The texts for our sermon are from our readings this evening:
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.
Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.”
As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
Thus far the text.
My dear friends in Christ,
Luke mentions many times that Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. I wonder if you’ve ever stopped to ponder yourself what this means. Luke says Mary does this a couple times, like when the boy Jesus went to the Temple when His family was returning home and taught the elders there or when Jesus was presented at the Temple and the prophets there spoke of the greatness of His reign to come. But the first time Luke uses the phrase is here in his Christmas narrative, when, after Mary has the shepherds come into the place where she was staying, heard their reports of what happened. The angels appearing in the field. Their glorious message. The sending of the shepherds to look for a sign. Hearing the shepherds report back from their missionary journey into Bethlehem, sharing the Good News of the birth of the Christ to all they could find. Mary heard these things and pondered them in her heart.
Maybe this seems a bit weird. After all, an angel appeared in Mary’s own home and told her that she, a virgin, would have a child put into her womb by the Holy Spirit. That’s weird. But, she’s had nine months to get used that. She heard her child would be the Messiah, and not just a man, but truly the Son of God. Definitely strange. But she believed the angel. She’s a testament of faith, truly, and she is always to be honored because of her faith in God’s Word. So, when she hears the reports of the shepherd, we’d expect her to smile knowingly and nod. But the way Luke phrases this makes it seem like Mary doesn’t quite understand.
I don’t know if that’s it. After all, when her Son did His first miracle at the wedding feast at Cana, Mary demonstrated deep faith and trust that her Son can take care of the celebration by turning water into wine. It seems, rather, that when Mary is pondering the amazing works of God, those things which would be impossible for man, but not impossible for God, when she ponders them, she’s treasuring them, meditating on them, working to remember the goodness of God coming to her and to all those whom Jesus would touch.
Through the Advent season, we’ve pondered ourselves at how Jesus has overcome the enemies of His Word: the devil, our sinful flesh, and the sinful world. We’ve seen how He came in the power of His might put in the flesh of a baby for the purpose of dying on the cross, how He comes to us today through His Word and through the Sacraments, and how He promises to come again to raise from the dead all who believe in Him. We’ve looked at the parable of the Sower, who casts His seed all over the ground, lavishly, with abandon, almost, in order that the seed of God’s Word would be planted and take root in our hearts. We’ve seen the different soils, and how God’s enemies work to choke out and destroy God’s Word. But tonight, we’ll also consider the last soil, good soil, when the seed of God takes root and grows to its proper end, that it gives a harvest greater than anyone could imagine.
Mary was this good soil. As Mary pondered all the things happening around her, centered on her Son, she heard the Word of God and kept it. The Word took root in her and grew. And through that Word, her actions, her faithfulness have inspired generations to call her the most blessed woman who ever lived. This isn’t because Mary is some sort of super saint; Mary was faithful, and she is a wonderful example for us in our Christian lives.
How is it that Mary received that heart of faith? How is that she treasured God’s Word and meditated on it for her whole life? It truly is as simple as that: she treasured God’s Word. She didn’t reject it. She didn’t try to change it. She said to the angel who told her she would bear the Son of God, “Let it be to me as you have said.” She simply believed. And, again, this isn’t because of some special power in Mary, it is because the Lord gave her His Word and she received it. This is the work of the Holy Spirit.
And so it is for you. You are also good soil, responding in faith, as did Mary. If you hear the Word of God and keep it, if you ponder it like Mary did, then you also are the good soil. It doesn’t mean that every teaching from God is easy to accept. Do you think Mary was used to seeing virgins bear a son? Do you think she had a great time through all nine months of pregnancy, especially as she had to journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem while she was ready to pop? The Word of God isn’t always easy; you might even say it isn’t often easy. But, to hear the Word and say, let it be to me as you have said, that is a mark of faith?
And what is God saying? What is He specifically saying to you that He wants done to you? He wants to show you His favor. He wants to bring to you His love. Aside from Easter, there is no greater example of the love of God than Christmas. Here we have the Son of God given to us in the flesh, that He might be born, live, grow, and die, all for you. And now He gives you His Holy Spirit to teach you to trust in His promise, that He has saved you and will bring you into eternal life.
Mary treasured these things in her heart; how can you do this also, even on a daily basis? We’ve been talking this whole season about devotions, literally pondering God’s Word through many and various ways. Whether it’s praying, singing psalms, hymns, or spiritual songs, or reading His Word, we are strengthened by the Holy Spirit to meet our daily struggles and helping us to see that, no matter what else is going on in our lives or in the world, our God will always fulfill His promises to you. He builds us up in faith, He helps us trust evermore our God, this child whom we celebrate this night.
The troubles of this world can seem to break us. They want to choke out the trust and faith we have in God. The devil works to snatch His Word away from us. But our Lord is sowing His Word in you, the good soil, the faithful assembled here, that, if you believe, if you will not reject the Lord’s Word and His promises, if you hear His Word and keep it, that it would grow in you and return a harvest, namely eternal life, that is greater than you could ever imagine.
This Christmas, as we look to Jesus, let us see Mary, His mother, as an example of faith for us to follow, that we ponder God’s Word, that we rejoice with the angels, that we share the Good News with the shepherds. Let us understand God’s Word and how it will keep us in the one true faith unto life everlasting. There is nothing else more important than this, that your God is here, in this place, for you, as real as He was that Christmas night, where He was born to die for you, to forgive your sins. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
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