Scripture. Prayer. A Journey of Joy Luke 1:39-45 Sunday, December 23, 2018 The Rev. Sharon Snapp-Kolas, preaching Opening. There was an interesting item in the paper the other day. According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, while both male and female reindeer grow antlers in the summer each year... Male reindeer drop their antlers at the beginning of winter, usually late November to mid-december. Female reindeer, however, retain their antlers until after they give birth in the spring. Therefore, according to every historical rendition depicting Santa's reindeer, every single one of them, from Rudolph to Blitzen... had to be a female. The comment was included, We should've known this when they were able to find their way. (David E. Leininger) I. Luke and Women and Babies Luke s gospel, more than any other book in the New Testament, is about women. We have just read about Mary and Elizabeth in our gospel reading. We will talk more about them in a few moments. There s also the prophecy of an old woman named Anna. When Jesus debates with the scholars in the Temple as a young boy, the only person Luke quotes is Jesus mother, Mary. During his ministry Jesus touches the lives of: the woman who was a sinner, the woman who wouldn't give up, the widow of Nain, the bent over woman, the widow who gave her last coins to the Temple. At the resurrection it was the women who had faith to go to the garden of graves. The text lists Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of Jesus, and other women. Luke reports that when they told the disciples about the empty tomb these men assumed it was an idle tale and did not believe them. Not surprising, in a culture where women didn't count, but 1
stunning, nonetheless, given all the clues Jesus had provided about his views on the full value and worth of women as equal individuals in the kingdom of God. The central character in the birth narrative, a story told only by Luke, is the person closest to the event, Mary. She decides to visit her cousin, Elizabeth, who is in her third trimester pregnant with John the Baptist. Elizabeth is older than Mary; we can assume Mary goes to show honor and respect to Elizabeth as an older woman, and as the wife of Zechariah, a priest. Mary also likely visits Elizabeth to be of help in her final months of pregnancy. The dynamics shift as soon as Mary offers her greeting. The baby leaps within Elizabeth s womb, recognizing through the power of the Holy Spirit the Messiah yet to be born. Elizabeth is also filled with the Holy Spirit, which reveals to her that Mary is pregnant, that she carries within her the hope of the world, and that Mary and her child are to be received with honor and joy. Elizabeth calls Mary and the child within her blessed. II. You look good for your age. A friend recently shared a video with me on Facebook. It s from a site called SoulPancake. You might want to check it out. The video had to do with ageism. A group of women of a range of ages, from young adults to seniors, was asked to complete these sentences with for your age: 1. You have flawless skin for your age 2. You look better than most 20-year-olds for your age 3. You are fierce for your age 4. Those clothes are a bit too inappropriate for your age Then they had the women read out loud and react to the following sentences: 2
1. She dances well for a white girl 2. She s funny for an Asian 3. She s pretty for a thick girl 4. She drives well for a woman 5. She looks good for her age They struggled with the for her age one. The others horrified them racist, sexist, defining someone by their size or body-shape. But ageism; they had a hard time hearing that this was a thing. Finally one woman said, It s a back-handed compliment, but it s more commonly accepted. Then others followed, You re saying, you re pretty but not by the general accepted standard of what s pretty. It s degrading. The 76-year-old woman stated firmly, Say you look good, period. And the closing shot: You know what, everyone s going to get older When Mary visits Elizabeth, it s two women who see each other, in a world that ignores them. Mary makes the journey to honor the older woman, to show her respect. Elizabeth receives the joy of the Messiah, revealed to her in the faithful journey of the younger woman. I think of the joy I have in meals shared with so many women in this church, young and old. Dinners with June Greenfield before Trustees meeting; Women s Breakfast Club each month; the first Sunday women s lunch group, which is still in its birthing stages the first Sunday men s lunch group, too. What I like about this last one is that it s young and old together, like Mary and Elizabeth. We are making a journey to get to each other, to show honor and respect to the faith each of us brings. III. Hopelessness Joy and Grief Elizabeth and Mary are two women of different generations who find community and connection. This is God s gift not only to them, but to the whole world. 3
As we all know, at the holidays the joy of the season is mixed for many of us with grief. We remember loved ones who are no longer with us. We watch the news or read the news reports and grieve for hurting people locally and the world over. We pray for hurting people among our friends and families and church family. We suffer in silence over any number of burdens we are carrying too many bills to pay, broken relationships, shameful secrets, nagging worries of all kinds. Mary and Elizabeth were not immune to such concerns. They had the Romans and the Herods, the Zealots and the religious authorities. If you remember the story, Mary had serious concerns for her own survival and that of her baby, given that she was pregnant and unwed. In the midst of harsh human realities, God s hope is born. In 1994, two Americans answered an invitation from the Russian Department of Education to teach morals and ethics (based on biblical principles) in the public schools. They were invited to teach at prisons, businesses, the fire and police departments and a large orphanage. About 100 boys and girls who had been abandoned, abused, and left in the care of a government-run program were in the orphanage. They related the following story in their own words: It was nearing the holiday season, 1994, time for our orphans to hear, for the first time, the traditional story of Christmas. We told them about Mary and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem. Finding no room in the inn, the couple went to a stable, where the baby Jesus was born and placed in a manger. Throughout the story, the children and orphanage staff sat in amazement as they listened. Some sat on the edges of their stools, trying to grasp every word. Completing the story, we gave the children three small pieces of cardboard to make a crude manger. Each child was given a small paper square, cut from yellow napkins I had brought with me. (No colored 4
paper was available in the city.) Following instructions, the children tore the paper and carefully laid strips in the manger for straw. Small squares of flannel, cut from a worn-out nightgown an American lady was throwing away as she left Russia, were used for the baby's blanket. A doll-like baby was cut from tan felt we had brought from the United States. The orphans were busy assembling their manger as I walked among them to see if they needed any help. All went well until I got to one table where little Misha sat -- he looked to be about 6 years old and had finished his project. As I looked at the little boy's manger, I was startled to see not one, but two babies in the manger. Quickly, I called for the translator to ask the lad why there were two babies in the manger. Crossing his arms in front of him and looking at this completed manger scene, the child began to repeat the story very seriously. For such a young boy, who had only heard the Christmas story once, he related the happenings accurately, until he came to the part where Mary put the baby Jesus in the manger. Then Misha started to ad-lib. He made up his own ending to the story as he said, And when Maria laid the baby in the manger, Jesus looked at me and asked me if I had a place to stay. I told him I have no mamma and I have no papa, so I don't have any place to stay. Then Jesus told me I could stay with him. But I told him I couldn't, because I didn't have a gift to give him like everybody else did. But I wanted to stay with Jesus so much, so I thought about what I had that maybe I could use for a gift. I thought maybe if I kept him warm, that would be a good gift. So I asked Jesus, If I keep you warm, will that be a good enough gift? And Jesus told me, If you keep me warm, that will be the best gift anybody ever gave me. So I got into the manger, and then Jesus looked at me and he told me I could stay with him -- for always. As little Misha finished his story, his eyes brimmed full of tears that splashed down his 5
little cheeks. Putting his hand over his face, his head dropped to the table and his shoulders shook as he sobbed and sobbed. The little orphan had found someone who would never abandon nor abuse him, someone who would stay with him -- FOR ALWAYS. (David E. Leininger) Closing. Men, women, babies, children, teens, toddlers, young adults, older adults we all need someone who will stay with us for always. We all need someone who will love us no matter what. We all need Jesus. This is the joy of Mary s journey. This is the joy she and Elizabeth share with one another, that Jesus is coming into the world. The Messiah is here. A Savior is coming. He will be born, not in a castle with servants surrounded by gold and earthly power. He will be born in a manger surrounded by hay and animals, with starlight shining. Joan Mills, mother of three, writes in her book Christmas Coming: The Christmas spirit comes on me more slowly than it used to. But it comes, it comes. Middle-aged (most of the time) and jaded (some of the time), I complain of plastic sentiment, days too brief, bones too weary. Scrooge stands at my elbow muttering, Bah! and Humbug! as I total the bills. But when I acknowledge the child I once was (and still am, somewhere within), the spirit of Christmas irresistibly descends. For Christmas is truly for children -- those we have, and those we have been ourselves. It is the keeping-place for memories of our age in lovely ritual and simplicities. I'm tired, I say fretfully. There's just too much to do! Must we make so much of Christmas? Yes! they say flatly. But bayberry, pine and cinnamon scent the shadowed room. Snow lies in quiet beauty outside. I hear someone downstairs turning on the tree lights while another admires. I lie very 6
still in the dark. From the church in the village on the far side of the woods, carillon notes fall faint and sweet on winter clear air. Silent night, my heart repeats softly. Holy night. All is calm All is bright. As I take the stairs lightly going down, no bones weary now, my whole self is thankful; once again, I am flooded with the certainty (call it faith) that there's goodness in the world, and love endures. (Leonard Sweet, adapting Joan Mills) May Jesus fill your journey with joy, today and always. Amen. 7