Wow, you have stumbled upon our archived website with old blog posts and sermon recordings. To see the current website, visit https://www.calvarygreenville.org
I don’t use Pinterest but the person I love the most in this world frequents the site. Not too long ago I had to have someone explain to me what the word meant. (Thank you Erica Rogers). In case you don’t know, it’s an on line bulletin board where you can “pin your interests.” I thought it was just for crafts and art projects but it turns out there are even tips on skinning deer and preparing squirrels for the frying pan! Wowser! One site teaches you how to fold napkins for a fancy party AND gives 101 tips for Squirrel Hunting. What a world! Of course there are lots of pictures revealing beautiful table settings and perfect Christmas trees. Idealism reigns on such sites. I’m not against pinning one’s interests, especially when helpful information about squirrels and deer are available. What is problematic to me is the comparison problem. Few of us have Pinterest lives. For those of you that are non-Pinterest let me say it this way, few of us have Norman Rockwell lives. Something is usually going wrong with our best laid plans. We run out of time, we run out of food, the lights for the tree don’t work, we drop the toast and it lands butter side down, we spill coffee, babies puke, we get sick and miss the Christmas party, our kids don’t make the honor roll, our bread falls instead of rises and we really hope no one was looking when we tripped and fell stepping over a speed bump while walking and texting. That kind of stuff doesn’t usually make Pinterest because no one is interested in life going wrong. Christmas is still a few days off and maybe, so far, you are having a Pinterest Advent. Things are going awesome! For the rest of you, our Advent study on Sunday will address “the logic of joy.” If we think that joy is based on reaching ideals we’ll often be disappointed. There is a logic for joy that transcends circumstances and we’ll learn about it from the epic visit that Mary made to Elizabeth. Your Christmas may not be Pinterest worthy but it can be characterized by joy.
Our Advent text this week is Luke 1:26-38. It is the announcement of Gabriel to Mary that she would be the mother of the Messiah. It’s really tough to stay out of the theological ditches as we think about Mary. There are some in Christian circles who worship her and pray to her. In reaction, there are some who wish we would ignore her. Protestants typically minimize Mary while Roman Catholics magnify her. I like what conservative evangelical scholar Dwight Pentecost wrote, “The mother merits all honor but her Son—our worship!” I think that is a biblically appropriate balance. Mary was an amazing young woman. At great cost, she became the mother of the Son of God! She said, “Yes” to God when many would have said, “No.” God picked her out of billions of women in history to receive this grace. We honor a lot of people for far less. Mary is worthy of respect, honor and imitation. Oh that more followers of her Son would say as she said, “Let it be to me according to your word.” On the other hand, Mary is not worthy of our worship. She was a sinner like all humans born under Adam. She acknowledged personally that she was in need of a Savior, (see Luke 1:47). Jesus made it quite clear one day that there are others that are blessed in addition to His mother. One day when Jesus was teaching a woman cried out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth…” Jesus did not disagree but He did not encourage such an idea, rather, He said, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it." (See Luke 11:27, 28) Jesus never taught us to pray to Mary, neither did the apostles. There are many people that are worthy of honor, Mary is one of them. Only God is worthy of our worship. That said, we are not in the clear if we have never worshipped Mary. The truth is we can allow other people, things, activities etc. to become objects of worship in our lives. Tim Keller wrote, “The heart is an idol factory.” So, we may not be amiss with regard to Mary but who else or what else might be garnering our attention, praise, worship, commitment and loyalty? We must be alert at all times for the “counterfeit gods” that try to sneak into our heart. Let’s honor Mary without worshipping her. Let’s honor Jesus Christ by worshipping Him and obeying Him as our only Savior and Lord.
