a sermon for mary young
Mary always made an impression on folks.
Now, to say Mary was special would be to state the obvious, though.
Of course Mary was special, but that wasn’t it.
No, Mary had this way about her. She always seemed to, in her own gentle and quiet way, make a big impact, a lasting impression…
Why is that?
Why was she able, as diminutive as she was, to make such a large impact.
Why was she, as quiet as she was, to say so much with few words?
Certainly there are a few reasons;
the one that stands out the most, though, was Mary’s ability to draw folks together,
how Mary always saw the best in everyone
and invited everyone to see the best in others, as well as in themselves.
See, Mary seemed to embody what we hope to be.
To say it another way, Mary managed to embody the Gospel in a profound and meaningful way.
Mary lived out a witness that another way was possible, a way we all want to live.
Mary embodied a love that was patient and kind; a love that beared, believed, hoped and endured.
Mary embodied a trust in Jesus’ words that the mourning, meek and merciful were indeed blessed.
That is how, though her witness, that Mary was always able to make such a remarkable impression,
even though Mary was decidedly soft-spoken and gentle.
Because here’s the thing; Mary never made her impression on others by force of will, prowess, money or the like.
No. Instead, Mary touched all of us by what would best be called faith.
Faith.
Faith.
It was by living through all life had to throw at her, that Mary developed that deep, meaningful faith that touched all of us.
Mary knew her share of struggles,
losing her son to suicide was something she always struggled with.
It is remarkable, though, that those struggles never defined Mary,
that she never became angry or bitter.
In fact, nearly the opposite happened.
After going through some trial or another, Mary was able to come out of the ordeal gentler, more hopeful and trusting for the wear.
That’s remarkable!
Tacked to my bulletin board is something Mary wrote one Sunday; “I have been more than blessed every day of my life.”
Wow.
That’s the witness, how Mary lived out her faith day-in and day-out that made such an enduring impression on us all.
As Mary faced some trial or another, she put her trust in Jesus and his words.
As Mary went through her life, she learned there is wisdom, truth and promise in those pages of her Bible, in Jesus’ words.
And that is no small thing.
After all, the hard truth is, Jesus words are often hard to believe; just take the Gospel we heard today:
“Blessed are those who mourn.”
What do you mean, that those who mourn are blessed?
What do you mean, that those who mourn are blessed?
All too often we want to decide being blessed is having whatever you want and being free to any trial.
Mary knew better than that, though.
Life and the life-of-faith had taught Mary that what today’s Gospel says, although entirely different from expectation, is true;
that those who need God and trust God in that are blessed.
Now, the truth is, that’s a promise you can only learn by ordeal and deliverance.
It is a Promise you can only taken by grieving, and experiencing God’s blessed comfort in the midst of grief.
That was the kind of faith Mary lived.
That was the kind of faith Mary touched all of us with.
In fact, Mary’s very life was a testament to the trustworthiness of Jesus’ words up there on that mountain.
Now, that isn’t to say it was always easy for Mary.
That mourning didn’t pain her heart,
or that trust just came second-nature.
Just like all of us, Mary struggled to take everything life has to throw at us, and somehow keep up peace and trust.
We already mentioned her enduring love for all her children,
and of course her health was a struggle for her.
It was always something of a battle to convince Mary to visit the doctor….
In fact, in retrospect, we all had to conclude that Mary must have had some sense of how serious her health was, because for once she didn’t protest when the ambulance was called that Saturday :-)
And that is exactly why we’re here today;
because while that ambulance ride may seem to have ended Mary’s life-long struggle of faith,
we know otherwise.
That last agreement to call 911 was Mary’s final decision to put her faith in Jesus who had never failed her yet.
Mary knew whatever the doctor might say, would not be the last word;
and we are here today because we know that whatever the death-certificate may say, is not the last word on Mary, either.
While death may appear to put an end to Mary’s lifelong struggle to trust, Jesus has put an end to death for Mary;
Jesus has taken Mary’s trust and completed it in his love that has no end,
not even death.
And that is exactly why we gather here today.
Now Jesus completes the promise he made to Mary so long ago, that she is named as a blessed child of God.
Now Mary’s trust is not only vindicated, but more importantly completed.
Now that love Paul said would never ends has destroyed death as Mary enters the kingdom of heaven as a child of God.
Now those blessings Jesus proclaimed on that mountain so long ago are fulfilled for Mary.
Now, although it may seem broken to us, Mary’s full life is revealed;
the book of life is opened and Mary needs to glasses to see that indeed her name, Mary Katherine Young, is written therein,
to find that her trust had been well placed all along; that she is blessed.
Amen
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