"Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!" Luke 1:42(Elizabeth).Pastor Joel mentioned that his parents bought a Nativity set. His father had to make one correction before placing them on their lawn. Mary had a halo over her head! So he sawed it off. Catholics and Evangelicals have treated this verse very differently. Evangelicals just kind of ignore the first part. To focus on Mary seems "so catholic".
Mary comes into Luke's narrative when the angel Gabriel breaks the news to her that she'd become pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit with Jesus. Mary's response to this shocking news was "I am the Lord's servant, and I am willing to accept whatever he wants..." Luke 1:38. Mary had no idea what the future would hold. She didn't know that Joseph had an earthshaking dream with instructions to marry her in spite of the potential fall-out. He was willing to be the safe umbrella Mary needed and the surrogate father to Jesus.
In "A Bonhoeffer Advent Reflection: “Mary”, Joel Willistts writes that Bonhoeffer considers Luke 1:46-55 as the oldest Advent hymn. "...It is the most passionate, most vehement, one might say, most revolutionary Advent hymn ever sung. It is not the gentle, sweet, dreamy Mary that we so often see portrayed in pictures, but the passionate, powerful, proud, enthusiastic Mary, who speaks here. None of the sweet, sugary, or childish tones that we find so often in our Christmas hymns, but a hard, strong, uncompromising song of bringing down rulers from their thrones and humbling the lords of this world, of God’s power and of the powerlessness of men. These are the tones of the prophetic women of the Old Testament: Deborah, Judith, Miriam, coming alive in the mouth of Mary."
No wonder we have such a strong claim in The Chaldean Creed: "...of Mary the Virgin, the Godbearer, one and same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, recognized in two natures..." Mary has a very esteemed role in fulfillment of the OT prophecies. It took a gutsy, spirit-led woman to be willing to give birth, raise and walk with Jesus right to the end of his earthly life. Mary was Jesus' first disciple!
Muslims have a high regard for Maryam(Mary). In fact, she is the only woman mentioned by name in the Qur'an. Surah 19 is dedicated to Maryam. It too confirms the virgin birth. Even though this Surah is considered by Muslims to be somewhat like Luke 1, it lacks the historical details and the reason behind God's intervention. One of the emphasis is on denying the divine nature of Jesus, the Messiah. It wants the listener to be convinced that Jesus was merely another prophet sent with a book.
Pastor Joel summarizes "Why is the virgin birth so important?1. The virgin birth is a reminder that our salvation is supernatural.
2. If God can work seemingly impossible in the matter of the virgin birth, he is also able to accomplish the seemingly impossible task of granting a new birth to sinners.
3. The uniqueness of the virgin birth reveals the character of the Messiah and the nature of the kingdom."
Dear Lord, birth in me a greater sense of Mary's willingness to be part of your great plan to bring Salvation to Muslims. Amen.
