Mary

Tonight we celebrated the Annunciation, on the first available day in the lectionary, a good week and a half after Lady Day. Here is my short address . . .

A London tour guide working the open top buses, being interviewed about his job, told the story of how one day his microphone was taken off him by a very bright little girl on the bus, who proceeded to captivate the rest of the passengers with her version of the story of that tragic nine days queen of England, Lady Jane Grey. She'd seen a famous painting in the National Gallery and she wanted to tell the world about it. The painting was by a 19th Century artist, Paul Delaroche, and it presented the execution in 1554 of Lady Jane Grey as a martyrdom, in which Lady Jane's innocence is declared in the pale lustre of her skin and the simple, pure white dress she wears, all very different from the elaborate Tudor gowns of those who look on.

Delaroche’s painting tells the tragic story of the ending of a young and vulnerable life. Lady Jane was only seventeen when she was put to death, and was by all accounts a young woman of both beauty and learning, to whom the throne of England had passed in the deathbed will of Henry VIII's son Edward VI. But Edward, being only fifteen at the time of his death, was not old enough for the will to be valid. Edward's sister Mary soon gathered the support she needed to claim the throne, and Jane was doomed.

That story lingered in my mind as I sat down to prepare some words for tonight mainly because it contains these great themes of duty and destiny and - in this case - their tragic consequences. There are those in history whose destiny has been to say 'Yes' to the call, no matter where that yes may lead. We could see Lady Jane Grey in that light, Queen Mary too, perhaps, who knew herself born to be queen, and who might have changed the whole destiny of England had she reigned for longer than the five years she did. Had Mary not died at the age of only 42, and had Mary had children, history might have taken a very different course.

But tonight we’re thinking of another young woman to whom destiny called. The Annunciation to Mary the mother of our Lord is a story with the same interplay between destiny and innocence, in which a young girl is told she's to bear a child who’ll be nothing less than God's anointed Son, the one given to set his people free. And so Mary’s life ceases to be her own; later, after the child is born, old Simeon in the Temple will tell her of the sword that will pierce her heart; later still Simeon’s words become reality - and Mary stands on the hill of Calvary to see her son die.

Lady Jane Grey had little choice, perhaps, in her yes to destiny’s call; her destiny was closely bound to the political ambition of the Duke of Northumberland. But Mary the mother of Jesus maybe could have said no. Whenever I read it I sense all of creation collectively holding its breath and waiting on her answer. Then again, God knows us before we know ourselves; and Mary was chosen for the unsaid yes that even so she was sure to say.

Colossal news breaks in to an ordinary life as Mary says what she perhaps need not have: Let it be to me according to your will. Those are words that run counter to much in the modern world. They're about being where we ought to be, and doing what we ought to do, rather than insisting on that modern god, freedom of choice and the right to do whatever I want. But still today there are those who have a sense of 'ought' and even of destiny, and I thank God for their vision and courage and faith; for society to be able to provide well for its members we need those who know the meaning of service and obedience, and who get on and do what needs to be done. And in a society founded on Christian principles, the Church needs to be faithful and responsive and responsible. Its leaders and members need to be responsive - ready to say yes to God's call even though that call may take us to places we may not choose to be, and responsible - knowing we’re here for the sake of others, and that in serving them we serve our Lord.

So may we then take to heart Mary’s words 'Let it be to me according to your will'. What is God asking of us now, at this stage in the history of our nation and of our Church, at this stage in the living of our lives? He is calling me, and he is calling you, be sure of that. Each one of us has a role, a place and a calling within his purpose; in the building of a holy Temple, each stone has its part to play and its place to fill.

The story of protestant Lady Jane and catholic Queen Mary is a tragic tale made only more tragic by the fact that it was religious intolerance what led Jane to the throne and then to the block - an episode in the history of our nation when those who should have been striving together for the Gospel of Christ were instead fighting each other. Mary prayed was that it should be to her according to God’s will. If that prayer is ours too, may we also recall the prayer of Jesus in the garden: 'Father, may they all be one, that the world may believe.'

I’ve never done an open top bus tour in London, but Ann and I did do one some years ago in Marrakech. We were on the edge of the Sahara, but it was cold and rainy, and the rain grew heavier throughout our journey. Being British, we stuck it out upstairs for quite a while, but eventually we had to admit defeat and retire to the relative dry and warmth of the enclosed seats downstairs. God sometimes has to work very hard on us before we finally give in and let him have his way; he does have to put up with us being short-sighted and foolish and stubborn. We’re not good at saying yes to him, and maybe we need to leave more space in our prayers to hear what he wants to say to us.

Maybe our prayers have too many of our words in them, and not enough of his. The thing is, his words may not be what we expect or desire; they may run counter to our own plans. With that in mind, we can only give thanks now for Mary, and for her simple 'Yes' that opened the way for the Word of God to be born among us. So we see divine love take human form as Mary’s yes to God allows his yes to the world.