousand years later.

What “yes” might you offer that changes your life and others’?

A clergywoman friend of mine has a young adult daughter named Molly Grace. Molly is a very talented and lovely soprano soloist and music teacher. She was first diagnosed with breast cancer at age 29. I’ve not met her in person, but I feel that I know her because of a project she began when first receiving chemotherapy. She couldn’t NOT have cancer, but she found a way to bring her positive spirit to the journey. In order to cope, she launched a YouTube channel, The Unsinkable Molly Grace, where she posts campy videos of herself, costumed and lip syncing to showtunes and theme songs, all filmed during her chemo treatments. She has performed songs from the iconic bald Daddy Warbucks from Annie, to Timon singing Hakuna Matata, to Maurice Chevalier singing Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries, to Beautiful by Carol King, and dressed as Harry Potter in High, High, Hopes. Her mission is to share her journey in a way that educates and uplifts others. During her cancer journey, she dated, met and married the love of her life, and continues to teach and sing.

Molly says “You lose so much control when you are a patient. You lose control over your schedule, your body, your finances… The things you can control become very important to you.” Perplexed? Afraid? Molly jokes that she has emotional attention deficit disorder and that feeling scared or worried for too long would be boring. Instead, she organizes costumes, plans her props, and memorizes showtunes before trekking to her appointments, ready to perform—each video she makes more spirited than the last. She wears bright, red lipstick, with her vibrancy in presence and song stating: Here I still am!

Today, we remember Mary, in the midst of perplexity, boldly saying, “Yes, God, here I am.” Because of her open heart, the yes continues to open hearts today.

Maybe the situation or person you are called to feel “yes” to causes you fear. Maybe there is something difficult to accept that you’re not quite sure how to approach with compassion. As we contemplate Mary’s feisty “yes,” I’m closing with a favorite poem (that I’ve shared before) by Madeleine L’Engle. It’s:

After Annunciation
This is the irrational season
when love blooms bright and wild.
Had Mary been filled with reason
there’d have been no room for the child.

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