Resurrection Lutheran Church, St Catharines

God’s “divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence” (2 Peter 1:3). We have seen how this played out in the lives of a few Old Testament figures. Abraham’s FAITH to believe in God’s great promises to him was put to the test in several ways, but the LORD continually restating His promises strengthened Abraham’s FAITH along the way. Job showed incredible STEADFASTNESS through the suffering that was inflicted upon him and despite the poor counsel of his friends, maintained that somewhere in God was the mercy that he craved, and the LORD did not disappoint him. Joseph maintained SELF-CONTROL when tempted to grasp hold of what was promised but seemed to have been taken away from him. And he displayed great BROTHERLY AFFECTION for those who had wronged him so terribly and sought to disrupt the blessings of which he had dreamed.

 

Tonight we move into the New Testament and cross the gender barrier to consider the beautiful response of a woman to the blessings of God. I only point this out for our assurance that the Lord’s work through His Word was not limited to a time in the distant past or to the great patriarchs of the faith. We live as close in time to Mary, the mother of our Lord, as she lived to the time of Abraham. If the Lord’s work in His people could span the time from Abraham to Mary, then it can also span the time from Mary to us, in fact from Adam and Eve until the Last Day.

 

And the Lord shows no partiality. In terms of the promises of God extended to His people, “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). “He has granted to us [all] all things that pertain to life and godliness.” It may be fortuitous that our service today happens to fall upon the festival of the Annunciation to Mary (the announcement from the angel Gabriel of our Lord’s coming), but also the Holy Christian Church has always held Mary to be the second greatest example of a godly life of submission to the heavenly Father’s will, second only to her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

And that is precisely what allows us to describe what we see in the life of Mary as GODLINESS. We see in her the same thing that we see in her Son who is “true God, begotten of the Father from eternity and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary” (Small Catechism. II. 2). We see in Jesus the submission to the Father’s will to be the sacrifice for our salvation; and we see in Mary her submission to the Father’s will to be the instrument through which His eternal Son took on human nature so that He could be sacrificed for us.

 

Today’s reading from the Book of Hebrews tells us:

For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,
“Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure.
Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God,
as it is written of me in the scroll of the book’” (Hebrews 10:5-7).

 

You see, the only problem with God was that He could not die. Now, that is only a problem if a sacrifice is required that needs to be greater than the value of anything else that exists. And that is just what was required for the forgiveness of our sins. The blood of bulls and goats cannot do it. The blood of human beings cannot do it. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), but death is not the price for our redemption. If it was, then we would all be saved through our own death. The price is higher than the cost of a human life.

 

The only sacrifice through which we could be saved is the sacrifice of the eternal, holy life of God Himself. So, He took upon Himself our nature that He might unite it to His divine nature. Therefore the body and blood of Jesus, the Son of Mary, is the body and blood of the eternal Son of the heavenly Father. It is sinless-ly holy and priceless-ly precious, and the one possible sacrifice to redeem mankind from every sin and uncleanness.

 

The GODLINESS of Christ Jesus is revealed in that “while we were still sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). That defines who God is. He is willing to die for sinners, for those who have rejected and rebelled and turned away and disgraced Him despite all of His goodness extended. And the GODLINESS of Jesus was demonstrated most when He accepted the heavenly Father’s will that He should die for the sins of mankind. So He took on a human body in order that He might be sacrificed for sinners. He submitted Himself to the Father’s plan for our salvation no matter how much suffering and pain it would require of Him.

 

It is this GODLINESS that is also displayed in Mary, who willingly submitted herself to this plan for the salvation of the world, by taking upon herself the role that the Lord called upon her to fulfill. She was not asked to be the sacrifice for sin, but to participate in making a sacrifice: to bear a Child into the world for the very purpose that she would have to give Him up so that He would fulfill the purpose for which He came. And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).

 

Was it easy for Mary to go along with what was announced to her? Well, she would have a baby. That certainly is not easy, but people look forward to that and rejoice in that. She would be pregnant and unmarried. She would be worried about how that would affect her relationship with her betrothed. She would have to bear the disgrace of those who would not accept her explanation of why she was an unwed mother.

 

Gabriel announced some pretty awesome things about the Child. “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the LORD God will give to Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:33-34). That all sounds pretty good. But if you stop to think about it, it does mean that the Child was not given to Mary for her own. He was given for a wider purpose than her own personal fulfilment and joy. She would have to bear some kind of sacrifice as He took on these responsibilities that were far greater than just being Mary’s Son. This was not lost on Mary. She thought about it a lot.

 

When the shepherds came bearing the message they heard from the angels, “unto you is born this day... a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11), “Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart” (v. 19). Then Mary and Joseph brought the baby Jesus to the temple and Simeon blessed them but also warned “this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also)” (vv. 34-35). And when the boy was twelve and her heart fell realizing that He was not with them on the return journey from Jerusalem, Jesus Himself stated, “Did you not know that I must be in My Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49). “And His mother treasured up all these things in her heart” (v. 51).

 

Pondering the things confessed about Him and treasuring/guarding/keeping them in her heart, Mary knew that the piercing of her soul that Simeon warned of would eventually come. By the time Jesus was ready to reveal Himself in His first miracle at the wedding in Cana, Mary was expectant. “His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever He tells you’” (John 2:5). She knew that the time would come for the promises that the LORD had made to her to be fulfilled, and also the warnings that He had delivered to her.

 

Indeed, there was at least one incident when Jesus was devotedly speaking to the overcrowded house, such that his mother and his brothers could not even get inside. And when He was told that His mother and brothers were outside wanting to speak with Him, He indicated toward those hearing Him and said, “Behold, here are my mother and brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother” (Matthew 12:49-50). The reality of the purpose of Mary bearing Jesus into the world was becoming painfully clear to her, even as it was becoming wonderfully revealed to all who heard Him.

 

And of course we are reminded especially at this time of year of the last mention of Mary in the gospels, at the foot of the cross where she watched her Son die in agony and humiliation. And as He comfortingly commended her into the care of the Apostle John (John 19:27), she gratefully felt the sting of knowing that she could not physically hold onto the Son she had born into the world through her own body. All of this, not fully known at the time, was accepted in GODLY submission to the Father’s will when Mary responded to the annunciation, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).

 

What do we know when the Lord calls upon us to fulfill our role in His hidden plans for His will to be done? We all have vocations (callings) which come from God. Some of them are even announced to us. At some point your mother was told that she would bear a child, and that announcement was about you. Perhaps you also were told at some point that you would have a child. But there are other callings from God to fulfill a role in His plans for salvation.

 

You have holy callings from God in regard to your family, in regard to your community, and in regard to your church. These are God’s callings for you to live a life of GODLINESS, submitting to His will for you so that His will for those around you might be accomplished through what He wills to work through your person. Just like Mary, you don’t know all of the details of how that will play out in your life. But knowing the grace and mercy of God revealed to you throughout the Scriptures and announced to you through the church, you can display the GODLINESS of Mary and also of Jesus in your own life.

 

These callings also involve suffering and loss, such as Mary experienced in her life. We are all called to follow Jesus by taking up our crosses, our sufferings and rejections and losses. But when we are given the Gospel news of forgiveness and salvation in Jesus Christ for our sins and the sins of the whole world, then GODLINESS springs up in us by His divine working in our life, just as He worked in Mary and in all of His people known and unknown throughout the history of His promises to His people.

 

GODLINESS is to follow Christ in submitting ourselves to the will of the Father, as did Mary. We may not know what all that entails, but God has given to us everything necessary in order that we might display this life of GODLINESS. It is GODLINESS when we keep His commandments. It is GODLINESS when we live with trust in His love and mercy. It is GODLINESS when we are willing to suffer for the sake of others as we live out the vocations that He has given to us.

 

God’s “divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence” (2 Peter 1:3). He has given us everything we need to live with FAITH in His promises, and STEADFASTNESS through suffering, and SELF-CONTROL when tested, and BROTHERLY AFFECTION toward all, and GODLINESS to submit to His will. We have all we need because we have been given Jesus. “Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:10-11).