A THRILL OF HOPE: THE PROMISE OF HOPE

Sermon Notes, December 23, 2018

Rev. Garry McGlinchy

Pastor Garry continued on the fourth Sunday of Advent with his sermon titled “A Thrill of HOPE: The Promise of HOPE.”  The scripture basis was Luke 1:39-55, where Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth during the miraculous pregnancy of each of them.

Love is hard to define.  Mary’s story shows us a different kind of love.  Unwed mothers were (and still are) called many things.  Blessed isn’t usually one of them.  In Mary’s day, condemnation was the norm.  Following the instructions in Deuteronomy, unmarried women who were pregnant were to be stoned to death at their father’s door.

 Mary goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who is married to a priest, not knowing how she will be received. The promises of old are being fulfilled as Mary and Elizabeth greet one another.  The babe in Elizabeth’s womb leaps as he recognizes the One they have been waiting for.  Mary’s response is to sing.

Her song is one of God’s promises being fulfilled, and an act of resistance to the oppression they have been facing.  This parallels the songs of Moses and Miriam after the Israelites crossed the Red Sea. (Exodus 15)  It is a song of deliverance and God’s faithfulness.  Miriam was singing of deliverance from the oppression of Egypt and the miracle of crossing the Red Sea.  Mary was singing of deliverance from the oppression of the Roman Empire and the miracle of the Messiah that was coming.  Both songs refer to the mighty arm of God.  The theme is the strength and power of God where people feel weak and vulnerable and God is powerful to save.

Mary’s song speaks of a new kingdom in complete opposition to the kingdom of this world.  The Kingdom of God is to be grasped and lived into even in the midst of its unfolding.  She uses a powerful prophetic imagination to help other live into that hope.

While Mary is declared to be blessed, she is not blessed for her own sake, but for the sake of the world.  Elizabeth speaks words of blessing to Mary; Mary speaks words of hope and blessing to the oppressed.  She doesn’t just receive the blessing, but in her song declares blessing over all the people of Israel.  She declares the faithfulness of God in tearing down rulers of this world and meeting the needs of the poor.  The Messiah is coming to bless everyone through the ushering in of a new kingdom.  She speaks of the mercy of God for all the children of Israel, not just for herself.  Mercy is not something to be hoarded, but rather all people experience mercy through the coming of the Christ.

We also have a song to sing.  As people who know the end of the Advent Story, who know the faithfulness of God through Jesus, we can declare the hope and fulfillment of promises even as we wait for the “not yet” of the Kingdom of God to be fulfilled in our midst.  We know the hope that comes even though we live at times in the shadow of death.  We are to sing songs that remind us of who we are and give us strength to carry on when we don’t feel like it.  We are blessed to bless others.  We are to give away our blessing, to extend the message of hope, love, mercy, peace, and joy to the world.  We are to share the blessing with everyone until Christ returns.