December 19, 2021 – Advent 4C

“In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.” And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.” And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.” Luke 1:39-56

Christmas is just two days away if you have forgotten.  Soon we gather to celebrate the birth of Christ.  Funny, you now, since we have “just” found out that Mary is pregnant.  Jesus will be born on Tuesday – it is the shortest pregnancy ever.  I am kidding of course. But when we compress time like this, as the lectionary does to us, we tend to lose a lot of the story. We forget what these pregnancies meant for both Mary and Elizabeth. For Elizabeth, this pregnancy was the answer to prayer.  For Mary, it would be the beginning of joyous and difficult times. After all, she is young, not yet married, and has learned that G-d has selected her to bear the “Son of the most high God”.  Imagine all of the thoughts that must have been running through her mind.  And yet, we have nothing of those concerns in our text. For example, today we have the women celebrating the news of their pregnancies. The other day I heard a commercial on television that said, and I quote: “Imagine knowing you are pregnant the moment it happens. (pause) Science is getting close”. I stopped when I heard this commercial because I couldn’t imagine knowing immediately that my wife was pregnant. How could they do that? But considering Elizabeth, she had all but given up ever hearing that news. She was older, she was barren, and she would have all but given up ever hearing that news. And Mary, she is so young – and not yet married. She in no way was expecting to be “expecting”. So imagine what their conversation would have been like. But we have nothing of “that” conversation. What we do have is what is printed in the text: “Mary enters the house and greets Elizabeth. And Elizabeth says Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb…why has the mother of my Lord come to me?”  That is all we have, well except for the wonderful, poetic words of Mary’s Magnificat. But we have nothing of the kind of conversation we would expect. I would have expected they would have said something like “I can’t believe it” – and “The Lord is Awesome” – and maybe even a “Now what?”

Both of these women have a unique perspective – Elizabeth is advanced in age – Mary is so young.  Of course, how would the men in their lives responded. What was Zechariah thinking or doing? We know that he wasn’t saying much, initially, because he was struck mute for not believing the Angel of the Lord when the news came that he was to be a father. And Joseph, we know that he pondered dismissing Mary quietly. 

All four of these individuals have many things to consider – but they have two things in common that holds them all together. First, we know that these individuals were just ordinary, common people of Israel. Yes Zechariah was a priest, but he literally disappears from history once John is born. Joseph also disappears, after Jesus’ twelfth birthday, when the couple loses Jesus on a trip home from Jerusalem and they find him in the Temple. Elizabeth’s claim to fame is in being married to Zechariah, and being a cousin of Mary. And Mary, is just a young Israelite that catches the eye of G-d.  Luke makes sure that he reminds us that these people are not among the rich, famous or powerful of their time. The second thing that binds these people is their rock, solid faith. Mary says it all: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my savior.”  These “nobodies” are chosen by G-d, who acts in their lives, and then sends them out to fulfill their calling.

This Christmas season, I want you to ponder some things: with the gift of Jesus born into your hearts anew again this Christmas day, I want you to consider where your priorities are in regards to your faith, and to your faith lives? Do you need to reassess the time you give to your family, to your church, or to your savior Jesus? You may say, well I am just an ordinary person with many responsibilities and I am just too busy.  Well, remember, Zechariah, Joseph, Mary and Elizabeth were also just ordinary people, living their lives, trying to survive, trying to do what they thought was right.  Sometimes things happen in our lives that snap us back to reality, and to what really matters. My friends, life is fleeting. This Christmas hold onto and cherish your family and ask G-d to help you to discern what you can do to share the gifts that G-d has gifted you with. No matter what your age, G-d is calling you whether you are ready or not. You have all you need – your faith and trust that G-d can and will lead you great adventures.    

Pastor Dave