Sermon by Felicity Thompson, Seminarian, 12/24/2023, 10am Service, Advent 4
Let’s set the scene for our main characters: Angel Gabriel and young Mary.
Angel Gabriel is sent to Nazareth to deliver a message from God. Angel Gabriel is to deliver a message to a young lady, specially chosen for a special task. The young lady is Mary. God could have sent this message to Mary in a dream, but it was so special. So special, that God sent Angel Gabriel to visit her and deliver the message in person. So Gabriel visited with her, most likely, she lived in a home with Mom and Dad and brothers and sisters; maybe a grandparent, aunt and uncle.
Paul Woefel, a Nigerian artist, helps us envision what happened. through the lens of an African. Mary’s hair is braided, similar to the way mine was braided, when I was a teenager, many years ago. She is seated on a famous Golden stool. This stool is a sacred symbol of unity for the Asante people in Ghana and is believed to hold the soul of the nation. It is believed that if the stool no longer exists, the same will be true for their nation. This stool is sacred, it is never placed on the ground, it is always placed on a blanket. A new king is lowered over it but never permitted to sit on it. And here we have Mary sitting on the Golden stool placed on the ground.
Notice, Gabriel is kneeling before her. He feels the holiness of this task and the holiness of the moment. He has taken off his sandals, a nod to Exodus 3, where Moses took his sandals off when he was in God’s presence. Gabriel and Mary are on sacred ground. Gabriel feels the power of the meeting with this highly favored woman. The sealed envelope symbolizes the sacred message from God. The light shows the holiness enveloping the town of Nazareth, the holiness of Mary and the holiness Gabriel brings with him. I believe Gabriel is equally blessed by this encounter with Mary.
He makes seven major proclamations to Mary. First he greets Mary and tells her he has been sent to her by God. He tells her not to be afraid. Then he tells Mary she is highly favored and will receive blessings, special benefits. That’s just my way of explaining, “you have found great favor with God.” He assures her that God is with her. Of course she is surprised. Let’s take it up a notch, she is amazed. The real shocker comes when she is told, “and NOW, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son”. Whoa! Wait a minute. Let’s digest, “you will conceive in your womb”, you will become pregnant with a child. Can you imagine what was going through her head? “What is going on? What womb, mine? I am not married! What will happen to my engagement? What will my family say? I cannot be an unwed mother! Why is this happening to me? I don’t want any of this!”
Gabriel goes on to tell Mary and announce to all of us, “and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Mary asks “how the heck can this happen?”
At that time, Mary was between the ages of 13 - 17 years. She was a virgin. She was a teenager. She was engaged to Joseph. There cannot be intimate relations with her fiancé. Tradition and culture frowned on that, actually, tradition and culture forbade that.
This is a lot. Let’s put ourselves in her shoes. Do you think she looked at Angel Gabriel and thought to herself, “Why am I the only one here with this wacko? Who is this dude? So he says he’s an angel but I don’t believe him. Should I yell for help? Is anyone home? What does he mean? How did he know where I live? How did he get into our compound? I can’t be pregnant, my family will disown me! I want to marry Joseph, we are already making plans and this guy … maybe he’s at the wrong house, I don’t think this message is for me.”
Maybe, I believe she was scared. She didn’t fully understand what was going on, but knew this was a special moment and was open and willing to do the bidding of our Lord. The angel tells her,“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.” Mary is a teenager. How would you respond to that? Stunned! Remember the power of the Holy Spirit was on her - probably causing the effect of a muscle relaxer. Friends, this is a big deal!
Gabriel told her about another woman, one she knew well. I think that revelation along with the power of the Holy Spirit, is what got Mary to accept what was happening wholeheartedly. Hearing about the miraculous pregnancy of Elizabeth and knowing Elizabeth will accompany her on this uncertain journey, that pregnancy helped her accept her own situation. I can imagine if after all that, Angel Gabriel said, “do you have any questions”, Mary would have politely shook her head and mouthed, “no”. It was the power of the Holy Spirit and that promise that her older cousin, Elizabeth would walk with her, that made Mary a willing and obedient servant of the Lord. Her response, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your Word.”
God loved Mary and Elizabeth so much that He created a situation where both women could support each other in their fragile states. One already in menopause and the other, an engaged teenage virgin. Mary was from a respected family, as was Joseph. It is a miracle that her family did not abandon her. An additional miracle is that her fiancé, Joseph, (I like saying that name because God gave me a man named Joseph too). Joseph did not abandon her but became a willing participant in her journey through pregnancy.
As soon as Gabriel was done delivering the message, he left. The Bible says, “then the angel departed from her”. His assignment was completed. He was done!
This is not the first time God has blessed women who have difficulty bearing children. God had done this before with Hannah and Sarah, other women who did not have a partner to help them do what they couldn’t do for themselves. Hannah had that history and for Sarah, it was also a miracle. And here God is doing it again with Elizabeth. And Mary, she’s special. She’s young and God uses her as the mother to bear His Son, Jesus Christ.
This is a message to all of us, that we do not have to do any of what we are doing alone. Yes, this is the promise of the gospel, that God finds favor in the least of these and God finds favor in each and every one of us. That is powerful.
Let’s take another look at our reading from 2nd Samuel, why did we come to church today? Did we come to find God? Are we here to see God? Did we come to see the beautiful decorations? The work of the Altar Guild. Did we come to see Father Chris? Are we here to hear Ellen sing?
God reminds David, who wants to build a remarkable temple for God, that He is the same God who was with the miserable Israelites in the wilderness. He was with them. He is with us. God is always with us. He moves among us.
The Old Testament always brings up the question of where God is. Is he in the temple? Yes He is where two or three are gathered in His name. Whether it is in the temple, in the mall, in the park, in our homes; He is there. Then we read God does not need a throne, he doesn’t need a palace to live in, he lives in all of us. Do recognize that wherever we are, in the rough places, in the wilderness, in the good places, God is with us. God reminds David that even in the wilderness He was always there with His people. The Psalm repeats the same message, the steadfast love and faithfulness of God to ALL generations. What’s happening with the upcoming birth of Jesus, is a show of that love.
Just like God was with Mary, young Mary. God is accessible to all of us all the time.
Shortly after the visit from Angel Gabriel, Mary visits with Elizabeth to hear about the blessing and sees for herself that what she was told is true. Mary takes the blessing, seeing the goodness of God, the steadfastness and faithfulness of God through all generations. Mary sings these words in the Magnificat, “my soul doth magnify the Lord and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior. For he hath regarded the lowliness of his handmaiden. For behold, from henceforth, all generations shall call me blessed”.
So who are your Elizabeth’s and who are your Mary’s to accompany you today as we celebrate Jesus’ birth and on our life journey? And where will you take your spiritual journey from here?
My Elizabeth and my Mary are the pilgrims who I encounter along the way. They are the people I work with, worship and pray with on this path, this formal discernment to become a priest. They are those who are going through the same experience I am going through. They are my supervisors/mentors and prayer partners. My Elizabeth and my Mary are my family members who listen to the first, second and third versions of my sermons before I give them. My Elizabeths are family members who get up early with me, to attend the 8:00 o’clock service at St. David’s in person and online. They are there reminding me to get enough sleep and cheering me on to turn in my assignments, on time. My Marys are there through the challenges of understanding the Word of God, discussing them with me so that I am able to communicate what I believe the Holy Spirit is telling us. Being a mother, I feel like I am carrying a baby version of myself that will be birthed at the conclusion of this rigorous training. And that baby will continue to learn, pray with her feet and share the Good News as long as she is able.
So what kind of king are we expecting this Christmas? Are we expecting a king who will be us in all situations? Are we expecting a king who will lead us through the wilderness, using your definition of wilderness? Are we expecting a king who will be there in our triumphs? Are we expecting a king who will be there in our joys? We expect a king who will show us favor, like He did with Mary. Just like it says in the Bible we expect a king who will reign over the House of David forever and His kingdom will have no end. The birth of Jesus is a continuation of a promise that God already made to all of us. At this time, we expect a king who will walk with us through the wilderness, one who will be there in our triumphs, be with us in our joys, and one who will show us favor. This king we have been waiting for, will bring us the kind of joy that will make us rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, and be constant in prayer as we were reminded last week. This king will bring us the peace of God which surpasses all understanding. This king, it is promised that this Jesus Christ will bring us hope of eternal life.
Amen