Let It Be

Readings for the Feast of the Christ Mass

This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church Eureka for the Christmas Eve service on Friday December 24, 2021. You can view the service here.

Merry Christmas! I’m so delighted to be with you all tonight, especially since last year this church was mostly empty, except for the angels, of course. This year, while still remaining cautious, we all get to worship and sing together with the angels here in this holy space on this most holy night. I’m so glad you’re here.

Christmas gives us the opportunity to reflect upon God’s saving presence among us, to celebrate the God who became flesh so that we fleshy creatures might participate in divinity ourselves. Christmas also gives us the opportunity to reflect upon the woman through whose body God chose to bring his Son into this world, the Holy Virgin Mary. Now we Anglicans are not well known for our devotion to Mary, certainly not as much as our Roman Catholic siblings, but I feel she has some deep wisdom for us, especially this year. I’ve been reflecting on St. Mary with the help of popular singer and songwriter Sir Paul McCartney, who was baptized in the Roman Catholic church, but who grew up singing in the choir of an Anglican church (St. Barnabas Penny Lane) and who met his close friend and musical partner (John Lennon) in the parish hall of another Anglican church: St. Peter’s Woolton, in Liverpool. We can all thank God for the Anglican Church for providing a meeting-place for these two young people who went on to co-create some of the most beloved songs of the 20^th century, including one that references “Mother Mary.” I’ve been listening with new ears to this song “Let It Be” ever since watching the documentary series “Get Back,” which was released this last Thanksgiving weekend. This documentary series looks back on the Beatles’ final recording sessions, which were apparently marred by painful tensions and disagreements between the band members. (There were even rumors that John Lennon and George Harrison got in a fist fight). Paul McCartney himself looked back on this time with disappointment and frustration, since he felt that the Beatles were indeed breaking up. He said that it was during this difficult time that he had a dream in which his Roman Catholic mother whose name was Mary (and who died when he was only 14) appeared to him and said, “Paul, I know things are really hard right now, but don’t worry, everything is going to be ok. Just let it be. Let it be.” And then he woke up with those words echoing in his heart and mind along with the melody for what became the Beatles’ swan song.

Although “Mother Mary” was initially a reference to Paul’s actual mother Mary, many listeners heard this as a reference to the Holy Virgin Mary, which was perfectly fine with Paul. And what Paul may not have known (at least not consciously) is that St. Mary actually does say the words “Let it be” in the Gospel of Luke (genoito). We heard these words read just last Sunday in Pastor Bethany’s sermon and then again during Advent Evensong. When the Archangel Gabriel appears to Mary and tells her that she has been chosen to give birth to “the Son of the Most High,” Mary first wonders about the mechanics of this possibility since she’s never been with a man. However, after Gabriel invites her to trust the Holy Spirit for whom all things are possible, she gives her consent and says, “Ok, I’m on board; let it be with me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).

Now these words express more than just passive acceptance. They express a willingness to co-partner and cooperate and co-create with God. With these words, Mary is saying, “I don’t entirely understand how this will all come together and I know it won’t be easy, but I trust (there will be answer) and I trust that you are a God of love and justice and so I make myself utterly available to you in your mission of bringing forth love and justice in the world, in lifting up the lowly, in scattering the proud in their conceit, in filling the hungry with good things, and in sending the rich away empty.” Let it be unto me according to your word. These words express the serenity of accepting the things we cannot change as well as the courage to change the things we can, and the courage to be part of the change that God is bringing into the world.

These words must have served Mary well during her those intensely awkward conversations with her fiancé Joseph about her pregnancy; and during those many times when her family and friends and strangers likely assumed the worst about her situation. When others snickered and sneered at her because they thought she was a scandalous young woman and when the people of Bethlehem told her there was no room in the inn (probably because they didn’t want to have anything to do with her) and then relegated her to give birth among the animals of the stable, I imagine she continued praying those words, “Let it be.” When loud and smelly shepherds rushed inside her makeshift bedroom to see and perhaps hold her newborn child, insisting they were invited by angels, I imagine her sighing and saying, “Ok, God, let it be (but perhaps in the future, God, you can let me know beforehand when you’re inviting random people over, but let it be.)

When tonight’s Gospel says that Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart, I believe this included her own words, “Let it be unto me according to your will,” words that we are all invited to receive as a gift and treasure this year. Just as Paul’s mother Mary offered these words to him as a gift of hope during a difficult time, St. Mary offers these words to us now as we continue to struggle with the seemingly endless challenges of a global pandemic.

As we find ourselves in times of trouble, as another COVID variant sweeps across our globe, Mother Mary comes to us this Christmas season offering us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can, and the courage to be part of the change that God is bringing into the world.

When the director of the “Get Back” documentary Peter Jackson showed the footage of the final recording sessions to Paul McCartney, Paul began to see how this season that he previously remembered as deeply challenging and painful was actually peppered generously with moments of joy and levity. And although there was certainly conflict (as there is in any family or community), viewers of the documentary can clearly see the playful friendship and love that existed between these four friends. So I hope that we can keep our eyes peeled for the joy and levity and love that remains all around us and treasure these moments of love in our hearts (as Mary did), so that we might eventually look back on this time not only as a season of pain and sorrow (which we can’t deny), but also as a time of deep love, affection, and even joy.

And in our hours of darkness, when we’re feeling brokenhearted and emotionally exhausted, when we’re lonely and when our loved ones have parted, may we have eyes to see Mother Mary standing right in front us, whispering her words of wisdom; and may we treasure those words in our hearts. And when these long winter nights grow cloudy, may we see the light that is now growing, that is shining on you and me, and that will shine until tomorrow (Christmas Day!). Throughout this Christmas season, may we all wake up to the sound of music and to the tender, reassuring presence of Mother Mary, speaking her words of wisdom. Let it be.

And all God’s people said the Hebrew form of “Let it be”: AMEN.