THE NATIVITY STORY

A new movie was released last week that has gotten a lot of press recently and fairly warm reception.  It is called “The Nativity Story” and is a warm and playful movie about the relationship of the world’s most famous couple – Mary and Joseph.  Its first viewing was at the Vatican and the Vatican seemed to receive it with praise.

VATICAN CITY — A movie about the birth of Jesus Christ made its world premiere Sunday at the Vatican, the first time a feature film debuted here.  Some 7,000 people showed up at the benefit screening of "The Nativity story" in Paul VI Hall, the auditorium regularly used for audiences with pilgrims, although Pope Benedict XVI was not present. "I think the pope is pretty busy," quipped director Catherine Hardwicke, referring to Benedict's upcoming trip to Turkey. 

The most criticism I’ve read of the movie is relevant to our topic of today – the real Mary – or what Scott McKnight has called Incendiary Mary.  The movie takes a sentimental look at the story and fails to portray things as they more probably happened.  For instance, it presents the wise men as Kings as they are portrayed in our Nativity settings.  Almost all scholars agree that the Wise Men were not “Three Kings” but Persian priests/sages.  The movie also puts the shepherds and the Wise Men at the manger scene at the same time – again much as we portray the story in our Nativity settings.  However, almost certainly they came at a later date.

In this context is Mary – presented as a lovely Galilean girl who was slow to fall in love.  But the biblical story of her bolder more radical, fiery side was left out.  We choose to see Mary as a nice pious holy girl but not as a person who is concerned for social justice and communal righteousness.  Yet that is exactly the way Luke chooses to portray Mary.

THE TWO MARY’S

It is as if we have two Mary’s.  One wears Carolina blue and is sweet and pious.  She goes with the flow and we love her for it.  We could call this Mary – the Popular Mary.  Or “The Mary of Popular Imagination.”  The other doesn’t care if anyone knows that she believes Herod needs to be removed from his throne and perhaps Caesar as well.  She proclaims her confidence that this Jesus is going to do great things to put the world to rights.  It is this Mary we want to think about today – Incendiary Mary.

TO CLAIM MARY FOR OURSELVES 

The adoration of Mary is of course associated with Roman Catholic piety.  For Protestants, Mary is little more than another figure in the nativity.  We’ve expressed little interest in her role over the years.  We’ve been more interested in debating with the Catholics about whether she has redemptive influence, whether she had a sin nature, whether she bore other children.  Protestants say No Yes Yes and Catholics say yes no no. 

But we need to claim Mary as our own – not as a pious pretty lady who mothered Jesus but as the powerful critic of social injustice that she was.  So who was Mary?  Let’s get to know her again.  What new can we say about her?  What themes in the biblical story haven’t we noticed?  Why does Scott McKnight call her “Incendiary Mary”?

SHE WAS SUBVERSIVE!

Shockingly, Mary was a rather bold person in her willingness to declare her political desires openly.  I’m looking particularly at what has often been called the Magnificat – the first and most striking of the four hymns Luke presents associated with Jesus’ birth.  This song actually deals with and calls for a real upsetting of the political applecart.  Interestingly, Luke doesn’t have Mary sing this song right after the Gabriel announces to her Christ’s birth but after she visits Elizabeth and Elizabeth says, “Why am I so favored that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”  The text reads

Luke 1:46-55 (New International Version)

 46And Mary said:
   "My soul glorifies the Lord
    47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
 48for he has been mindful
      of the humble state of his servant.
   From now on all generations will call me blessed,
    49for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
      holy is his name.
 50His mercy extends to those who fear him,
      from generation to generation.
 51He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
      he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
 52He has brought down rulers from their thrones
      but has lifted up the humble.
 53He has filled the hungry with good things
      but has sent the rich away empty.
 54He has helped his servant Israel,
      remembering to be merciful
 55to Abraham and his descendants forever,
      even as he said to our fathers."

It started innocently enough (vv 46-50).  This is really what we would expect of the humble, pious, meek, lowly, Mary of popular imagination.  My soul glorifies the Lord.  He’s been mindful of my humble estate.  All generations will call me blessed.  Holy is his name.

But around verse 51 she starts getting political.  We need to read this with a clear understanding of what the political backdrop was here.  Herod the Great (or not so Great) was on the throne in Judea and Galilee.  He was a puppet of Rome and little more than an extension of Roman presence.  He was at the very end of his long and bloody reign.  Several treacherous acts mark his long rule.  He was known to be willing to execute his own family members for the slightest scent of treachery.    He taxed the people heavily which hurt the poor like Mary and Joseph mostly.  He had ten wives which would have been infuriating to the pious Jews of Israel. 

Against that background, Mary has the nerve to sing, “He has brought down rulers from their thrones  . . . and sent the rich away empty.”  It uses what could be called the “Prophetic aorist” in which the past tense is used to speak prophetically about impending future events.  Translation - the rich are going to be dethroned and sent to hell (not allowed to eat at the final banquet feast in the Kingdom of God).   There is no doubt that anyone listening would have heard this as a direct threat to Herod the Great.  Why?  Because they are “proud in their inmost thoughts” (v. 51). 

She is not hiding Jesus’ calling for fear of her or his life!  Jesus is the new King who will end the corrupt kingships of this world.  They are under direct threat.  Herod knew this and sought to kill the newborn king unsuccessfully.  Anyone within earshot would have known that she had Herod in mind and that she believed Jesus’ coming spelled the end of all Herod-like wickedness and injustice.

If you were a poor woman in 1^st Cen. Galilee or Judea who was over taxed, vexed by an evil ruler, hoping for a coming Messiah, and you stood up in the streets and said, “God is about to bring down the rulers in their prideful thoughts and establish justice” – you might have been branded a political revolutionary.  Never mind that this was traditional understanding of the role of Messiah.  Mary is willing to go public with her beliefs – especially in her relaying the story to Luke for his publication in the gospel record.

MARY DID YOU KNOW?

We quietly read and sing these words without realizing their social and political firepower.  When we do this, we haven’t read the biblical presentation carefully enough.  Perhaps we’ve hardly read it at all!  This is a direct threat to Herod and he understood it as such.  He went on the offensive even in his old age.

Mary has yet to learn that Jesus’ kingdom is not one which takes up the throne but the cross.  She has yet to learn that Jesus himself redefines his Messiahship to mean “not of this world” and one which attacks the sin of Herod rather than the Herod of sin.  Jesus makes clear that while he accepts the designation of Messiah, he massively reinterprets it.  Mary could not have known this at this point.  Jesus will, at the end of all things, tear down all evil rule on earth.  But first things first.  Jesus seeks to attack the core issue rather than the fight the symptoms.

Interestingly, we sing the famous song, “Mary did you know?”  It says, “Mary did you know that this child that you’ve delivered will soon deliver you?  Did you know that your baby boy will someday rule the nations?”  The assumption seems to be that she didn’t.  The answer is clearly “yes!”  But she of course understood Messiah as everyone of her day did – a political/military leader who would bring into the world a new Davidic kingship of divine righteousness.  Herod was out and King Messiah is in!  So really in answering the question “Mary did you know?” the answer must be yes and no.

MARY WAS DANGEROUS! 

We can also describe Mary as dangerous.  Mary was radioactive in a way.  God didn’t choose a nice sweetie girl to bear his child but a woman who was strong and willing to be dangerous.  She knew that this child was a huge political risk that could end her life.  She knew that she would be hunted down for bearing this baby by the Herod whose rule this baby would upstart.  Yet she said, ‘May it be to me as you have said.”  And soon she and Joseph are running down to Egypt to get away with their lives after all the babies of Bethlehem have been destroyed.

Another thing that is very interesting to notice.  Why does Luke point out that Jesus was born under the rule of Caesar Augustus?  Luke 2 begins with the words, “In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census be taken.”  I think Luke is wanting to subtly contrast Jesus Augustus with Caesar Augustus. 

Who was Caesar Augustus?  He was the first emperor of the Roman Empire whose rise to power brought to an end 100 years of civil war.  When he came to power he inaugurated a new age – called Pax Romana – Roman peace.  The Roman senate was so grateful for peace and quite that they awarded him the honorific Caesar Augustus.  This is a title which indicates that Octavian, Julius Caesar’s adopted son was in fact a son of God.  It is a title that makes Caesar a god to be worshipped as the savior of the inhabited world as the Romans humbly referred to their empire.  The Romans declared Caesar Savior, Son of God, bringer of peace, one to be worshipped.  Romans didn’t worship their leaders before this.  Now they do and Octavian encourages it.

JESUS AUGUSTUS VS. CAESAR AUGUSTUS

Gabriel tells Mary that the “holy one to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35).  “I bring you good news of great joy for all people!” the angel said to the shepherds.  Later the angel tells the shepherds, “Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord” (Luke 2:11).  We have a Savior for all people’s, son of God.  Caesar is Jesus’ main competitor for these titles.  Caesar Augustus is the true son of god, savior of all the inhabited world.  Who is the real savior of the world?  Will the real son of god please stand up?  Who will be the new king and bringer of world peace?  Mary’s magnificat proclaims – as does the whole story of Luke – that Caesar will be dethroned and Jesus enthroned.

                                                            MARY IN THE MIDDLE

Mary stands in the middle of all these angelic announcements.  Mary had a dangerous story to tell and she told it boldly.  Her story is her song and her song is of the subversion of the most powerful sources of power and wealth in the world.  And Luke says Mary “treasured all these things up in her heart” (Luke 2:19).  She awaited the day when God would establish peace and justice for the whole world and she stood boldly to take her dangerous and subversive role in that story.  The real Mary, we are rarely told, changed the world by surrendering to the angelic message with the words, “May it be!” 

                                                                 US IN THE MIDDLE

We also each find ourselves in the middle – torn between our desire to be used by God and our fears and worldly idols.  May Mary play a new role for us – one which exemplifies the courage to stand against forces of darkness, and say, “May it be to me according to your will.”