Sermon manuscript:
Our Gospel reading is appropriate as we approach the
celebration of the birth of Jesus. Our Gospel reading describes something that
happened not long before Jesus was born. Mary, Jesus’s mother, visited her
relative, Elizabeth. Both Mary and Elizabeth were pregnant with very special babies.
Mary had been visited by the angel Gabriel who told her that she would conceive
and bear a son. She was to name him Jesus because he would be the Savior.
Elizabeth’s pregnancy was also unusual. Elizabeth and her
husband Zechariah were old and had not been given any children. Zechariah had
also been visited by Gabriel who told him that he and his wife would conceive
in their old age. The child was to be named John. Zechariah and Elizabeth did
conceive about six months before Gabriel went to Mary.
So in our reading today Mary was pregnant with Jesus and
Elizabeth was pregnant with John the Baptist. Luke says that Elizabeth was
filled with the Holy Spirit. She is filled with joy, and she speaks several
blessings. She blesses Mary: “Blessed are you among women.” She blesses Jesus: “Blessed is the fruit of Mary’s womb.” She blesses
herself. She rhetorically asks: “Why is this granted to
me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” Her thoughts turn to
her son. She comments on how her baby leaped for joy at Mary’s greeting.
Finally, Elizabeth blesses Mary for her faith. Perhaps
Elizabeth’s thoughts turned to what it might have been like when Mary heard
Gabriel’s message. Elizabeth said, “Blessed is she who
believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the
Lord.” Not every woman would believe that she could conceive while
remaining a virgin simply because the Lord said so. Mary did. She said to God:
“Let it be done to me according to your Word.”
Elizabeth moves from one blessing to the next. Everyone is blessed.
All are exceedingly happy. What I’d like to consider today is why they are so
happy. I’d also like to pay attention to our own happiness. Happiness is
important to us. We all would like to be happy. So, in fact, before we consider
what makes these women happy, I think it would be beneficial first to consider
what makes us happy. We can then be on the lookout for what might be different
with these women.
There are a lot of things that can make us happy. Hunger
being satisfied with food makes us happy; thirst, with drink. We have many
desires and needs. We want and need affection, comfort, entertainment. We like
to be right. We like to be the best. We like making progress. Getting richer is
better than getting poorer. Getting stronger is better than getting weaker. There
are so many ways to be happy, and we like them all. The more, the better; the
more, the happier.
Now let’s consider these women’s happiness. What makes them
happy doesn’t exactly fit the pattern we’ve sketched out. They aren’t getting
stronger, richer, better. Elizabeth’s life didn’t get easier with her pregnancy
in old age. Mary’s life was thrown into turmoil to a much greater degree. Mary
became pregnant when she wasn’t married. Everyone would have assumed that the
pregnancy was the result of fornication. Joseph, her fiancé, had no other
choice but to assume that she had been unfaithful. An angel had to intervene to
tell him otherwise. Mary would have had a hard time of it because most would
not believe what sounds like a far-fetched story—that Mary was pregnant with
the Son of God by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Consider, additionally, the several clues about Mary and
Joseph’s poverty and powerlessness. When they came to Bethlehem they couldn’t
get a room. If they had more money, they could have compelled someone to
provide for them. Later, when the sacrifices were made in the Temple, the
cheaper option of two pigeons was offered instead of the more expensive lamb. These
clues indicate that Mary and Joseph were poor. The baby was born into poverty: “No crib for a bed” to lay
down his sweet head.
If we place ourselves into Mary’s shoes, we can see how she
lacked things that we regard as essential for happiness. So how can she be
happy? How can Elizabeth be happy for her when trouble is on every side? She
even makes the audacious claim that Mary is blessed over and above all others.
The only explanation is that they were focused on things that aren’t often
looked to for happiness. We might sum up all that they were feeling by saying: They
were happy because the kingdom of God was coming upon the earth.
What is the kingdom of God, and why is it a good thing? We
can’t hardly talk about a kingdom without talking about the king. Something you
might keep an ear open for the next couple days is how often Christmas carols
will sing about Jesus being the king, or the Lord: “Joy to the world, the Lord has come.” Or: “Come and worship, come and
worship, worship Christ, the newborn king.” The good news of great joy that
is for all people is, as the angel declared on Christmas night, that unto us a
Savior has been born who is Christ the Lord.
The work of Christ the King in his kingdom is made plain in
the Gospels. Jesus did several things. He taught the Word of God that has always
been calling people away from evil, away from the devil, towards that which is
good and true—life giving and life protecting. Jesus taught people to believe
in the only true God instead of the various false gods. Jesus acted with power,
performing miracles. His many cleansings, healings, and restorations to life were
a foreshadowing of the greater work he will do when he resurrects the dead.
Over and above all these things, but also at the very root
of them, Jesus suffered and died. As our epistle reading mentions, he offered
his body once for all. My favorite line of all the Christmas carols is the one
where it says: “Nails, spear
shall piece him through. The cross be borne for me, for you. Hail, hail the
Word made flesh, the babe, the Son of Mary.” The king sacrificed himself.
The result is forgiveness, righteousness, and life for everyone.
So if we return to the happiness and joy of Elizabeth and
Mary, we can see that it is outside of them. The kingdom of God is coming. Happiness
depends on the king, not on themselves. So long as their faith in this king
doesn’t fail, nothing can take their happiness away. Whatever sadnesses might
come, they cannot undo the march of progress the kingdom of God will make.
You can see this in both their lives. Both Elizabeth’s and
Mary’s unborn baby boys would eventually be killed at the hands of evil men. Simeon
prophesied to Mary in the temple: “A sword will pass
through your heart.” Mary mourned at the death of her Son, but God will
turn all mourning into gladness. Jesus died, but then he rose. Then his kingdom
only entered a new phase, the song swelled to an even higher pitch. Joy will
grow, even if, in the meantime, we pass through the valley of the shadow of
death.
This joy is available to each and every one of you. All that
is needed is to be like Elizabeth and Mary: Believe in Jesus’s kingdom. To
believe is not some great challenge or a puzzle you have to figure out. It is
only a matter of believing the testimony that is given about Jesus, and testimonies
abound! Elizabeth gave her testimony in our reading. The angel gave his
testimony on Christmas night. The apostles, evangelists, prophets,
prophetesses, deacons, and deaconesses all gave their testimony, and they all
say the same thing: Jesus Christ is Lord. He does all things well. He sets all
things right.
This is good news, which comes to us from the outside. It does
not place any demands upon us. It does not require any preparation. Think of
all those people in the Gospels whom Jesus helped. Did the blind man have to
start improving himself before Jesus would give him sight? No. The blind man
remained as blind as a bat. The deaf man remained as deaf as a stone, until
Jesus made them otherwise. The only thing that happened to them prior to their
healings was that they were given hope in Jesus the king by the good news that
was told them.
The same thing is true for us today. We have problems. We
might have a bad reputation. We might be poor. We might be blind, deaf, lame,
demon possessed. Believe in Jesus.
And let’s apply this to sin. One of the most frustrating parts
about being a Christian is that we end up falling into sin, even though we really
don’t want to—or at least a part of us doesn’t want to. What do we do with
that? We almost can’t help thinking that we must clean ourselves up in order to
become acceptable before God. That seems right. To do otherwise can make it
seem as though sin doesn’t matter. We have to take our sin very seriously.
These are not altogether bad thoughts, but they can make us
lose sight of the one thing that makes all the difference—the one thing that
makes us happy with a happiness that no one can take away: Jesus is the king.
He saves sinners. He baptizes you, you don’t baptize yourself. He forgives you,
you don’t forgive yourself. The kingdom of God is on a roll with the preaching
of the Word that Jesus is the Savior. What is asked of us is not a great
burden: Stick with the king. Listen to his Word. Jesus will do everything he
has promised. Jesus is going to win.
So you, like Elizabeth and Mary, may fully embrace the
goodness of the kingdom of God that made them so happy that blessings were
flying all over the place. The kingdom of God is the best, because Jesus is the
best. No matter what is going on, no matter how disappointed you might be in yourself
or in others, Jesus Christ is Lord.
“Come
Thou long-expected Jesus, born to set Thy people free.” Amen.
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