Unlike the Roman Catholic Church, the Lutheran Church does not worship or pray to the Virgin Mary. We do not confess that Mary was sinless, or that she was some kind of a co-redeemer with Jesus, or that she never died but was bodily assumed into heaven. True Lutherans stick with the Word of God and confess what it tells us about Mary and the rest of the saints. According to that Word, we confess that Mary is the mother of God (that in her virginity she miraculously conceived and gave birth to God in the flesh), and we confess with Elizabeth that because of this gift of grace she is blessed among women - not because of anything that she’d done, but because of what God did for her.
Like all the saints, Mary doesn’t point to herself, but to Christ. She wants no one worshipping her, but the Savior she bears to the world. In this way, Mary is a picture of the Christian Church. Though the Church is blessed, because Christ is present in her, she doesn’t proclaim herself, but her Lord, bearing Him to the world, as it were, just like Mary did to Elizabeth and John - through the Word.
But before Mary could deliver Christ to them, she had to first receive Him for herself. For this we go back to the annunciation, when the angel Gabriel spoke the Word to her and announced that the Holy Spirit would come upon her and that she would conceive in her womb and bear the holy Son of God. Upon hearing this Word, Mary believed, and Christ entered into her. He was conceived in her by way of her ear, which is the same way the Lord enters into His Church today. Through the proclamation of His Word the Holy Spirit conceives in the womb of the Church the same holy Child that the Virgin Mary carried in hers. Where there’s no Word about Jesus, there’s no Jesus. But where His Word is, there He is. There the Holy Spirit is delivering Jesus to those who hear and believe it.
Having heard and believed the Word herself, Mary then became the tabernacle of God. Like the O.T. tabernacle in which God dwelt by way of the ark of the covenant, Mary was now the dwelling place of God, the place where God chose to be present among His people, the place of worship, where God’s people heard His Word and received His blessings. Mary became the first church. And the first thing she did upon conceiving Christ in her womb was to head in haste for the town in Judah where her cousin Elizabeth lived, in order to give the good news to her.
Notice at this point how God comes to us, rather than our going to Him. He first came to Mary through the Word spoken to her by the angel Gabriel. Then He came to Elizabeth and John through that same Word spoken to them by Mary. Just as the angel did with Mary in giving her the Word, so she did with Elizabeth in her greeting. Now, this was not the kind of greeting we give to people today, like, “Hey, Liz! Good to see you! How’s it going?” Based on what happened both to Elizabeth and to John, who was still in her womb, we can see that Mary’s greeting was more than just saying, “Hello.” Mary must have told her immediately what the angel had announced to her about giving birth to Jesus, and as a result John leapt in Elizabeth’s womb, she was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she responded, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!”, acknowledging Mary to be the mother of her Lord.
Elizabeth and John were the first to worship at the Lord’s new tabernacle, as Jesus came to them in the womb of Mary. Mary’s greeting and Elizabeth and John’s response is a picture of what goes on as the Church brings the Gospel about Jesus to the world. Jesus dwells in the womb of His Church through His Word. As this Word is proclaimed to others, they hear and believe it, just as Elizabeth and John did, they’re filled with the Holy Spirit, and they respond with blessing, first and foremost for Christ Himself, but then also for His Bride, the Church, whom He has blessed with His presence. Like Elizabeth and John, they rejoice to hear the Word about their Savior and are gifted with Him themselves as the Holy Spirit delivers Him to them. Their worship continues as they regularly receive the Savior whom the Church delivers to them through the Word, Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper at a local congregation. And then they have the privilege that Mary had of bearing Christ to others.
You here today are like Mary, Elizabeth, and John. Like Mary, you heard the Word about Jesus, who came down to dwell among us in human flesh, in order to give His body into death on the cross as the sacrifice for your sins. Hearing these words, the Holy Spirit brought you to faith in Him, and Jesus came to dwell in you, making your body His temple. Like Mary, you now bear Christ to the world. As you go about your various vocations, you bring the Savior with you to those who don’t yet know Him. When the Holy Spirit gives you opportunity, you speak the words of His Gospel to those who ask you. You deliver Jesus to them just as Mary did with Elizabeth and John.
And just like them you worship where He is present - here in His Word and Sacraments, both receiving His blessings to you as well as blessing Him and your fellow believers in response. Elizabeth blessed Mary for believing the Word she was told about Jesus. The Church lives under this blessing, too, for believing the Gospel about Jesus Christ. To live under God’s blessing is the opposite of living under His curse. To be cursed by God is to be under His sentence of death and subject to both His temporal and eternal punishment. It is to be separated from Him who is our life. But to live under God’s blessing is to live under God’s declaration of righteousness, His proclamation that you are free from all sin, that you are holy and blameless before Him for Christ’s sake. It’s to live under God’s favor, grace, mercy, and peace now and forever. It is to be reconciled to God, so that you might not ever be separated from Him again. To be blessed by God is to live under His words, “You are my beloved son/daughter; with you I am well-pleased.”
Blessing the Lord and your fellow believers follows. Elizabeth blessed both Mary and the fruit of her womb. Elizabeth called Mary blessed, not because of anything that Mary did to earn this blessing, but because of God’s unmerited grace. Apart from any merit or worthiness or sinlessness in Mary, God granted her this gift of bearing His Son. For this reason Elizabeth acknowledges that Mary is blessed, that Mary lives under God’s divine favor. But she also blessed Jesus Himself, the fruit of Mary’s womb. How is it that sinful human beings like you and me can bless the Lord? To bless is to speak well of. When God blesses us, He speaks well of us, not counting our sins against us. When we bless God, we speak well of Him. When we recount the things He has done for us in Christ, we give Him praise and glory. We bless Him like David does when he says in Ps. 103, “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy Name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
That blessing goes on in the Church today as you receive His blessing here in His service to you, and then bless Him with your prayers, praise, and thanksgiving. The blessing continues as you live under God’s blessing from day to day and as you bless others with the Word about your Savior when the Spirit opens your mouths as He did Elizabeth’s.
Christmas is the time of year when we can bless the Lord for His coming in human flesh to save our human flesh. Mary, Elizabeth, John, you and I are all sinners in need of a Savior. Jesus is that perfect Savior, God who became man, taking on our nature without our sin, that He might be cursed with our sin and death on the cross, in order that through faith in Him we might live under God’s blessing. Blessed are you, the Church, the holy and spotless Bride of Christ, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Him whom you bear to the world, who with His blood redeemed the world and reconciled it to God. Blessed are you who believe the promises given to you in Christ, that you too might leap for joy at the sound of His Word now and forever. Amen.