Micah 5:2-5a

Luke 1:46b-55

Hebrews 10:5-10

Luke 1:39-45

Faith of an Unwed Teenage Mom

What do you think of when you think of Christmas? Often I think of Christmases of the past. I fondly remember the Christmas when I got a particular toy – a transformer called Optimus Prime. It was a toy robot that “transformed” into a semi-truck and trailer. I remember ripping apart the wrapping paper and being so excited about this gift. I played with it all day. Although I kind of wanted to go outside and play in the fresh snow, my excitement with this toy was just too much! Candle light services at church also stand out in my memory. Of course, on Christmas Eve, my family would get home from worship and then we were allowed to open one gift. On certain Christmases there would be a special gift to open on Christmas Eve. For years I thought we were “jumping the gun” on Christmas by opening a gift on the 24^th (of course that didn’t make me feel too guilty). Years later, after studying the liturgical calendar in greater depth, I found that starting a holy day the night before was quite traditional. Just as we start the celebration of All Saints Day on All Hollows Eve – you know, Halloween - the Christmas celebration starts at Sundown on the 24^th of December. So, here we are on the morning of the 24^th, still anticipating the celebration that starts in just a few more hours.

Although we’re still anticipating the celebration, that doesn’t mean there isn’t cause to be joyous. In our gospel reading from Luke, we find Mary alone, making quite the journey to see her cousin Elizabeth. She wasn’t simply traveling next door or across town, she was going “to a Judean town in the hill country” [Luke 1:39]. She would have to travel some pretty dangerous areas in order to do this. Why would a pregnant woman risk so much? Well, part of it may be that she has just gone through a pretty traumatic experience. Just before this passage, an angel appeared to Mary and said “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you” [Luke 1:28]. Or a more traditional rendering would be, “Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women.” Yup, this is where the Hail Mary comes from. Anyways, after this the angel drops a huge bomb on Mary, telling her that she’s pregnant. This, of course, comes as a shock to Mary because she’s a virgin… not to mention that an angel of God appeared before her and delivered the message. But the angel didn’t stop there; it also told Mary that her cousin Elizabeth was pregnant, too. This was also a shock as Elizabeth was well past child-bearing age and has no children to start with. So, after all this, Mary may be seeking comfort in a trusted relative as well as wanting to share in the anticipation of the birth of both their children.

So, Mary arrives at Elizabeth’s house and as soon as she greeted Elizabeth, Elizabeth’s baby “leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit” [Luke 1:41]. OK, this is all really cool when we remember that Elizabeth’s husband, Zachariah, was a priest who was left unable to speak by God for not believing the message God gave him about Elizabeth becoming pregnant [Luke 1:20]. Women weren't supposed to deliver such messages. This was the job of a man of high standing not a childless 90 year old woman’s. So once filled with the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth starts to prophesy, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord” [Luke 1:42-45]. What’s happened is that the lowly have been empowered. It’s the wife of the priest who is not only able to talk, but who also prophesized. It’s a young, unwed woman from a small village and of humble origins who is the mother of the King of kings and Lord of lords. Christ, our only hope of salvation and the one to heal all of creation from the Fall, has his human origins here.

And what’s Mary’s response to Elizabeth’s prophesy? It’s a song, the Canticle of Mary also known as the Magnificat. That’s what we read responsively for our act of praise and adoration. Her response to these amazing, traumatic events is to praise God.

Mary’s life is essentially turned upside down. She’s unwed – people know this. She’s pregnant – people will eventually know this. She’ll be thrust into the religious and political limelight in a short time – after all, her son would eventually cause quite the stir, not just in her home of Galilee, but also at the Temple and in Jerusalem. What qualifies her to do such things, to be a part of such earth changing events? It’s a simple willingness to answer God’s call just as she is, even if she doesn’t know all that it entails. Yet isn't that an example of faith? To step into the unknown, out of our comfort zone?

It seems that all calls that God makes on humans are calls requiring faith. Think about the call stories of the prophets, or of Abraham, Noah, Moses, the disciples, the Apostle Paul. Each one of these stories required faith. Each of these stories took the person being called out of their comfort zone and placed them in situations where the outcome would be uncertain from their point of view.

The truth is, God has not stopped calling people to take steps of faith. A few years ago, I chaperoned a youth mission trip from my church in Michigan to rural Kentucky. We had three adults: our pastor Janna Lynn, her husband Gabby - a pathologist, and me a graduate student in history. We had four youth with us, all girls. Nobody had any construction experience. We had no clue as to exactly what we'd be doing when we arrived in Kentucky. We figured we'd be painting. When we received our assignment, we discovered that we'd be putting in a porch, windows, and rebuilding a part of the floor and a threshold. There was no way we were qualified to do that! Yet, throughout that week, God provided ways to get those tasks done. A chance visit by the owner's nephew brought someone who had professionally installed windows to us. As he was between jobs, he just happened to have the time to not only guide us in installing the windows, but he also taught us the skills we needed to finish the job once he had to leave. No, it wasn't a perfect fix. But they were adequate and the house was left in better condition than when we arrived. Of course, what would show God at work better, a group of contractors doing a perfect professional job, or a group of faithful yet unqualified youth and adults who did an adequate job when the world would only expect failure?

So often we point out that God uses the least and the last to do great works. I wonder if we actually believe that. I know that I didn't believe that my mission team could do half of what we did in Kentucky. Maybe that just further illustrates the type of faith Mary had. She would be the mother of the Messiah. She would bear the salvation of humankind. She would be mother to the true healing for all creation. This pregnant, unwed, teenage girl was called to give birth to God the Son. And her response to being told this was to praise God.

How often do we receive calls from God with unbelief and rejection? How often do we miss calls from God because of our unbelief? I don't know what would have happened if Mary would simply of rejected the angel's message, or refused. She could have refused you know. It was not unheard of for unwed expectant mothers to commit suicide. It was not unheard of for unwanted children to be sold. Instead, she accepted her call on faith and was provided for when Jesus' birth came due - not in a perfect situation, but an adequate one. She was right, you know; all generations have called her blessed [Luke 1:48].

So, where is God calling you in your life? Where is God calling us as a congregation? Jesus' birth narrative is full of examples of faith just as it's full of hope. But that faith and hope doesn't end with Jesus' birth. It doesn't end with his death on the cross and his resurrection three days later. That faith and hope is still alive today - it's alive in the Church. It's our call to carry that faith and hope with us where ever we go. But first we must claim that faith and hope as our own. Just as Mary accepted the call to have Christ physically live within her, we too are called to accept Christ to spiritually live within us. Let us take these last few hours of Advent to think about how God is calling us to allow Christ to live within each of us.

SDG