Today we hear the story of what has
been dubbed, “The Visitation.” This is the time when Mary, after
agreeing to be part of God's plan as announced by Gabriel, runs off
to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who is also a key player in this story
and experiencing a miraculous pregnancy of her own.
Upon her arrival, Elizabeth's unborn
child leaps for joy, Elizabeth offers a blessing, and Mary responds
with the Magnificat.
The Magnificat just might be the
greatest hymn/prayer of leveling ever produced. It is politically
subversive. It is full of hope. It looks forward to the time when
all of those man-made mountains are flattened and valleys uplifted,
thereby resulting in turning despair into joy. It proclaims how
things will be at the coming of the Lord. There is much to be said,
and much has been said, about how the Magnificat is one of the most
socially, politically, and economically dangerous pieces of
literature we have.
But before we get into that, we need to
back up a few verses.
We need to back up to the last words
spoken by Elizabeth: And blessed is she who believed that there
would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.
Blessed is she who believed. This is
important.
Without belief, Mary would not have
agreed to participate in this outlandish plan. Without belief, the
Magnificat becomes just another pipe dream. Yes, the Magnificat
sings of the coming of the Lord. Yes, the Magnificat glories in
promises fulfilled. Yes, the Magnificat is deeply subversive to our
way of life. But it is through belief that makes it possible.
Belief is sometimes a hard thing to get
a grasp on. Sometimes belief is presented as something simple that
will result in great things. If you only believe, you will be
healed. If you only believe, you can close your eyes, click your
heels together three times, and go home.
Sometimes it's used as a punishment.
If you really believed, they wouldn't have died. And other
like-sentiments.
But belief is more complicated than
that. Sometimes what we believe happens within our seeing, such as
Mary's belief that God has looked upon her with favor. More often
than not, what we believe is yet to come, such as when Abraham was
told he would be the father of a great nation. This is Advent –
belief in the already and not yet go hand in hand.
One reason belief is complicated is
because we believe in a God who, when asked, “Who should I say sent
me?” said, “Tell them, 'I Am' sent you.” And in a
confrontation with the religious leaders, Jesus said, “Before
Abraham was, I am.”
For us, we experience time, past and
present, and look forward to the future. But for God, there is no
past and no future, there just is. God is self-defined as “I Am.”
This makes the fulfillment of the kingdom problematic for us,
because it is a future, yet-to-happen event. For God, it already is.
Another reason belief is complicated is
because we must act on it.
It's not enough to say, “I believe in
God.” It's not enough to recite the Creed. It's not enough to
hear the Magnificat and admire how beautiful it is. We need to ask
ourselves, both as individuals and as a church body, “What is it we
are called to do?”
That question should be the foundation
of this parish and our faith.
What is it we are called to do? We are
called to worship, welcome, serve, and encourage. These are tangible
things that our belief leads us to act on.
When we act on our belief, God will
look with favor upon us. When we act on our belief, we can envision
a time when the proud will be scattered, the powerful brought down,
the lowly lifted up, and the hungry filled.
It's easy to believe when things are
going well. It's much harder to believe when things are difficult.
This is the tension we live into, this is the tension of Advent, and
this is the tension Mary lived into.
May we follow the example of Mary and
risk believing in God's promises that are not yet come but already
here. And may that risk lead us to act on behalf of God in a world
that sorely needs a righteous example.
Amen.
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