PRESENTATION #2
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, TULSA, OK

DECEMBER 6-7, 1994
JESUS HAD A MOTHER

Joun M, BUCHANAN, PASTOR
FourRTH PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, CHICAGO

SCRIPTURE

TsaraH 11:1-9
LUKE 1:26-38

n _ BLESSED ARE YOU AMONG WOMEN,. - -
-Luxe 1:42 (NRSV)

Two YEARS AGO, EARLY IN ADVENT, I
RECEIVED AN INTERESTING AND IMPORTANT

NOTE. IT WAS FROM THE SIXTH AND SEVENTH

GRADE CHURCH SCHOOL CLASS, AND IT SAID:
"Dear Dr. BUCHANAN:

"WE HAVE SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT
CHRISTMAS.

"], Dzp THE STAR STAND STILL?

2. WERE THE SHEPHERDS AND

WISE MEN REAL?

PARRA | * ‘How WAS JESUS BORN IF HI$
™“:

“HAVE

SSIXUAL INTERCOURSE?

oe
AND rx “S SS MEET US NEXT SUNDAY
“SN Ok
NR “ANSWERS
OS
“QUESTIONS.
— -CHRISTMAS.
CHurcy Sex “S="xTH AND SEVENTH GRADE
Wee,
Pa i
BACK ry The OF "&es57 RESPONSE WAS THAT
SIxty GRapeE “ “SAGES WHEN I was rn
SSR ASE "SEXUAL INTER-

OSS5os geen UTTERED ALOUD
"FACT, ONE DIDN'T
ETICULAR PHRASE UNTIL

“CLASS, IF I REMEMBER
—~—CERTAIN, IT WAS NOT A

PHRASE ONE WOULD USE IN A NOTE TO ONE'S

MENISTER.

MY SECOND RESPONSE IS NO ONE EVER
TELLS YOU, NOR DO SEMINARIES AND DIVINI-
TY SCHOOLS PROVIDE TRAINING IN ONE OF
THE UNWRITTEN LINES IN A CLERGY JOB
DESCRIPTION: NAMELY, SERVING AS A COURT
OF FINAL APPEAL FOR QUESTIONS NO ONE
ELSE WANTS TO ANSWER. PARENTS CAN
ALWAYS SAY, "WHY DON'T YOU ASK YOUR
SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER ABOUT THAT." THE
TEACHERS APPARENTLY SAY, "LET'S ASK THE
MINISTER." A YOUNG LAD A FEW WEEKS AGO
SHOOK MY HAND AFTER WORSHIP AND SAID,
"WHY, AT THE END OF PRAYERS, DO WE SAY
AMEN’ AND NOT 'A-WOMEN??” I TOLD HIM
TO ASK REVEREND LOVING OR REVEREND

HUTCHISON ABOUT THAT.

I MET THE CLASS THE FOLLOWING WEEK,
ATE A DOUGHNUT AND LEARNED ONCE AGAIN A
FUNDAMENTAL LESSON OF THEOLOGICAL DIS-
COURSE, AND THAT 1S THAT "I DON'T KNOW"
TS A LEGITIMATE AND RESPECTABLE ANSWER
TO SOME auEsSTEONS. AnD I ALSO DISCOV~
ERED A WONDERFUL THING ABOUT SIXTH-
GRADERS AND THAT IS THEY WERE QUITE
CAPABLE OF HANDLING THE FACT THAT THERE
ARE SOME THINGS WE DO NOT, AND PROBABLY
WILL NOT, UNDERSTAND; AND THAT THERE
3UST MAY BE MORE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS
ABOUT THOSE THINGS, SUCH AS “WHAT DO
THEY MEAN? WHAT ARE THEY SAYING TO us?”
THE SIXTH-GRADERS UNDERSTOOD THAT WHEN
WE TALK ABOUT THE VIRGIN BIRTH, WE ARE
NOT AS CONCERNED ABOUT MARY OF NAZA~
RETH'’S SEXUAL BEHAVIOR AS WE ARE ABOUT

THE NATURE AND IDENTITY OF HER SON,

THE INCARNATION, THE ENFLESHMENT OF
Gop, THE APPEARANCE OF THE ETERNAL AT A
TIME AND PLACE IN HUMAN HISTORY ~ THE
CHRISTIAN CLAIM - COMES ABOUT WHEN A
YOUNG WOMAN HAS A BABY. THAT YOUNG
WOMAN IS, ARGUABLY, THE SECOND MOST
IMPORTANT PERSON IN THE STORY. SHE IS
THE ONLY HUMAN BEING WHO KNEW THE Son OF

GoD EVERY DAY OF HIS EARTHLY LIFE.

New TESTAMENT SCHOLAR, RAYMOND E.
BROWN, CALLS HER THE FIRST DISCIPLE.
SHE AND PONTIUS PILATE ARE THE ONLY TWO
HUMAN BEINGS TO MAKE IT INTO THE APos-
TLES' CREED, AND IN ADDITION TO E.vis
PRESLEY, SHE ONCE AGAIN APPEARS ON A U.
S. POSTAL SERVICE STAMP. THE GREETING
CARD COMPANIES ROMANTICIZE HER MOST OF
ALL. SHE IS BEAUTIFUL, FAIR, HER CLOTH-
ING SPOTLESS, HER FACE RADIANT. SHE

HAS, SOMEONE SAID, JUST COME FROM THE

BEAUTY PARLOR, HAS WALKED IN AND DISCOV~

ERED THIS ADORABLE LITTLE BABY.

HER STORY, WOVEN INTO THE LARGER
STORY OF HER SON, AND THAT WOVEN INTO
THE EVEN LARGER STORY OF SALVATION, IS A
MAGNIFICENT WORK OF ART. A YOUNG GIRL
ACTUALLY, PERHAPS IN HER MID-TEENS, HAS
A VISION, A DREAM, AN INTUITION. . . it
tS AN ANGEL AND THE MEETING BETWEEN THEM
IS PERHAPS THE MOST IMPORTANT, THE MOST

PREGNANT MOMENT IN ALL OF HUMAN HISTORY.

SOME OF THE MOST SUBLIME ART IN ALL
OF HISTORY ATTEMPTS TO DEPICT IT. I
HAVE ONLY PERSONALLY SEEN REPRODUCTIONS
YET, BUT ONE OF THE MOST EXQUISITE IS IN
THE CLOTSTER OF SAN Marcos IN FLORENCE.
It's A FRESCO, BY FRA ANGELICA, DONE IN
DELICATE PASTELS, TWO GRACIOUS FIGURES

MEETING IN SUBDUED LIGHT. . -

“THE ANGEL STARTS TO KNEEL, THE ASTON-
ISHED VIRGIN TO DRAW BACK. THEIR BODIES
ARE FLEXED IN MATCHING CURVES, THEIR
HANDS ARE FOLDED IN IDENTICAL FASHION
ACROSS THE BREAST, THEIR HEADS ARE BOWED
AT THE SAME ANGLE TOWARD EACH OTHER AND
THEIR EYES MEET. . . MARY, THE REFLEC~
TION OF THE HEAVENLY MESSENGER, THE
MIRROR OF THE GRACE THAT MEETS HER."

[PROCLAMATION, P. 36]

FREDERICK BUECHNER, AN ARTIST WITH

WORDS, TRIES HIS HAND:

"SHE STRUCK THE ANGEL GABRIEL AS HARDLY
OLD ENOUGH TO HAVE A CHILD AT ALL, LET
ALONE THIS CHILD, BUT HE'D BEEN ENTRUST-
ED WITH A MESSAGE TO GIVE HER, AND HE

GAVE IT.

"HE TOLD HER WHAT THE CHILD WAS TO BE
NAMED, AND WHO HE WAS TO BE, AND SOME-
THING ABOUT THE MYSTERY THAT WAS TO COME
UPON HER. ‘YOU MUSTN'T BE AFRAID,

Mary,’ HE SAID.

"As HE SAID IT, HE ONLY HOPED SHE WOULD~
n'T NOTICE THAT BENEATH THE GREAT,
GOLDEN WINGS HE HIMSELF WAS TREMBLING
WITH FEAR TO THINK THAT THE WHOLE FUTURE
OF CREATION HUNG NOW, ON THE ANSWER OF A

GIRL." [PECULIAR TREASURES, A BIBLICAL

WHo's WHo, P. 39]

THE PROBLEM, OF COURSE, IS THAT SHE
IS PROMISED, BETROTHED TO A CARPENTER
FROM NAZARETH, A MAN NAMED JoserH. AND

WHILE THEY WON'T BE LIVING TOGETHER FOR

A YEAR OR SO, THE LAW REGARDS THEM AS
ALREADY MARRIED. HER PREGNANCY, THAT IS
TO SAY, IS A VERY AWKWARD PROBLEM. IT
IS A PUBLIC HUMILIATION FOR JOSEPH AND
WHILE IT IS A DIFFERENT CULTURE FROM OUR
OWN AND WE WOULD NOT HAVE IT THIS WAY,
THE APPROPRIATE RESPONSE FOR HIM IS TO
DIVORCE HER. THE FACT THAT JOSEPH
DOESN'T DO WHAT LAW ALLOWS AND CULTURE
REQUIRES, IS A MINOR MIRACLE OF GRACE.
THIS GOOD MAN TAKES A YOUNG WOMAN,
PREGNANT WITH A CHILD NOT HIS OWN, AS
HIS WIFE. THAT'S ANOTHER STORY AND A
GOOD ONE. MARY'S BEGINS WITH THAT
SHIMMERING MOMENT OF TRANSCENDENCE WHEN
SHE LEARNS WHAT IS HAPPENING IN HER BODY
AND TO HER WHOLE LIFE. NOTHING WILL
EVER BE THE SAME FOR HER. IT REQUIRES
SOME RESPONSE, THIS VISITATION FROM AN
ANGEL: GOD APPARENTLY WANTS HER COQPER-

ATION, HER PARTICIPATION, HER COMMITMENT

TO THE TASK. SO SHE TRAVELS TO SEE
ELIZABETH, AS A FRIGHTENED TEENAGER
MIGHT SEEK THE COUNSEL AND STRENGTH OF
HER STRONG AND MATURE AUNT, AND IT IS
ELIZABETH WHO SAYS TO HER, "BLESSED ARE
YOU AMONG WOMEN, AND BLESSED IS THE

FRUIT OF YOUR WOMB.”

NINE MONTHS LATER, ACTUALLY WHILE
SHE AND JOSEPH ARE AWAY FROM THEIR HOME
IN NAZARETH, ON THE WAY TO BETHLEHEM,
HER LABOR WILL BEGIN AND SHE WILL BEAR
HER SON AND SHE AND JOSEPH WILL CALL HIM

JESUS,
THE LATE HowARD THURMAN, AFRICAN
AMERICAN THEOLOGIAN, PHILOSOPHER AND

MYSTIC, WROTE ABOUT MARY.

“MADONNA AND CHILD - (ARE) A RECOGNITION

OF THE UNIVERSALITY OF THE EXPERIENCE OF

10

MOTHERHOOD AS AN EXPRESSION OF THE
CREATIVE AND REDEMPTIVE PRINCIPAL OF
LIFE. . . IN BERTH THE MOTHER BECOMES
ONE

WITH THE MOVING ENERGY OF EXISTENCE. IT
IS THE TRYSTING PLACE OF WOMAN AND THE
ETERNAL.” [THE Moop oF CHRISTMAS, Pp.
15]

A WOMAN I KNOW WHO HAS HAD A FEW
BABIES TELLS ME THAT MOSTLY IT IS MEN,
WHO CANNOT DO IT, WHO TALK THAT WAY
ABOUT BIRTH, AND THAT ANYONE WHO CAN'T
DO IT PROBABLY SHOULDN'T BE EQUATING THE
EXPERZENCE WITH "“TRYSTING WITH THE

ETERNAL.”

IN ANY EVENT, MARY GAVE BIRTH TO A
BABY. JESUS HAD A MOTHER. AND THE
DIFFERENT BRANCHES OF THE CHURCH OF

JESUS CHRIST HAVE BEEN ALTERNATELY

i

CELEBRATING IT AND IGNORING THAT FACT

EVER SINCE.

We PROTESTANTS DON'T QUITE KNOW
WHAT TO DO WITH HER. QGuR Roman CATHOLIC
SISTERS AND BROTHERS DO. THEY HAVE BEEN

VENERATING HER FOR CENTURIES.

"HaIL MARY, FULL OF GRACE! THE LORD IS
WETH THEE. BLESSED ART THOU AMONG

WOMEN, AND BLESSED IS THE FRUIT OF THY
wome, Jesus. HoLy MARY, MOTHER OF GOD,
PRAY FOR US SINNERS NOW AND AT THE HOUR

OF OUR DEATH."

Every RoMAN CATHOLIC KNOWS THAT
PRAYER AND MANY PROTESTANTS TOO. WHEN
THINGS ARE REALLY DESPERATE IN THE LAST
SECONDS OF A FOOTBALL GAME AND THE
QUARTERBACK DROPS BACK A FEW STEPS AND

THROWS THE BALL INTO THE AIR IN THE

12

REMOTE HOPE THAT ONE OF HIS TEAMMATES
WELL CATCH IT IN THE END ZONE AND WIN
THE GAME, IT IS KNOWN AS A “Hare Mary”

PASS.

AT THE TIME OF YHE PROTESTANT
REFORMATION, THE REFORMERS SWEPT AWAY
CENTURIES OF ACCUMULATED TRADITION ABOUT
THE SAINTS. MARY WAS A CASUALTY OF THAT
PROCESS AND EVER SINCE PROTESTANTS HAVE
NOT BEEN CERTAIN WHAT TO THINK ABOUT

HER.

THE ROMAN TRADITION, ON THE OTHER
HAND, AFTER THE REFORMATION, FOCUSED ON
Mary. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE 19TH CENTURY
THE CHURCH DECLARED THE DOCTRINE OF THE
IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, THAT MARY, LIKE
JESUS, HAD BEEN CONCEIVED IMMACULATELY,
WITHOUT SIN. ANOTHER MAJOR DEVELOPMENT

CAME A CENTURY LATER WHEN Pius XIT

13

PROCLAIMED, IN 1950, NOW WITH A FULLY
DEVELOPED DOCTRINE OF PAPAL INFALLIBILI-~ -
TY, THE BoprILy AssumMPTION OF MARY INTO
HEAVEN. PROTESTANTS ASK ABOUT THOSE
DOCTRINES, "WHERE DID YOU READ THAT IN
THE BIBLE?" WE PLAY BY DIFFERENT RULES.
FOR uS, SCRIPTURE IS THE CRITERIA. FOR
RomMAN CATHOLICS IT 18 SCRIPTURE AND
TRADITION, SCRIPTURE AND THE CHURCH, ITS
COUNCILS AND Pope, WHEN HE SPEAKS "EX

CATHEDRA. "

AND SO DOWN THROUGH FOUR AND A HALF
CENTURIES OF SEPARATION IT HAS SEEMED
THAT ON THE TOPIC oF MaRY Roman CATHOLI-
CISM HAS BEEN MOST CATHOLIC AND, IGNOR~
ING HER ~ DEMEANING HER BY ACTING AS IF
SHE WASN'T EVEN THERE = WE HAVE BEEN

MOST PROTESTANT.

14

As TO THE QUESTION MY SIXTH GRADE
FRIENDS POSED, HER VIRGINITY, WE PROTES~
TANTS HAVE YET ANOTHER COMPLICATING
DEVELOPMENT. PROTESTANT FUNDAMENTAL —
ISTS, SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THIS CEN-
TURY, HAVE USED MarY’S VIRGINITY AS A
LITMUS TEST OF ORTHODOXY. THE REAL AND
IMPORTANT QUESTION, OF COURSE, IS BIBLI-
CAL AUTHORITY. IS IT IN THE WORDS |
THEMSELVES, OR THE TRUTH THE WORDS
CONVEY? WE'RE STILL FUSSING WITH ONE
ANOTHER ABGUT THAT AND WE PRESBYTERIANS
GENERALLY, NOT ALWAYS, BUT GENERALLY -
HAVE COME DOWN ON THE "TRUTH BEHIND THE
WORDS" SIDE AS THE SOURCE OF BIBLICAL
AUTHORITY. THAT IS, WHETHER THE VIRGIN
BIRTH WAS A SCIENTIFICALLY VERIFIABLE
FACT IS NOT AS IMPORTANT AS THE TRUTH TO
WHICH IT POINTS, OR SYMBOLIZES. TO
FUNDAMENTALISTS, THAT SEEMS SOFT, TOO

EASY, TOO COMPROMISING.

15

BUT BY MAKING THE VIRGIN BIRTH A
TEST OF FAITHFULNESS, THE OTHER SIDE HAS
MADE IT MUCH MORE IMPORTANT THAN IT iS
IN THE BIBLE. THERE'S A WONDERFUL
LITTLE MAGAZINE THAT PRESBYTERIAN MINIS~
TERS RECEIVE CALLED Monpay MORNING.
IT’S OUR FAMILY PARTY-LINE. EVERY
PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER RECEIVES IT EVERY
WEEK. YOU CAN WRITE WHATEVER YOU WANT

AND SEND IT IN TO MONDAY MORNING AND IT

WILL BE PRINTED FOR ALL TO REAR AND NEXT
WEEK TO ANSWER. WE ALL LOOK AT IT EVERY
WEEK TO SEE WHO'S SAYING WHAT TO WHOM
AND CHECK THE OBITUARIES ON THE LAST
PAGE. I SMILED LAST WEEK TO READ A
LETTER FROM JOHN E. JOHNSON, A NINETY-
FOUR-YEAR-OLD RETIRED MINISTER FROM
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA. REV. JOHNSON WAS A
NAVY CHAPLAIN FOR THIRTY YEARS, A PASTOR

OF A LARGE CHURCH. JUST FOR ENTERTAIN-

16

MENT HE WANTED TO STIR UP SOME DISCUS~
SION OF THE VIRGIN SIRTH THIS DECEMBER.
HE REMINDED HIS READERS OF THE OLD ADAGE
THAT THE BEST RESPONSE TO THE QUESTION
WHICH WAS OFTEN ASKED IN ORAL ORDINATION
EXAMS, "Do YOU BELIEVE IN THE VIRGIN
BIRTH?” tS, "ON THE Topic, I STAND WITH
St. PauL," WHO, OF COURSE, NEVER MEN-~
TIONED IT. JOHNSON SUGGESTED THAT WE
COULD ALSO STAND WITH JESUS AND EDITORI-

ALIZED;

"JESUS NEVER MENTIONED THE VIRGIN BERTH
ELTHER," IF IT WAS TRUE, JESUS WOULD
HAVE KNOWN ABOUT IT, MR. JOHNSON PRO-
POSES AND ASKS, "WOULDN'T HE HAVE SAID
TO HIS DISCIPLES, ‘LISTEN, YOU GUYS, I
WAS CONCEIVED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT AND MY
MOTHER WAS A VIRGIN, AND THAT ESTAB-
LISHED MY RELATIONSHIP WITH Gop.’ LET

THEM SHOOT AT THIS OLD GRAY HEAD," MR.

17

JOHNSON CONCLUDED, “BUT JESUS NEVER SAID
ANYTHING LIKE THAT.” [MONDAY MORNING,

12/6/93]

EVER MORE TO THE POINT, CANADIAN
THEOLOGIAN DouGLAS JOHN HALL OBSERVES
THAT THE MISAPPROPRIATION OF THE VIRGIN
BIRTH BY FUNDAMENTALISTS AS A TEST OF
FAITH - AND ITS DISMISSAL BY LIBERALS AS
SUPERSTITION - BADLY MISSES WHAT HALL
SAYS IS ITS PURPOSE
AS A "FOCAL POINT OF FAITH'’S PRIMITIVE
WONDER AT DIVINE GRACE." [THINKING THE

FAITH, P. 329]

THE TRUTH TO WHICH THE VIRGIN BIRTH
POINTS AND TESTIFIES IS THE INCARNATION,
THE COMING OF THE CHRIST. IT MEANS TO
say - “PAY ATTENTION! THE MOST WONDER-

FUL THING HAS HAPPENED!"

18

THE THEOLOGIAN WOULD HAVE US PAY
MORE ATTENTION TO WHAT HE CALLS THE
“OTHER SIDE” OF THE VIRGIN BIRTH. . .-
THE ORDINARINESS AND COMMONNESS OF IT

ALL: HUMAN BIRTH.

“EVERYTHING ABOUT THE EVENT IS MUNDANE -
A TOO RECENTLY WED YOUNG WOMAN, NO ONE
SPECIAL, GIVES BIRTH UNDER HARD CIRCUM-
STANCES. NOTHING COULD BE MORE COMMON,

THEN OR NOW.”

Jesus HAD A MOTHER. WHEN GoD
DECIDED TO EXPRESS LOVE IN AN ULTIMATE
AND ABSOLUTE AND FINAL WAY, IT WAS NOT
IN AN ACT OF CATACLYSMIC NATURAL DRAMA.
THERE WAS NO EARTHQUAKE, LIGHTNING OR
STORM. THE HEAVENS WERE NOT RIPPED
OPEN. THERE WAS NO MIGHTY CHARIOT OR
POWERFUL ARMY. WHAT HAPPENED WAS SOME-

THING THAT HAPPENS EVERY MINUTE OF EVERY

19

HOUR OF EVERY DAY SOMEWHERE IN THE
WORLD: A BABY WAS BORN. THE POINT IN
ALL THIS IS NOT THAT MARY AND JOSEPH DID
NOT HAVE SEXUAL INTERCOURSE BUT THAT THE
ALMIGHTY GOD, STOOPED LOW, TO BE AMONG
US, AND CAME AMONG US IN THE SAME WAY
THAT YOU AND I CAME TO BE HERE THIS

MORNING. ONE TIME, A WOMAN GAVE BIRTH.

Anp so I THINK Mary’S STORY IS THE
CONNECTOR BETWEEN THE GOSPEL OF JESUS
CHRIST AND YOU AND ME, THE HUMAN LINK
BETWEEN THE STORY OF JESUS AND YOUR

STORY.

IN CONCEIVING AND CARRYING AND
BEARING THE CHILD, MARY IS A SIGN THAT
Gop iS IN THIS LIFE WITH US, DOWN TO ITS
SMALLEST, MOST BASIC EXPERIENCE. SHE IS
THE SIGN THAT THIS RELIGION OF OURS IS

NOT ABOUT ESOTERIC THEOLOGICAL PROPOSI-~

20

TIONS OR SECRET RITUALS. IT IS ABOUT
LIFE - BIRTHING AND GROWING AND LIVING
AND LOVING AND DYING. MARY KEEPS US

HONEST, KEEPS US IN TOUCH, CONNECTED.

SHE IS A SIGN THAT ALMIGHTY GoD
CARES DEEPLY AND PASSIONATELY ABOUT THE
THINGS ABOUT WHICH WE CARE DEEPLY AND
PASSIONATELY; THAT OUR PAIN IS EXPERI-
ENCED BY GOD; THAT GOD'S COUNTENANCE
SOARS WHEN WE SGAR IN JOY AND PLEASURE,
AND THAT Gop'’S HEART BREAKS WHEN OUR

HEARTS BREAK,

THE SON OF GoD HAD A HUMAN MOTHER.
IS THERE A MORE ELOQUENT OR POWERFUL
SYMBOL OF Gop'’S LOVE, GOD’S PRESENCE,
Gop'’S SUFFERING THAN THE PICTURES OF
MOTHERS CRADLING WASTED, PAPER-THIN
BODIES OF THE CHILDREN DURING FAMINE?

IS THERE A MORE ELOQUENT SYMBOL OF Gop

2i

THAN THE MOTHER CRADLING IN HER ARMS THE
BODY OF HER CRUCIFIED SON: A MOTHER
CRADLING IN HER ARMS THE BODY OF HER
FOUR-YEAR“OLD, SHOT TO DEATH IN A CROSS-

FIRE?

MARY IS THE REMINDER THAT GOD'S OWN
SON LIVED HUMAN LIFE TO ITS FULLEST, AND
THAT THERE IS NOTHING ABOUT YOU AND ME,
YOUR LIFE AND MINE, THAT IS INAPPROPRI-
ATE TO BRING INTO GOD'S PRESENCE: HOPES,
DREAMS, FEARS, WORRIES, FAILURES, SINS,

MISTAKES, JOYS, PLEASURES, LOVES.

AND MARY IS A REMINDER THAT GOD'S
WORK IN THE WORLD GETS DONE WHEN SOME-
TIMES MODEST, YOUNG OR OLD, NONDESCRIPT
ORDINARY PEOPLE PUT THEIR LIVES ON THE
LINE, HEAR THE VOICE OF GOD, OR A VOICE
THAT MIGHT BE GOD'S AND DECIDE TO SAY

"ves," TO COMMIT LIFE TO FOLLOWING. IT

22

WAS A MOMENT, WAS IT NOT, WHEN THE ANGEL
VISITED A TEENAGER AND TOLD HER SHE WAS
PREGNANT WITH GopD’sS SON? WHO COULD HAVE
BLAMED HER FOR REFUSING THE HONOR OR FOR
GETTING OUT OF THERE AS QUICKLY AS SHE
COULD, OR FOR GOING TQ HER MOTHER OR HER
FIANCEE TO TELL ABOUT THE DREAM, THE

NIGHTMARE SHE HAD?

MARY IS A REMINDER THAT FAITH MEANS
FOLLOWING VOICES AND DREAMS THAT ARE
OURS, TAKING RISKS, LIVING INTO THE

FUTURE WITH COURAGE AND EXPECTATION.

IN HIS BESTSELLER, CARE OF THE

Sout, THOMAS MOORE WROTE;
“WE CAN KEEP FAITH IN A BUBBLE OF BELIEF
SO THAT WE DON'T SEE IT HAVING DIRECT
RELEVANCE IN DAY TO DAY LIVING. I'vE

WORKED WITH SEVERAL PEOPLE WHO ARE VERY

23

DEVOTED TO RELIGION AND PRIDE THEMSELVES
ON THEIR FAITH. BUT THEY HAVE NO TRUST
IN THEMSELVES, AND THEY DON’T ENTRUST
THEMSELVES TO LIFE. IN FACT, THEY USE
THEIR BELIEF SYSTEM TO KEEP LIFE AT A
DISTANCE. THEIR BELIEF IN RELIGION IS
ABSOLUTE. . . BUT WHEN THEY ARE ASKED TO
TRUST A PERSON OR A NEW DEVELOPMENT OR
THEIR OWN LIVES, THEY RUN FOR COVER.
BELIEF CAN BE FIXED GR UNCHANGING, BUT
FAITH IS ALMOST ALWAYS A RESPONSE TO THE

PRESENCE OF AN ANGEL."

MARY IS A REMINDER THAT THIS IS HOw GOD
CAME INTO THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD, AND
THIS IS HOW GOD COMES INTO YOUR HISTORY
AND MINE: "AN ANGEL,” THOMAS MoorRE

SAYS, "TELLING US THAT WE ARE PREGNANT
WITH A NEW FORM OF LIFE THAT WE SHOULD

ACCEPT AND TRUST." [p. 255]

24

JESUS HAD A MOTHER. SHE WAS THE
ONLY ONE THERE AT BOTH HIS BIRTH AND
DEATH. SHE WAS THE FIRST CHRISTIAN.
SHE IS A REMINDER OF THE DEPTH AND
WONDERFUL ORDINARINESS OF Gop’S LOVE.
SHE IS A REMINDER OF THE HUMAN FACE OF
Gop's LOVE. SHE IS A SIGN OF GoD‘'S
PRESENCE AND A REMINDER THAT GOD CALLS
YOU AND ME TO ACKNOWLEDGE WITHIN OUR-
SELVES Gop’S GIFTS OF NEW BEING, NEW

CREATION, NEW LIFE, NEW BEHAVIOR.
Hate MARY, INDEED. BLESSED ARE YOU
AMONG US ALL ~- AND BLESSED IS THE FRUIT

OF YOUR WOMB.

AMEN.

25