Luke 1: 26-38, 46-55

December 24, 2023 | Fourth Sunday of Advent

The Rev. Todd R. Goddard, Pastor

Rush United Methodist Church

Luke 1: 26-38, 46-55

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.

And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”

But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.

The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, 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 said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”

The angel said to 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. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.”

Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”

Then the angel departed from her.

And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

| Prayer |

An angel visited Zechariah

To tell him

His wife, Elizabeth, would bear a son, John,

Who will be great.

Who will be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Who will turn the hearts of the people,

To make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

“I am an old man,” the unbelieving Zechariah protested,

“and my wife is getting on in years.”

I am too old to get a new testimony.

“I am Gabriel.

I stand in the presence of God,

And I have been sent to speak to you

And to bring you this good news.”

Luke 1:19

“Oh, my. What am I going to do?”

Zechariah wondered.

For his disbelieve,

The angel Gabrial made Zechariah mute,

Unable to speak

Until the day

these things occurred.

…

The tone went off,

indicating a police emergency somewhere in the city of Miamisburg. 

The police officer with whom I was riding that night swore under his breath

since he only had a half hour left to his shift.

“Forty-one,” the radio squawked. 

“Just our luck, it’s in our beat,”

the officer said as he picked up the mike. 

“Over time tonight.”

“You have a car v train personal injury accident

at the Linden Avenue Chessie railroad crossing.”

It didn’t take long for us to get to the scene.

Sure enough, there was a three-engine freight train stopped,

blocking the crossing. 

We drove down the service road

to the lead engine,

our red and blue revolving flashing lights

reflecting off box cars, steel rail, and oil-stained ballast.

We found beside the lead locomotive

the engineer and conductor doing their best

to comfort a sobbing woman and

her two screaming, crying children. 

Scattered around us were the remains

of what once had been a rusty old pickup truck.

The story spilled out of this poor woman;

obviously a mother

whose household was at or below the poverty level. 

Her husband had just bought this second-hand truck.

This woman had taken their “new” truck out

to pick up her children at her sister’s house. 

On the way back, the clutch failed and

she coasted to a stop right on the railroad tracks. 

Not knowing what to do,

she and her children threw on the four-way flashers

and went to find help.

You know the rest of the story.

We took her down to the station,

got a statement and

encouraged her to call her husband. 

Mom sat across the table from me

Tearful and beside herself

While the children were exploring the police station. 

“Oh, my. What am I going to do?”

Just call him and tell him what happened,

I counseled, safely behind my clerical collar.

She hesitated and slowly dialed the old rotary phone.

“Honey,” she started carefully,

“the kids and I are alright.

We’re down here at the police station.

Your new truck was hit by a train.”

I could hear the screaming from the phone.

“You smashed my brand new fifty-dollar pickup truck?

How could you!”

He was filled with volcanic rage,

But she and her children were alright.

…

A portion of the Gospel for this morning

Is called the Canticle of Mary,

Or, more simply,

The Magnificat.

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”

Luke 1:46-47

Because of the special significance of Mary,

The mother of Jesus,

for our Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox sisters and brothers,

We, Protestants have de-emphasized this passage.

We haven’t ignored it.

We just haven’t highlighted it.

St. Luke develops an interesting storyline

In his opening chapter,

Serving as a wonderful prologue

To the birth narrative of the second chapter.

Six months after the elderly and barren Elizabeth became pregnant,

this same angel, Gabriel,

came to an engaged virgin,

named Mary,

who lived in Nazareth. 

Like Elizabeth

He told her that she, too,

would become pregnant,

but that her pregnancy

would be the result of the work of the Holy Spirit. 

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,” he said,

“and the power of the Most High will overshadow you;

therefore the child to be born will be called holy,

the Son of God.”

“Oh, my. What am I going to do?”

Mary certainly wondered.

Mary set out,

Went with haste,

To a Judean town in hill country,

Visiting the house of the muted Zechariah and her cousin, Elizabeth.

The child leapt in Mary’s womb.

Quickened,

As known in some cultures.

Leapt for joy, Mary described

As she began her song of praise.

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”

…

Luke reports

Mary remained with Elizabeth about three months

Then returned to her home.

Luke 1:56

When Mary became pregnant,

both she and Joseph were in quite a pickle. 

It didn’t make any difference how she got pregnant. 

The fact remained that she was unmarried and pregnant. 

Mary and Joseph had one of three choices.

They could

1) go through the procedure of a legal divorce,

required at that time even for those who were engaged. 

The only problem

was that Mary would have been stoned to death as an adulterous. 

Um. No.

2) they could quickly marry

and take the ridicule of family and friends

when their child was born. 

The only problem with that was that

they would have been shunned by the community

for such a scandalous deed.

Sigh, and groan.

What’s behind door number 3?

The only other possibility was that they could

3) marry and then move to another town

where they wouldn’t be known and have their child.

Think a little deeper.

Consider the doubt

That must have grown.

“Was Mary really being faithful?”

Joseph probably thought to himself. 

“Maybe I was only dreaming about the angel Gabriel. 

Maybe Joseph snuck into our house late one night

and I was just too sleepy to remember,”

Mary may have thought. 

“After all, the Messiah is to be born in Bethlehem,

More than 90 miles south of here,

not here in Nazareth. 

Certainly, we have no reason to go to Bethlehem.”

“Oh, my. What am I going to do?”

(Beginning to sound familiar?)

Yes, this morning we find Mary in quite a pickle. 

Both she and Joseph would have to leave their homes in disgrace. 

Certainly, they would have to be married,

even though more than ten years separated their ages.

Mary would have been feeling much the same

as that woman who had just had her husband’s pickup truck smashed by the train. 

“Oh my, what am I going to do?”

“The children and I are alright,” the mother told her husband.

“My soul magnifies the Lord,” Mary proclaimed,

“and my spirit rejoices in God my savior.”

A donkey carried her to where the star rested,

To a stable in Bethlehem.

…

I suspect life serves up

for just about each of us

Moments when we are forced to ask

“Oh, my. What am I going to do?”

“I am going to pray out loud,”

I thought to myself.

If I’m talking

The medic will know I’m still breathing

And my airway is clear.

“Lord, Jesus Christ,

Have mercy on me,

A sinner,”

I repeated hundreds of times

To the tune of whirling Mercy Flight blades

As I was flown as a patient

on the air ambulance

from Geneva to Strong Memorial Hospital.

The flight medic eyed me.

“What are you doing?”

he yelled,

Leaning close over my face.

“I’m praying,” I replied

As loud and as forcefully as one lung would allow.

“Oh,” he said to me,

Giving me the look of suspicion.

You know the look.

He gave me that look.

I’m praying.

What am I going to do?

I’m going to pray.

The Spirit of the Lord came to me

And told this country preacher to pray,

Bold and out loud

With breath I didn’t have,

With a Spirit given to me

By a merciful God above.

…

“Oh, my. What am I going to do?”

Many ask this question during Advent.

Hospice and overnight vigils.

Death and mourning.

Loss of job.

Separation and divorce.

Addictions. Substance abuse.

Sick kids and unbearable co-pays.

Accident and disability.

Unexpected pregnancy and loss.

You name it,

There are many reasons for lament

To paint our Christmas blue.

Disbelief leaves us mute,

Without witness or testimony,

As Zechariah experienced.

Mary knew a better way.

Even though Mary was a seemingly insignificant,

impoverished member of the Jewish community in Nazareth;

even though Mary faced almost certain public disgrace;

even though Mary would be forced to leave her home;

and even though tremendous doubt clouded their past and their future,

God came to her! 

Mary knows a better way.

God comes to the poor. 

God comes to the unassuming. 

God came to the last person who we could ever expect,

Gave her a new witness,

a new testimony,

and made her the mother of our salvation. 

…

“Oh, my. What am I going to do?”

When life runs you over

Magnify the Lord!

Confess and pray.

Christ came.

Christ is come.

Christ will come again.

Use what voice the Spirit has given you

To make a new witness,

A new testimony,

That brings glory to God in the highest,

That proclaims peace,

That ushers in justice,

That weaves a masterpiece of love

Of a Son given,

A Son denied,

A Son risen victorious over sin and death.

Never mind the look.

That’s what we do.

This is who we are.

Watch.

Wait.

Is it the angel Gabriel?

Is it the Spirit of the Lord?

Is it the bold witness of an unsuspecting girl

That is ready to burst

And break life wide open?

Come to Bethlehem and see.

Amen.