Advent 4C, December 23, 2012

O God of “she who believed,” grant us the strength, the wisdom and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.

Our Gospel reading this morning depicts an amazing scene – rare in its proclamation in the church but much celebrated in art and music.  It’s an extended dialogue between two loving women in the Biblical narrative (only Ruth and Naomi have similar prominence).  Here is a story of two pregnant prophets – one a crone and one a maiden – whose lives have been turned upside down and who sensed that the children they carried were prophets too, and would someday turn many other lives rightside up.  Here are two pregnant prophets blessing and praising and singing a version of an old old song, Hannah’s song, about the glorious impossibility of how God works and what God has done.

Elizabeth said, “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.”  Those are two of the very best lines in all of scripture. [1]

In her book, Just a Sister Away, Renita Weems writes about Mary’s encounter with her kinswoman Elizabeth.  She says of the two women: “to be chosen by God is a humbling experience.  To be used by God is an awesome experience.  To be blessed by God is a joyous experience…most of the time.” [2]  She writes that because the blessings that Elizabeth and Mary received were not without their considerable burdens and lessons.

The first lesson has to do with how to receive a blessing that is no longer expected.  This was Elizabeth’s lesson.  It’s easy for me to imagine that Elizabeth had long since given up on having a child.  And I also imagine that she had grown accustomed to not having a child and had made a certain peace with the way her life had turned out.

What happens when we give up on expecting something?  We stop looking for it.  Or we change the way we feel about what we want.  We get tired of missing it – we give up or we steel ourselves to guard against the pain of longing.  Sometimes we create elaborate rationalizations about how it’s really better that what was once hoped for hasn’t happened.  Sometimes I hear people attribute the lack of fulfillment to God’s will.  It can be very hard to switch gears to go from resignation to enthusiasm when one has worked so hard to stop hoping for something.  A blessing that arrives too late can be hard to recognize.

The second lesson, Mary’s lesson, had to do with how to receive a blessing before it is expected – before it is even wanted.  It’s easy for me to imagine that Mary wanted to bear children – just not quite yet and not quite in this way.

What happens when we receive a blessing too soon?  We haven’t begun to look for it.  We are unprepared.  It might be scandalous – a stumbling block. Or we change the way we feel about what we want.  Sometimes an early blessing seems like no blessing at all.  It can be very hard to welcome a blessing that comes before we are ready for it.

I imagine that Mary’s hasty travel to the hill country [3] to see Elizabeth was just the thing that Elizabeth needed to claim her blessing.  Because the story goes that she was filled with a holy spirit when she heard Mary’s greeting.  She was fully inspired and the child within her leapt for joy.  And I imagine that Mary’s hasty travel to the hill country to see Elizabeth was just the thing that Mary needed to claim her own blessing.  The story goes that she realized that she had become an instrument of magnification for God’s grace.  Upon hearing Elizabeth’s blessing, Mary became emboldened to sing what Dietrich Bonhoeffer called, “the most passionate, the wildest, …the most revolutionary Advent hymn ever sung.”

Many of you know that at our monthly vestry meetings we spend a critical amount of time encountering the Gospel appointed for the coming Sunday with one another in the middle of the meeting.  I think that the more that’s on our agenda, the more we need to take time to do Bible Study.  It helps us do our work together – it reminds us of what our work is about.  It reminds us of who and Whose we are.

This week the Gospel spoke to us of the gulf between the overly full and the hungry.  This week the Gospel spoke to us of the gulf between the proud and the lowly, between the powerful and those who are utterly undone by the misuse of power. This week the Gospel spoke to us of the gulf between the promise of peace on earth and the reality of unspeakable violence.

Surely this scene in Luke was written with all of this in mind – it’s the back-story of the mother of one who was beheaded and the mother of one who was crucified, representing the mothers of countless others who had died violent deaths.  The writer of the Gospel of Luke knew what had happened to John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth before he started writing.  The writer of Luke knew a lot about fear and grief and despair.  And yet, here’s the other thing that the writer of Luke knew a lot about:  Love.  Let me remind you of what happens to our discourse – and I think our whole lives – when we take seriously the Biblical teaching that God is Love.  It’s a way for me to get out from under the oppressive weight of patriarchal theology.  Exchanging the word God for the word Love always helps me and maybe it will be helpful for you too.

In this encounter of the two pregnant prophets, we hear a story of allowing Love’s blessing in – of claiming Love’s blessing in and through and after untimely events and even horrendous situations.  We are given examples of how we might be inspired – filled with a spirit of holiness – and how our souls might enlarge the view of Love in the blessed and stressed situations of our own lives.   We are given words to say, “blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by Love.” and “my soul magnifies Love, and my spirit rejoices in Love my Savior.” These are words to say whenever we receive an untimely blessing or live through terrible and terrifying times.

The presence of Love is blessing.  The presence of Love does not mean the absence of suffering – indeed suffering is often increased with Love.  Obedience – that is, listening deeply — to Love has always meant blessing.  Refusing to obey – refusing to listen to Love — has always meant damnation – individually and communally.  The absence of Love is indeed punishing.  When you hear today’s cantata, substitute the word Love for God and see what happens.  For me, when I do that, the text goes from distant and difficult theology, to a conversation that I am interested to be in right here and right now.

I think this encounter of the two pregnant prophets is teaching us about how Love has always been and always will be.  Listen to the story this way: And having risen up in those days, Mary went into the hill country with haste into a city of Judah and entered into the house of Zachariah and greeted Elizabeth. And it happened that as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the babe in her womb leaped, and Elizabeth was filled with a holy spirit and cried out in a loud cry and said, “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And where am I that the mother of my Love should come to me?  For see as the voice of your greeting began in my ears, the baby in my womb leaped in joy. [4] And blessed is she who believed that there will be a fulfillment of the things spoken to her from Love.  And Mary said, “my soul magnifies Love, and my spirit rejoiced in the Love of my deliverance because Love has looked on the misery of Love’s servant.  For see, from now on all generations will call me blessed, for Love has done great things for me and Love’s name is holy.  Love’s mercy is for those who are in awe of Love in every generation.  Love has shown great strength and has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.  Love has brought down the powerful from their thrones and Love has lifted up the lowly; love has filled the hungry with good things and has sent the rich away without handouts.  Love has helped those who struggle with Love according to the promise Love made to our ancestors since the beginning of time.

Now, for any who are feeling anxious or disturbed about the rich being sent away without handouts, I have to tell you that in a community context, the gap between those who are hungry and those who are overly full is a measure of the absence of Love.  Any who continue to stay rich in a community where there is poverty, surely shouldn’t expect a handout from Love too – at least Mary, the Mother of Love, didn’t think so.

Here’s what I want you to know today.  Our souls can enlarge and clarify Love and rejoice in Love’s saving power.  We can give thanks for all that Love has done, in our time and throughout all time.  We can enact Love.  We can expand Love.  We can let Love make a way where there is no way.  We can share more of our wealth.  And we can recommit ourselves, as this Advent comes to a close, to turning again from (that is, repenting of) our fear, our despair, and our grief and turning again toward Love.  Please come with me.

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