Advent Series: The Four Love Stories of Christmas Part II: The Joy of Friendship C. Gray Norsworthy Johns Creek Presbyterian Church December 16, 2018 Two weeks ago, we began talking about The Four Love Stories of Christmas. These love stories leading up to the birth of Jesus are told by Luke in his gospel. We began with the story of the angel Gabriel appearing to Mary, who was engaged, but not yet married to Joseph. The angel told Mary that God wanted her to bear a child through the miraculous work of God s Holy Spirit. The angel also told her the child s name would be Jesus which in Hebrew means The Lord saves. This child would be the Son of God and the Messiah sent to save the whole world. It was a lot to take in, but Mary agreed to do this. However, in telling her this incredible news, the angel also mentioned to Mary that her cousin Elizabeth, who was thought to be too old to ever have a child, was also pregnant. This revelation at least planted the seed that Mary should go visit her in a nearby town. That is where our second love story of Christmas from Luke s gospel picks up today At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her! (Luke 1:39-45, NIV) I want to stop there for now, but we will return to the rest of this story later. Luke begins by telling us that Mary heads off to talk with her cousin Elizabeth who has an unexpected pregnancy which is also by God s Spirit but it did not come about in the same way as Mary s pregnancy. When I looked over Luke s account of this story and compared it to Matthew s account, which tells the story more from Joseph s perspective, it does not make it clear whether or not Mary, (who was not yet married to Joseph or had been intimate with him), tells Joseph about all of this yet. Matthew indicates that at some point Mary told him this hardto-believe story about God s Spirit causing this pregnancy. You may remember that Joseph is planning to simply divorce her quietly but an angel appears to Joseph at night in a dream, and tells him that God really has done this amazing thing, and that he should go ahead and marry her which he does. So, whether Mary tells Joseph about this before or after visiting Elizabeth is not clear. Whatever the case, Mary does not hesitate to make the journey and tell Elizabeth what the angel said to her. We may guess why Mary went there. Maybe she believed that the angel s words were telling her she should really go and talk to Elizbeth about this. Maybe she wanted to talk to a family member who might understand. Because Elizabeth appears to be older than Mary, 1
Elizabeth may have some wisdom and insight about how to break the news to Joseph. Or, maybe Mary just needed a friend whom she could talk to -- who would offer support and help her sort things out. Maybe it was a combination of all of those things. When Mary arrives at Elizabeth s home, Mary greets her. Luke doesn t tell us what Mary said -- whether it was simply Hello or whether Mary could not wait to tell Elizabeth all the amazing things that had recently happened to her. Whatever the case, Luke says that the baby inside of Elizabeth gives her a kick and that Elizabeth is also filled with God s Holy Spirit. For those of you who have been pregnant before and for those of us who have been allowed to feel a baby kick, it is a pretty amazing thing this feeling of another life inside a person. Luke says that Elizabeth exclaimed in a loud voice: Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her! Somehow God reveals to Elizabeth not only that Mary is pregnant, but that she is doubly blessed, as is the child to whom she will give birth. Elizabeth also calls the child to be born my Lord. (Luke 1:43, NIV) As we said in our first message, the angel Gabriel used a number of phrases to tell Mary that this child would be the Son of God the Messiah sent by God to save the world. Here, Elizabeth seems to be confirming this again, so that if Mary had any doubts about all of this being true, they were probably fading fast. One of my favorite newer Christmas songs asks the question, Mary, Did You Know? It has been covered by many artists, but I want to share with you one by Kenny Rogers and Wynonna Judd. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cq0w2vsv3zg) That your baby boy will one day walk on water? That your baby boy will save our sons and daughters? Did you know, That your baby boy has come to make you new? This child that you've delivered, Will soon deliver you. That your baby boy will give sight to a blind man? Your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand? Did you know, That your baby boy has walked where angels trod? When you kiss your little baby, You've kissed the face of God. The blind will see The deaf will hear The dead will live again. 2
The lame will leap The dumb will speak The praises of the lamb.? What did Mary know about this child and how exactly did she know? We talked about who this child would be, but how did Mary know? Well, obviously it began with the angel Gabriel sent from God to share this news with her. But, Gabriel also pointed her to Elizabeth. And Mary goes to visit her, I think for at least two reasons because Elizabeth is both friend and family. First of all, Elizabeth seems to be a friend. Maybe she is someone older with more life experience, wisdom, and perhaps a more-developed faith in God. Elizabeth was also pregnant in an unusual way, by the grace of God. She was, in a sense, the perfect friend to go visit and share with her this amazing news. When Mary shares the news, Elizabeth says the baby inside of her leaps for joy. As we said earlier, this baby would be John the Baptist who prepares the way for Jesus and his ministry. One person commented that John the Baptist is witnessing to Jesus even before John is ever born! But, this encounter brings joy. We have called today s message, The Joy of Friendship. As we began talking about The Four Love Stories of Christmas, we said that love stories can go beyond romantic love. We talked about the love between God, Mary, the angel Gabriel, Jesus -- and even the whole world. Love takes on many forms. C.S. Lewis once wrote the classic book called The Four Loves. In it he writes not only about romantic love, but about the love of friendship, family, and of God each having a different quality to it. In this story I think we see friendship love between Elizabeth and Mary. It is a love born of a shared experience theses unexpected pregnancies brought about by God. And here, the love of a good friend led to deep joy. If you have ever had a close friend, you know not only what a rare gift that is, but how that person can bring joy to your life simply by their mere presence. Maybe they not only know and understand you, they can also relate to what you are going through. I have a few close friends that I am grateful for. Some of them I am able to make time to be with on a regular basis. Others I may not see for longer periods of time, but when we finally do get together, we pick up right where we left off. I believe true friendship is actually a form of love which can bring joy to our lives and is a gift from God. I encourage you to cherish and nourish those friendships, if you have them. However, Elizabeth was not only a friend, she was also family. She was Mary s cousin part of her extended family. There is something about those in our families that can transcend other relationships because we know that we are already connected to this other person if only by blood, or perhaps adoption. Family relationships, at their best, seem to assume a connection. Because we are family, I think we are predisposed to try to accept and love the other person, simply because they are family. Now, I know that not all family relationships are healthy or easy. Every family has some degree of dysfunction, and some are more dysfunctional than others. In some instances, families get so toxic that one has to set some very clear boundaries. But, when family relationships have a modicum of health, then there is a positive connection that is good. 3
Mary appears to have a good relationship with her cousin Elizabeth. Again, the result of their encounter is joy. So, how does Mary respond to this encounter with her friend and family member, Elizabeth? Luke tells us that she responds with a song! We have already heard one song about the birth of Jesus asking what Mary might have known. But, in Luke s gospel I think Mary s song gives us her answer that she might have known about this child to be born to her. Listen to Mary s Song in Luke s gospel: And Mary said: My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors. Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home. (Luke 1:46-56, NIV) These unusual words of Mary in response to her visit with her friend and family member point to what God is going to do, not only for Mary, but for the whole world! Not only will Mary be blessed with this child -- she will also be blessed because God is going to use this child to restore the order of the world to what God intended in the first place. It says that proud rulers will be brought down. The humble will eventually be lifted up. Those who are rich and keep their wealth only for themselves, instead of helping the hungry and poor will be sent way empty, while those who experience hunger in this life will eventually be filled. Israel will be a model for how to serve others and be a light to the nations. As we said in our first message, Mary understands all of this is more than just about her. It is bigger than that. Because she agrees to give birth to this child, she is humbly serving all of humankind. And it is her encounter with her friend and family member Elizabeth, who helps bring all of this into focus for Mary. 4
Friends, Family, and Faith. Humble service to others. As I reflected on those words, I could not help but think of some of the things I heard in the recent service at the National Cathedral honoring the life of our forty-first President -- the late George H.W. Bush. If you watched that amazing service celebrating his life, you heard what I believe are some of the most moving messages I have heard in a long time. And the common themes were friendship, family, faith, and humble service. Again and again, you heard what a genuine, loyal and faithful friend George Bush was even when it wasn t the wisest thing to do politically. He reached out to those who were going through hard times and lifted them up. His family was always of utmost importance in his life. His last words on this earth were spoken to his son, George W. Bush, saying, I love you, too. You only have to look at his family and see the influence of George and Barbara Bush in their lives. But what surprised me was the revelation that George H.W. Bush was not only a friend, but also a mentor to a few men whom someone called Bush s brothers of different mothers. Surprisingly, at least to me, was that one of these was President Bill Clinton, who beat Bush in the election. Later, they became not only good friends, but brothers family. Talk about a miracle! Throughout the service there were expressions of how much his Christian faith played an important part in his life -- all the way to the end. They acknowledged that he was not perfect, but he was humble, and he believed service to others was a primary part of life. The pastor of his home church in Houston talked about how this kind of friendship and humble service may seem like something fading and from a bygone era but, he added, it did not have to be that way. My hope is that everyone not only in attendance, as well as everyone who was watching the service on TV, will be inspired to act in such a way as to help return our families, our communities, our nation, and even the whole world to some of those practices and values talked about and reflected in the life of George. H.W. Bush. However, we do not have to be President, or even the mother of Jesus, to express the love of friendship and family. I believe we are each called by God to bloom we have been planted to find ways to let our faith shape how we might humbly serve others in the name of Christ. Both Mary and President Bush seemed to grasp that this was bigger than just them. Bush felt the need to serve, not only his country, but even the whole world for example, working to bring peace after the Cold War. Mary realized this was more than just about her unexpected miraculous pregnancy and the problems that would come from that. When the song asks the question, Mary Did You Know? -- Mary sings away her response. Mary knew! And, so can we so do we! Today, if you did not know before, you do know now -- that Jesus is the Son of God sent to save this world and restore it to all that God intended. God uses ordinary people like you and me to be friends, to be family, and to humbly serve those we meet every day. In the strong name of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. 5