Sunday 20th December -
Advent 4
This Sunday the fourth candle on the Advent
wreath is lit commemorating Mary, the mother of Jesus as the most obvious
antecedent in the Jesus event we call the incarnation.
2 Samuel 7: 1-11, 16.
The important question that this piece raises is “Does God need a house or any
special building to reside?” This is of enormous significance for Christians as
we believe that the spirit resides in believer’s hearts wherever they may be –
that we human beings in fact are the Temple of the Holy Spirit of God (1
Corinthians 3: 16-17). While God’s Spirit lives in us in a very special way, He
is also present in all things and believing that God can be located to one
place is when you think about it diminishes and attempts to domesticate to
universal and infinite God that knows no boundaries.
Romans 16: 25-27.
The mystery of God, the eternal word, whose Spirit manifests the Kingdom of God
whenever anyone follows the way of Love was always true but only became fully apparent
in the life, works, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. God didn’t start
loving the world 2020 years ago in Jesus Christ– it was always true
Luke 1: 26-38.
The mystery – the eternal Christ – was incarnated (revealed) to a largely
unsuspecting world in the body of a woman, Mary. Mary’s “Yes” was absolutely pivotal
to the revelation happening at all. This is why Mary is so revered in both
Eastern and Western Christianity and attracts so many honorific titles.
Symbolically she is the “New Eve” undoing the disobedience of the first Eve.
Theologically she is forever honoured with the title Theotokos which means the
God-bearer.
One of the unfortunate consequences of the reformation in the Western world is the unseemly culture war over the position of Mary the mother of Jesus in our respective denominations.
Thankfully I was privileged to serve for three
years in an Eastern Orthodox country where of course there has never been a
reformation and I gained a more rounded and deeper appreciation of Mary’s place
within truly catholic (in the sense of universal) Christianity, untouched by
the fights and struggles in the West between Roman Catholics and Protestants,
for which I am eternally grateful.
The entire Christian understanding of the
relationship between God and the world and how God can be accessed by human
beings depends on the whole notion of understanding what “Emmanuel” really
means. God is with us – He is not separate from us and can never be separate
from any of us or anything.
This has always been true and will always
remain true but that core mystery was only fully revealed to us through the
birth of Jesus Christ and that happened through Mary.
Atonement – being at one with God – is something
that has to be attained through believing in an “atoning sacrifice” in much Western
theology but in classic catholic/Orthodox understanding of the world – we have
always been at one with God and the sign and seal of this innate oneness is the
incarnation.
We are also a religion of original blessing. Prior
to any notion of original sin, God created (as it is written in Genesis) all
that is and saw that it was good. Human beings as I’m sure you remember
were created as VERY good.
God always loved the world from the very
beginning. He didn’t suddenly start taking an interest 2020 years ago.
Mary’s role then is pivotal. She has always
been lauded as a sign and symbol of the Christian life, in the following way;
Mary said yes to the Spirit which grew inside
her until she gave birth to the physical Jesus in Bethlehem. That is the
Christian way also. We also have to say yes to God and his spirit will grow
within us until we give birth spiritually to Christ in the world. Mary is an
icon of the way of Christ.
One of my most precious books is by Rowan
Williams called “Ponder these things” a series of reflections on Orthodox icons
of Mary and Jesus – Madonna and child.
I can’t hold a candle to Rowan’s intellect or
insight – he learned Russian so he could read his favourite Orthodox
theologians in their original language for example- but I can ride on his coat
tails.
His insight is that icons of Mary holding the
infant Jesus nuzzling up to his mother are profound revelation into the nature
of the relationship between humans and the Divine.
The infant Jesus is dependent, vulnerable,
adoring his Mother. Mary, looking out imploringly to the viewer is saying to us
“This is your God”.
We have the capacity to nurture God in our
lives or neglect and ignore Him until he just shrivels up and dies.
My most recent insight was on the use of the
word “virgin” to describe Mary. One that breaks through centuries of wrangling
and disputes over the meaning or mistranslation of words to understand the
virginity of Mary as less to do with biology and more to do with a fundamental
attitude towards God and life was a real breakthrough for me.
Humility, a chasteness of heart and mind that simply
receives with gratitude from God despite not knowing where the journey will end
is a state of being that precedes her “yes” to God.
“Let it be to me according to your word”.
And as I wrote earlier in the week, once we
can say that along with Mary, we are truly ready for Christmas.
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