It Should Be True
David Orendorff · Luke 1:39-56 · December 24, 2006
Yellow Star is a children’s book is by Carmen Agra Deedy. It is the story of the King of Denmark during WWII. The King was known for his wisdom and compassion for all the Danes. When Denmark was occupied by Nazi Germany, the Nazi's, as they did in all the countries they occupied, declared that all Jews must wear a yellow Star of David. The King, a non-Jew, had yellow stars sewn on his garments and whenever he was in public he wore the yellow Star of David. The non-Jewish people of Denmark, recognizing the power of such a simple act, began wearing yellow stars on their garments. With this simple act the Danes stood in solidarity with Danish Jews and protected them from Nazi abuse.
I heard about this book on an NPR program that reviews children’s books. The discussion that followed the reading of the story was about whether this Danish legend of the Holocaust was true; some believe it, others do not. A man who claimed to frequently see the King of Denmark during that time was interviewed. He said he never saw the King wear a yellow star. Others, who lived in Denmark at the time, said it was true.
We may never know whether the story of The Yellow Star is true. But whether it is true or not true, “It Should Be True.” It should be true that a king who loves all his people would take on the sign of their suffering. It should be true that the people of a nation care so for each other that they protect one another by taking on the same sign.
Truth is not always in the history of a thing. The greatest truths exist apart from history and occasionally reveal themselves in history.
Early on in Seminary I was home for vacation and was telling my mother of what I was learning. At the time, but no longer, my mother was pretty literal in her understanding of the Bible and truth. So when I began to speak to her of Biblical mythology, she was taken aback. How could I, or those folks at seminary, call anything in the Bible a myth. To call it a myth was, for her, to deny its truth.
Take for instance our scripture for today. Mary becomes pregnant not by a husband, not even by a man, but by the Holy Spirit of God. It is a story to laugh at for its improbability and to weep at for its humiliation of a young girl, her family, her fiancé and the baby. Is it history? Or is it something that should be true?
In 1521 or 1522, Martin Luther, famous as the father of the Protestant Reformation, preached the rest of this improbable story to his congregation in Wartburg, Germany, saying:
Here is a poor young woman, Mary of Nazareth, not highly esteemed, but of the humblest citizens of the village. No one is conscious of the great wonder she bears, she is silent, keeps her own counsel, and regards herself as the lowliest in the town. She starts out with her husband Joseph; very likely they had no servant, and he had to do the work of master and servant, and she that of mistress and maid. They were therefore obliged to leave their home unoccupied, or commend it to the care of others.
Now they evidently owned an ass, upon which Mary rode, although the Gospel does not mention it, and it is possible that she went on foot with Joseph. Imagine how she was despised at the inns and stopping places on the way....
There were, no doubt, many wives and daughters of prominent men at that time, who lived in fine apartments and great splendor, while the mother of God takes a journey in mid-winter under most trying circumstances. What distinctions there are in the world! It was more than a day's journey from Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem in the land of Judea. They had to journey either by or through Jerusalem, for Bethlehem is south of Jerusalem while Nazareth is north.
The Evangelist shows how, when they arrived at Bethlehem, they were the most insignificant and despised, so that they had to make way for others until they were obliged to take refuge in a stable, to share with the cattle, lodging, table, bedchamber and bed, while many a wicked man sat at the head (of a grand table) in the hotels and was honored as lord. 1 Martin Luther, The Story of the Birth of Jesus; and the Angel's Song, used with permission, copied from a collection of Martin Luther’s sermons - Thanks to Joe Lovelady for doing the research on this.
Mary’s suffering would not end with the birth, but only begin. Herod, when he heard that Jesus was born King of the Jews, a title Herod claimed for himself, sent his soldiers to Nazareth and the surrounding region to murder every baby two years and younger. Mary had to carry the murder of innocents and the pain of their families, people she knew, kin and friend, in her heart because it was her birth of Jesus that brought their deaths.
Yet while knowing all that has been and would be for her, all the suffering of her love at the birth and then the death of her child Jesus, Mary sings her Magnificat to God -
My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. 2 Luke 1:46-48
Is this history? Is Mary really so saintly that she sees beyond the suffering God has visited upon her and Joseph, beyond the agonizing life she will lead, even the murder of her child, even the murder of her neighbor's child, and is glad to God for the pregnancy and life she has been given?
Well, if it is not history, then it should be true. For the truth of Mary is that in the midst of what the rest of us would see as disgrace and withering pain, she sees as God saving her, and through her the whole world. Mary sees in her life, hard as it was, the life of God and she rejoices in her blessing and praises God for the gift.
If this is not history it should be true for to sing the praises of God in the midst of unseen salvation is courage and true faith. It is the life we were meant to lead.
Oh, would we all be like Mary in our faith. When Mary gets lemons she makes lemonade (to use a hackneyed aphorism). If only all of us would let go of self-pity, let go of fears and anxiety, let go of whining for attention and care, and be like Mary seeing God working in us and for us.
Christmas is the time we celebrate the birth of Jesus. In that celebration Mary and Joseph often appear in cameo and supporting roles, lost in the story, lost in the meaning.
So tonight, when we celebrate Christ's birth, for this year also remember Mary. Whether her story is true or not, her gifts to us are the truth for us. Remember Mary, for she gave her life as well as the life of her baby so that we might know love and know it abundantly. Remember Mary, who gave all to us without self-pity or anger, but with joy, love and grace; for Mary loved Jesus, loved God, and loves - by gift and grace - us. Mary, too, is a gift of Christmas. And that is as it should be and that is the truth. Amen and Shalom.