"A Special Child"
Sermon Presented December 24, 2006
Luke 1:30-55
Fourth Sunday of Advent
Last Thursday, I received an Advent letter from Diane Olson, pastor of Kingo Lutheran Church in Shorewood. A week ago, Diane was asked to become the foster parent of a Muslim teenage girl from the Somali Bantu community who needed alternative living arrangements. With prayerful consideration, Diane said "Yes" and that same night after an expedited licensing process for foster care, Hawa moved into Diane's home.
Diane has been waiting for more than a year to adopt a baby from China, so even though she was planning for a child, this wasn't what she had in mind. In the process of deciding, she experienced multiple emotions - fear being the foremost. Now, a week later, her fear has turned to joy in this new experience of being a parent. Her trust in God has been validated again, and I might add, that I believe God's trust in her was also validated.
Our text this morning is perfect for this Christmas Eve morning. An angel has just announced to Mary, a young teenage girl, that she will have a child! At first, I doubt if Mary believed this was good news, because Mary was young and not yet married. The angel also told her that the baby would be the Son of God and reign over the house of Israel forever. This entire revelation is truly shocking and unbelievable.
Mary also hears that her aged relative Elizabeth is pregnant. Our text begins with Mary's visit to Elizabeth - at which time the stories of the two pregnancies merge. I'm reading Luke 1:39-55.
This song of praise doesn't originate with Mary. In fact, some of you may have noticed that there is a note in your Bible that other ancient texts attribute this song to Elizabeth. It is also similar to the song Hannah sang centuries before at the birth of her son Samuel. This song sung by three women who found themselves pregnant with special children is universal for people filled with joy! Like the psalms and good music, this hymn is ageless - and a model of praise for all generations.
Mary, Elizabeth and Hannah were women who had a great capacity to love a child, and God visited them with a special and completely unexpected pregnancy. With God's announcement, each experienced wonder, joy, and faith that God would act on God's promise. But for Mary and Elizabeth, the joy of having a child would all too soon turn to sorrow at the early and violent death of their sons. Sometimes joy and sorrow are intertwined.
If you think about it, Mary could just as easily have sung a song of lament - a song of grief! There isn't a great deal here to be excited about from the perspective of an unmarried teen. I doubt if even the wisest person of that time could have understood the import of the message given Mary. So what does Mary do with the information she receives?
She goes to see her relative, Elizabeth, a much older woman who is six months pregnant. I would guess that Mary wants to confirm the truth of what she heard, or she may just want to get out of town and avoid the talk in Nazareth as her belly grows. She may also need confirmation that she isn't delusional.
Elizabeth's inspired words erase Mary's doubt that her pregnancy might be shameful. She announces that Mary is blessed because she believes what was spoken to her by the Lord. I'm not sure Mary fully believed, but she acted on the faith that she had and sought some kind of proof or validation of what she believed she heard by going to see Elizabeth. Her faith grew in the days and months and years ahead.
About a week ago, a neighbor asked me to accompany her to the movie The Nativity Story that was playing at the theater just north of us. I didn't really expect much, because I know the story! I've heard it since I was a child - and preached it since 1995. But I was pleasantly surprised at how my appreciation for Mary, Joseph and Elizabeth was enhanced by the film. Now, I can more easily picture their fear, love, discomfort and amazement than ever before. Knowing you will be the parent of a special child is both a challenge and a blessing!
In this hymn placed on Mary's lips by Luke, we see Mary praising God in the midst of an uncertain future. She sings more than she understands! She sings of a savior who will scatter the proud in the thoughts of their hearts, bring down the powerful, lift up the lowly, fill the hungry with good things and send the rich away empty. She sings of one who brings mercy to all generations - to all people. She sings of her son who will cause the world to be completely upended. She sings a song of God and believes God's word to her will be fulfilled. She sings because she cannot be silent!
Mary's song is one of liberation, not revenge. Liberation is related to mercy and the reversals described here embody mercy. We need only look to parts of Africa today to imagine the abject poverty and destitution that were part of the daily experience of peasants and villagers in this agrarian society. While the rulers and the rich (about 2% of the population) lived in great luxury, the lowly and the poor lived from hand to mouth. The reversal of fortunes in Mary's song proclaims mercy for the vast majority of the population. This theme resonates throughout Luke's gospel.
It's interesting to note that all of the accomplishments of God in Mary's song are stated in the past tense. Why so? The particular use of the past tense in the Greek language here expresses what is timelessly true - past, present and future without differentiation. Mary is so sure that God will do what is promised that she proclaims it as already accomplished.
One way people of faith express trust in God is to speak of the future with such confidence that it is described as already here. Very few of us have that kind of faith. Very few hear such a convincing word from God as Mary did that we don't question its authenticity.
The Spirit of God gives us the eyes of faith to see what God is doing. It is the Spirit of God that allows us to speak in the past tense what has not yet been accomplished. God revealed to Elizabeth and to Mary what God was up to, and they accepted it and praised God for it. They were pregnant with expectation for the transforming gifts God had for them.
Mary's song could have been sung by man or woman, youth or senior - actually it could be sung by anyone who senses the presence of God in their lives. It could be prayed by anyone who recognizes God's goodness and wants to praise God.
How can Advent become a time to renew the sense of God's mercy and blessings in our lives, our church, our society, and our world? This kind of mercy nurtures our Advent hope through a glimpse of a "new world order" under the reign of God.
Advent is a time to look for and recognize God's goodness when it doesn't come as expected. Elizabeth and Mary - an old woman and an unmarried child could not have expected God to come to them in the birth of a baby. There was no way Diane Olson could have expected God to visit her in the person of a Somali-Bantu teenager. It is important for us to look for God in unexpected faces and unexpected circumstances.
If Mary's song is to be our Advent song, then we need new faith to believe that the Reign of God has a future and that God will bring about that future. That's radical understanding, and radical praise accompanies this new understanding.
When we have the faith to see and the faith to sing of what we don't yet know, then others will see our faith and recognize Christ in us. Those who need to see Christ and experience his presence can be ushered into his presence through us.
Today is the Advent Sunday of Love, and all last week I had the words to a Beatle's song wafting through my mind. One part of the song, Can't Buy Me Love states:
I don't care too much for money
For money can't buy me loveCan't buy me love, Oh
Everybody tells me so
Can't buy me love, Oh
No, no, no, -- no!
Christ calls us to give our love - even when our love isn't reciprocated. Today and tomorrow, when Christmas gifts are exchanged, I invite you to consider your gifts and offer your praises to God for gifts that aren't available in stores, and yet bring joy immeasurable!
Mary's song, Elizabeth's song, Hannah's song, our song as followers of Jesus should resonate vibrantly with those who are looked upon by society as being of lesser value. This song isn't just one of praise for what God has done; it is a challenge to be God's instruments in an unjust world.
The world will try to silence our song. But sing it when you can. Whistle if possible. Hum through your tears if that's all you can do. Just sing!
