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Sermon - December 20th, 2009
Angels and Prophets
Rev. Gwen Drake
Scripture: Luke 1:39-49
Prayer of Preparation: We give thanks, O God of sacred stories, for the witness of your word today. Through Scripture you challenge our assumptions, increase our awareness, nurture our imaginations, and touch our feelings. Bless the hearing of the word today. Speak to us and grant that by the power of your Spirit we may be hearers and doers of your word. Amen.
The Christmas story is one of those stories that we have heard so many times, it is a liability knowing how it turns out. As your preacher, I cannot recapture the initial shock of the news. When I tell you God is coming in the flesh to show us what real life looks like, you are… like…. ho, hum… what else is new?
If you have been in church during Advent, you know that we usually hear about John the Baptist talking about axes, pitchforks, unquenchable fires, and you brood of vipers. I sneaked around that message this year by talking about his father, Zechariah. Zechariah and Mary had one thing in common. According to Luke, they were both visited by the angel Gabriel. Zechariah heard from Gabriel about his and Elizabeth’s baby-to-be before Mary heard about hers. Unfortunately Zechariah’s annunciation did not go as well as Mary’s. They both exclaimed, “How can this be?” After Zechariah’s outburst, the angel zipped his lips for nine months, until he heard his baby’s first cry.
The angel was much easier on Mary. Gabriel assured her the Holy Spirit would come upon her and the power of the Most High would overshadow her. And Mary’s response was, “Here I am, your servant, let it be with me according to your word.”
So when Mary went to visit Elizabeth in the hill country, Mary could still speak. All Zechariah could do was wave. Elizabeth was excited to see Mary. Her baby jumped for joy inside of her. There was new life popping out all over the place! And Elizabeth was so glad that Mary had the good sense to believe what was happening to her was not an accident, nor an illusion, nor a freak of nature, but a gift from God.
After Elizabeth expressed herself, it was Mary’s turn. Now, we who know what it is like to be parents for the first time, would think that at a time like this Mary and Elizabeth would be comparing notes. Do you have any strange cravings? How do you feel? Any morning sickness? Does your back ache? Are you tired all the time? Are your feet swollen? Are you scared? Elizabeth, being a few months ahead of Mary, could have told Mary what it was like. Except, Mary didn’t ask Elizabeth any questions we know about, instead, Mary launched into the most recited and sung song and prophecy to this day.
“My soul magnifies the Lord,” Mary sang right there in Elizabeth’s living room, “and my spirit rejoices in God my savior.” Pregnant Elizabeth and mute Zechariah are the first to hear her song. It was not a song just for them. It was a song for herself and their unborn children and for the Mighty One who had done great things for her. It was for Gabriel who gave her the good news. And it was for all who would benefit from it—for the proud and powerful who were relieved of their swelled heads, for the hungry who were filled with good things, for the rich who were sent away empty so they have room in them for more than what money can buy. Her song was for her ancestors: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—for Sarah, Rebecca, Leah, and Rachel—for every son and daughter of Israel who thought God had forgotten the promise to be with them forever, to love them forever, to give them new life.
It was all happening within Mary, and she was so sure of it, she was singing about it before it even happened. She was singing about it as if the promise had already come true. Prophets almost never get their verb tenses straight. That is because prophets have as part of their gift the ability to see the world as God sees it—not divided into things that are already over and things that have not happened yet, but as an eternally unfolding mystery that surprises everyone. And maybe it even surprises God.
It is like a divine dance we all are dancing. God is leading us. It is totally up to us, though, whether we will follow. Just because God sent an angel to invite one girl onto the dance floor was no guarantee she would say yes. Just because God sent a prophet to tell us how life on earth can be more like life in heaven does not mean any of us have to quit our day jobs to make it so. God acts. Then it is our turn. God responds to us. Then it is our turn again. It is a dance.
The only thing we are absolutely sure of in this scenario is we have a partner who is with us and for us and who wants us to have life and more of it. Mary’s trust in this was really all she had. She did not have a sonogram. She did not have a husband. She didn’t have an affidavit from the Holy Spirit that said, “The child is really mine. Now leave the poor girl alone.” All she had was her unreasonable willingness to believe God had chosen her and God would be part of whatever happened next. And that was enough to cause her to break out in song. She did not wait to see how things would turn out first. She sung ahead of time and all the angels with her.
When there are big changes going on with you, when there is something happening in your life that you cannot predict the outcome, when your stomach is rolling and churning with your own version of morning sickness, pay particular attention and try following Mary’s lead. For who knows? Maybe the Holy Spirit has come upon you. Maybe that shadow hanging over you is the power of the Most High. Maybe something glorious is about to be born in you.
I know it would be nice to have some details. It would be really nice to know how it will all turn out. Wouldn’t that be wonderful; except, we are not given a prescription with doctor’s instructions. “Take one pill a day, and in 10 days if everything isn’t cleared up come back and see me.” God is not our physician. God is our inspiration! God is our hope! And you know what else? We do not have to know the details. We do not have to know how it will turn out. We know something about how God has acted in the past. We know what happened when God’s people said, “Yes, thanks, I would love to dance.” Given all that we know, we don’t need to wait to get excited. We don’t need to know how things turn out to get excited. Dive into life now. Get excited now. For none of us know about tomorrow.
I know most of you well enough to tell you, many of you are the kind of people who would bump into each other getting out on the dance floor before the band leader ever showed up. Some of you need more encouragement than others. I know deep inside you, you are ready to dance now, ready to sing, ready to live now. You don’t need anyone’s permission. Mary didn’t go running to her parents, or even to Joseph, before she said, “Yes, here I am!” I believe that you are also the kind of people who start singing before you know the end of the story. That’s what this life is about. God nudges, God calls, God gets our attention, and we respond by living life to the fullest.
May our souls magnify the Lord. May our spirits rejoice in God our savior. For God has looked with favor on us, and all generations will call us blessed. For the Mighty One has done great things for us, and holy is God’s name.
Amen.
Prayer: Gracious and holy God, this is the season where we see you in the most rude and humble places. This is the time when we watch you being born as a helpless, dependent baby, in an out-of-the-way place, in circumstances of poverty and need.
We see it, yet still we are surprised by the disguises you wear. Help us to see you when you put on the tattered rags of the homeless, when you take on the gnawing belly of the hungry and the soulful eyes of a bewildered child. Help us to not wait to greet you and serve you and love you. You don’t always make it easy for us, Lord. We would rather look for you in pristine places, not a stable. We long for you sitting on a powerful, heavenly throne, rather than born in the imperfection of human flesh.
Christmas is almost here, and we are not ready. Even if the gifts are wrapped, the dinner menu planned, the holiday excitement at a high pitch, we are not truly ready. Our lives are not in order for you to come. Yet you come anyway, ready or not. You are not put off by our disordered lives. You come to work in us to make the rough smooth, to bring a little peace and a little order to our tangled lives. So even if we don’t feel ready, help us to open our hearts to cradle your hopes and dreams. We pray this in the name of Jesus, the Promised One, and pray together as he prays with us: “Our Father….