Loving God, there are times when our faith is strong and there are times when we need some help to know what comes from you.  Strengthen us in our faith as we gather together today, empowering us by your Holy Spirit for life in your service; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

    Mary has just had an encounter with an angel.  It was not just any angel, but the archangel Gabriel, and Gabriel had some pretty amazing things to say.  Mary will conceive and give birth to a son.  This will happen by the power of the Holy Spirit.  This will be no ordinary child, but the Son of God and the Messiah.

    For most people, this would be almost impossible to believe.  The angel knows this, and tells Mary about another amazing thing that God has done.  You see, Mary has a relative named Elizabeth who has also experienced a miraculous conception.  After many years of being unable to conceive a child, Elizabeth is now in her sixth month and carries within her the future John the Baptist.  And so, today’s gospel begins with Mary travelling “with haste” to go and visit Zechariah and Elizabeth (Lk. 1:39).

    It is fairly easy to imagine why Mary would want to go and see Elizabeth right away.  One can imagine that she would want to see for herself if what the angel had told her was true.  At the same time, it makes sense that Mary would want to talk to a woman who might understand God’s propensity for miracles.  Whereas others might not believe Mary at all, with Elizabeth there was at least the possibility of some understanding.  And so Mary undertakes the 163 km journey from Nazareth to Ein Kerem to go and spend some time with Elizabeth.

    For Mary, it must have been a tremendous boost for her faith when Elizabeth is immediately filled with the Holy Spirit and confirms the angel’s message.  John, who is still in Elizabeth’s womb, immediately recognizes the presence of Jesus, who is in Mary’s womb, and leaps for joy.  And Elizabeth exclaims, “Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord” (Lk. 1:45).  Apparently Mary wasn’t imagining things.  She really is carrying within her the Messiah - the Son of God.

    Mary is then set free to sing an amazing song of faith – amazing because so much of it comes from Scripture – amazing because of the great reversals in it – amazing because of the family names to be found in it – amazing because of the fulfillment of God’s promises.

    Perhaps thankfully, none of us have had the angel Gabriel appear to us and give us a message like the one Mary received – at least not as far as I know!  If it had happened to us, I suspect that most of us would have a great deal of trouble believing it.  Of course, we would not be the first people in history to have trouble believing such things.  Zechariah also had trouble believing it when the angel Gabriel appeared to him in the temple and told him that his wife Elizabeth would conceive and bear a child (Lk. 1:5-23).  Joseph, too, had trouble believing what Mary told him, and only accepted it after an angel appeared to him in a dream and confirmed what Mary said (Mt. 1:18-25).  To us, it is only natural that these people - and Mary, too - should have their doubts.

    In each of these cases, though, things happened to confirm that all of the angelic messages were true.  What about for us when we have our doubts?  What about for us when we find God’s message to us hard to believe?  After all, the one who created the universe tells us that we matter to him – that we are loved – that we are worth the birth, life and death of his Son.  Can you believe it?

    Even today, there are things that happen that help in strengthening and confirming people’s faith.  Sometimes these things involve very young children – just as John recognized Jesus when he was still in the womb.  I have heard from a number of different people about little ones who still remember being with God or sitting on God’s knee or being with Jesus before they were born.  Sometimes it really is little children who lead us!

    In other cases, people experience answers to prayer that are miraculous or that happen in such a way that God’s power at work is undeniable.  In my case, this is how my faith was strengthened and confirmed – I saw answers to prayer and evidence of the power of the Holy Spirit at work.  However, not everybody seems to have these experiences.

    For some people, they have more of an intellectual approach to things – like C.S. Lewis, for example, who reasons through many of the things related to the Christian faith.  Others like Lee Strobel have written a number of books based on a journalistic approach to Jesus and faith, presenting all of the evidence that suggests that the stories about the birth and life and death and resurrection of Jesus really are true.

    Still others have found the gift of faith in their hearts as they have studied the Scriptures, discovering in those pages God’s Living Word, who is Jesus.  Some have even reported being converted after reading what we might consider to be odd books - like Leviticus.  Apparently one man who had a lot of medical knowledge found that many of the prohibitions in Leviticus made perfect sense in that time and place and thus began his journey of faith.

    Really, what we are talking about today is believing God’s promises.  Mary believed God’s promises -- but still travelled to visit Elizabeth and confirm the angel’s message.  Abraham believed God’s promises -- but sometimes proposed his own solutions when God didn’t appear to be acting fast enough.  Sarah laughed.  Zechariah couldn’t believe it and was struck speechless until John was born.  So many can say with the father who brings his son to Jesus: “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mk. 9:24).

    However, especially at this time of year we are reminded not only of God’s promises, but of their fulfillment.  In the big picture presented in the Scriptures, many of those promises were given a long time before they actually happened.  Hundreds of years before Jesus was born, we hear what prophets like Micah and Isaiah had to say.  In Jesus, promises made to Abraham and to David are fulfilled – promises also given hundreds of years before Jesus was born.  Those who lived at the same time as Jesus and who recognized him as the long-awaited Messiah were overjoyed to be able to see him during their lifetime.

    Through the Scriptures, we see the history of how God’s promises have been fulfilled over time.  Might that help us as we think about the promises that have been given to us?  After all, there is the promise of Jesus’ return (Jn. 14:3).  There is the promise that the gift of the Holy Spirit will be poured out on those who believe in Jesus (Lk. 24:49).  There is the promise that those who believe and are baptized will be saved (Mk. 16:16).  There is the promise that Jesus is with us always, even “to the end of the age” (Mt. 28:10).  There is the promise of forgiveness and salvation for all those who repent and put their faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38).  Can you believe it?

    Today, may the faith of Mary and the joy of Elizabeth inspire us and strengthen us in our own faith, that we might be ready to receive our Lord when he comes.  Amen.  Come, Lord Jesus.  Amen. Come, Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Advent 4(C)                                        Luke 1:39-55
December 23, 2012
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

© 2012 Lynne Hutchison  All Rights Reserved