sustain:if:able kiwi

theres something about Mary

It suddenly struck me this week that Mary might have a whole lot to say about pre-marital sexual ethics and about being a teenager today.

So here are the notes from Sunday nite.

We all know the birds and the bees. Young woman don’t just get pregnant.

So, option one – Did God sleep with Mary?

Well, women know there bodies. Mary is adamant she’s a virgin. When the angel of God comes, she is quite firm. “I’m not married. No man or God has slept with me.”

So, option two – Were Joseph and Mary bonking on the side? Were they looking good to their mates, but steaming up the windows on the quiet?

Well, when people are alone with God, or even God’s angel, they get pretty honest. Both Mary in Luke and Joseph in Matthew, both alone before God, are adamant. They weren’t sleeping together.

God, we pray for all of us with boyfriends and girlfriends. Give us the courage to be the same to our mates as we are in private. Give us the courage to be like Mary and Joseph, even in the dark.

Which leaves option three, a miracle. We scratch our heads and go, “I don’t believe it. Birth without a bloke. Only God could pull that one off.”

And option 3 makes sense of the Christian story. Christianity claims that Jesus is both human and God. Jesus needs a virgin birth, both a human parent and a God – parent, to be Jesus.

That’s the birds and the bees. There’s something about Mary.

There’s something else about Mary. There’s her age. In those days women got married as teenagers, often 12, 13. So Mary is any teenager we know.

Imagine that. God gifting the future of the human race to a teenager.

Which suggests that in God’s economy, no one is ever too young. No-one can ever say, “I’m not ready.”

God, we pray for our young women tonight, our teenagers in our youth group, that they will lead us like Mary led us, that tonight you would birth a new generation of leaders among us.

There’s something else about Mary that challenges us.

No matter what our age and stage, will we, like Mary, say yes to God? Will we, like Mary, walk in purity? Will we, like Mary, trust in God?

This is our last evening service for the year. We go from here to holidays, to beaches, to New Years parties. Will we be like Mary?

By way of response I invite you to have an anklet tied to your leg – a piece of leather, your humanity, your reality, your struggle – and a white bead, your commitment to be like Mary, to say yes to God, to walk in purity, to trust God this summer.

Because there’s something about Mary.