Tag Archives: Mary

The visitation: Mary visits Elizabeth, John greets Jesus

Grace and Judgment Posted on by

After the dramatic stories of Gabriel’s appearances to Zechariah and Mary, Luke 1:39-45 describes Mary’s visit to Zechariah’s wife Elizabeth. The two women were related.

Although artists have painted or otherwise portrayed the visitation for centuries, it’s easy to read right past it. But like many minor characters, Elizabeth has a special message for us.

Mary, probably a girl of about 14, has just become pregnant as a virgin. That’s what Gabriel said. The townspeople would eventually know only that she was pregnant out of wedlock.

Gabriel had also told her that Elizabeth was pregnant in her old age. (That likely means 40, give or take a few years.… Read the rest

Gabriel, Zechariah, and Mary: a Christmas study in contrasts

Grace and Judgment Posted on by

In Luke 1, the angel Gabriel had good news for both Zechariah and Mary. They both asked him similar questions. Zechariah’s got him reprimanded and punished, but Mary’s did not. Why? Maybe the questions aren’t as similar as they might seem at first. 

… Read the rest

Joseph and Mary in Jerusalem: Leaving Jesus behind

Grace and Judgment Posted on by

We have only one story of Jesus as a child, Luke 2:41-52. Joseph and Mary traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover every year and probably took Jesus each time. In any case, when he was 12, they returned to Nazareth without him. Jesus stayed at the temple and questioned the teachers there.

Surely every parent can identify with the multitude of emotions Joseph and Mary must have felt as they searched for their son.

Men traveled separately from women and children in those days. A 12-year-old, one year from adulthood, could have plausibly traveled with either group. Only when they stopped for the night and families reunited did Joseph and Mary realize that no one had seen Jesus.… Read the rest

What Simeon said about Easter

Grace and Judgment Posted on by

When Mary and Joseph took the infant Jesus to the temple, they encountered a prophet named Simeon. We normally think of Simeon closer to Christmas. After all, that’s the season when we pay special attention to the birth of Jesus. But Simeon’s message makes sense to us only in the light of Easter.

By the Holy Spirit, Simeon knew that he held the long-awaited Messiah in his arms. He knew that this child would grow up to accomplish his mission in the face of fierce opposition. And he knew that Jesus’ ministry would inflict great sorrow on his mother. But Jesus would accomplish what God intended.… Read the rest

The lost strangeness of Mary and Gabriel

Grace and Judgment Posted on by

Nativity set. We think we know Mary. Do we?

Centuries before the Eastern and Western churches split, the church began to call her the Queen of Heaven, thinking to honor her. In Scripture, however (Jeremiah 7:18; 44:15-18), the queen of heaven is a pagan fertility goddess. When God’s people worshiped her, they provoked God to anger. It’s an insult to Mary to give her the same title as a false goddess.

In centuries of art and church teaching, Mary becomes some kind of other-worldly figure, devoted to perpetual virginity.

Nowadays, a child often portrays Mary church pageants. Another may portray the angel Gabriel.  … Read the rest

Ordinariness and wonder after Jesus’ birth

Grace and Judgment Posted on by

In a stable in Bethlehem, Mary had a baby. She was certainly neither the first or last woman to deliver a child under less than ideal conditions. But she had an ordinary childbirth experience after an ordinary pregnancy.

She delivered no ordinary child. Mary conceived Jesus while she was still a virgin, a miracle that has happened exactly once. Angels announced Jesus’ birth to shepherds, who rushed to Bethlehem to see him.

The ordinary and the extraordinary persisted side by side throughout Jesus’ life. Luke’s gospel records both a week following his birth.

… Read the rest

First Things First: Jesus’ Miracle at Cana

Grace and Judgment Posted on by

Are you ever offended at Jesus? He upset people from the very beginning. Some of us in the church haven’t liked everything he did for 2,000 years–least of all his sense of timing.

Jesus’ first miracle took place at a party, much to the consternation of those who think religion ought to be dignified and serious.

He brought the wine, much to the consternation of Christians who believe that anything alcoholic is evil. What was Jesus doing there in the first place, and what does it all mean?

According to John 2:1-11, Mary was at a wedding in Cana. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited, apparently some time later than Mary.… Read the rest

Mary: After the Angel Departed

Grace and Judgment Posted on by

Have you ever had a vivid encounter with God? What happened a day or two later? A week? Years?

Quite often Christians have reported an overwhelming spiritual high followed by a deep spiritual low.

God’s presence can be so vivid that it seems like what he says is bound to happen in the next 15 minutes, but it never does.

A cherished promise never seems as far off and distant as it does after vividness of the divine presence fades.

Does that mean perhaps that we had no genuine spiritual experience? Did we get carried away by feelings? Was it all a lie?… Read the rest

Mary and the sneakiness of God

Grace and Judgment Posted on by

There is nothing subtle about how the world operates. We measure power by size. Each industry has one or two dominant and large corporations.

The most powerful nations have some combination of the largest economies, international trade, military power, and diplomatic reach. Politicians vie to amass the most money so they can parlay their fundraising into the most votes.

God doesn’t work that way.

Just look at how he prepared Mary for her role in God’s sneaky counterrevolution against the devil.

Satan appeared to win a great victory in Eden by corrupting the man and the woman God had made. God declared that the seed of the woman would ultimately defeat him.… Read the rest

The birth of Christ happens every day

Grace and Judgment Posted on by

The New Testament uses the phrase “in Christ” or something similar more than a hundred times. It refers to Christ being in the believer less often, but those references are very important, especially during Advent as we look forward to the birth of Christ.

In Colossians 1:27, Paul summarized his message as “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” And how does Christ get in us? The same way he got in Mary: it takes a miracle. If every day by that miracle someone accepts Christ, then the birth of Christ happens every day.

… Read the rest