The Message, December 22, 2024, Christmas Sunday: "Making Room for Love," Luke 1:39-55

Author: Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
December 31, 2024

 

“Making Room For Love”
A Message by Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
Luke 1:39-55

            Well … here we are … Christmas Sunday! The sanctuary is all decorated with gorgeous poinsettias. There are illuminated Christmas trees and garlands all over the church. We have lit four of the candles in the Advent wreath and the Nativity set has been waiting for this day for weeks. We were delighted and enthralled by the Christmas pageant last Sunday. We are ready for Christmas!

            But … let us not rush there too quickly. I know that we are excited. We love to spend time with the shepherds. We love to travel with the magi. We love to hear the  angel songs. But we are not ready to sing ‘Silent Night’ just yet.

            The Gospel of Luke, more than any of the other gospels, does a very thorough job of setting the scene for the arrival of the Christ Child.

            In our pageant last week, we heard the Angel Gabriel speak to Mary. We heard the other angel speak with Joseph. But let us not get too eager to run to Bethlehem. Let us not forget that the Angel Gabriel made another visit before visiting Mary in Nazareth. And let us not overlook the importance of this episode from Luke’s Gospel that we read this morning. The significance cannot be overstated.

            The announcement that the arrival of Immanuel … “God With Us” … the arrival of God’s Word Incarnate … in the flesh … was given to two women. So, let us linger with them for just a few moments. Allow yourselves to enter into their stories.

            Elizabeth was a direct descendant of Aaron, the brother of Moses, the first high priest. She was married to Zechariah, a priest that served in the temple in Jerusalem. She would have enjoyed a certain amount of social stature because of her heritage … BUT … she was an older woman that had not been able to bear a child. In ancient Palestine, the worth of a woman was directly proportional to the ability of her womb to produce children. Elizabeth would have carried that shame with her every day.

            As I mentioned a moment ago, the Angel Gabriel made a visit prior to visiting Mary. Gabriel visited Elizabeth’s husband, Zechariah, as he was serving in the temple in Jerusalem. Gabriel told Zechariah that Elizabeth would be blessed by God with a child, and that his name would be John. Gabriel told him that their child would bring them great joy, and that he would be the one that would turn the people toward God; he would prepare the way for the coming of the Lord.

            However, Zechariah doubted the news that Gabriel had shared. “How can this be? My wife is getting on in years.” And because of his doubt … because of his lack of faith … Zechariah was struck mute by Gabriel. He would not be able to speak until the child was born.

            After those days, Elizabeth did conceive just as Gabriel had said. She remained in seclusion for five months. She said, “This is what the Lord has done for me in this time, when he looked favorably on me and took away the disgrace I have endured among my people.” (Luke 1:24-25)

            And then there is Mary. We know Mary’s story. A young, peasant girl, betrothed to Joseph, and visited by Gabriel. We know that she too questioned Gabriel’s news … for a moment … “How can this be? I have never been with a man.” But then accepted her role, saying to the Angel, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38) We know all of this. That was in the Christmas pageant.

            But, where our passage for this morning picks up is also remarkable. Mary travelled from Nazareth to the village where her kins-woman, Elizabeth, lived in the foothills of Judea. Do you have any idea how far that journey is? Approximately ninety miles. Ninety miles as the crow flies … so we can assume that she actually travelled a bit farther than that. Can you imagine walking ninety miles? Can you imagine walking ninety miles as an unaccompanied young woman through a countryside that did not value women? Can you imagine walking ninety miles carrying the news that she carried? And let us not forget the child that she carried in her womb.

            And those two amazing women came together. Two women who would have been shamed and rejected by their communities: one advanced in age who had not blessed her community with a child, and the other pregnant out of wedlock. These two women would change the world as we know it. These two “lowly” and shamed women are the ones through whom God acts to begin the transformation of the world.

            This morning, we heard Mary’s Song. Her song spoke to the collective longing of her people. Her song tapped into generations of oppression and captivity and misery. Her song tapped into their history, the ancient words of the prophets and the words from the psalms. Mary sang a song of promise and relief and release. She sang a song that referred to the people being delivered from the bondage of Egypt. She sang about the prisoners being set free.

            Mary’s song set the stage for the future ministry of her son. Her song announced that Jesus Christ would come to challenge the status quo. She announced that Jesus Christ would challenge the structures of oppression, sin and death. She announced The Jesus Christ would come to lift up the lowly, free the enslaved, feed the hungry, and give justice to the orphan, the widow, and the stranger.

            Mary’s song was not just some little ditty that an excited mommy sang about her baby. It was more than a song of praise and worship for all that God had done for her. It was a song of strength and power because of what God has promised, what God has done, and what God will continue to do for her … for her people … for us. Her words were offered in the past tense recognizing all of the powerful acts that God has done for us. And also assuring us that God’s powerful acts are already being done for us in the future. God’s love and God’s power extend beyond the human capacity to understand time. God’s love and power are infinite and eternal.

            Can you imagine … walking ninety miles and pondering this in your heart that entire way?

            We do not need to journey ninety miles … on foot … through a rough and rocky terrain. But we do live in a world in which that way is still pretty rocky. We live in a world in which very few people rush to Bethlehem to peer into the manger. We do live in a world that rejects the message that the Child will carry with him. And that is the burden of our call.

            John and Jesus came into the world through two women who were the types of people that Jesus spent most of his time with … the shamed, the outcast, the marginalized. Our call is to continue singing Mary’s Song. Our call is to continue giving “birth” to the Christ Child in today’s world.

            The way of the world is an acquisitive way … we want to get, get, get more, more, more. We want more status, more power. We want more influence. We want a bigger house, a better car, a better phone, we want more stuff than our neighbors have. (And that is a collective “WE,” not necessarily the “we” that are gathered in this room. But I think that you knew that.)

            The world does not want to hear about giving more and doing more to help the homeless. “Scoop them up and get rid of them.”
            The world does not want to hear about giving more and doing more to feed the hungry. “They are just a bunch of moochers.”
            The world does not want to hear about giving more and doing more to care for refugees fleeing never-ending cycles of violence and poverty.
            The world does not want to hear about doing more or giving more care for the most vulnerable among us.

            And that is the power of Mary’s song. Mary proclaims in a voice as loud as she can muster that Love will finally win. That peace WILL spread over all the earth. That justice WILL be realized. And that God’s Way … God’s Desire … WILL be the way for all people.

            Mary’s Song is our song. May we sing it … live it … every day. God’s Love is already here. We just have to help the world see it. Amen.

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