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Luke 1 – New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

39 In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, 40 where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42 and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43 And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? 44 For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

Take Joy!

I salute you! There is nothing I can give you which you have not;but there is much, that while I cannot give, you can take.No heaven can come to us unless our hearts find rest in it today.Take Heaven.No peace lies in the future which is not hidden in this present instant.Take Peace.The gloom of the world is but a shadow;behind it, yet, within our reach, is joy.Take Joy.And so, at this Christmas time, I greet you,with the prayer that for you, now and forever, the day breaks and the shadows flee away.          

Fra Giovanni Giocondo

This Advent Season we are slowly walking together through the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke. The first Sunday of Advent we experienced, along with Zechariah, the miraculous news from the Angel Gabriel that Elizabeth would give birth to a son that they were to name John.  The second Sunday of Advent we were witness to Angel Gabriel’s announcement to young and innocent Mary that she too, would bring a child into this world, and was to name him Jesus. These annunciations of unexpected births set the stage for Mary’s visit this week to see her older kinswoman Elizabeth. In addition to the births of John and Jesus, these pregnancies brought forth the deep joy and deep grief that attended the lives and families of these two prophets, John and Jesus, extending all the way to today, to the families we have created 2,000 years later.  

I came across this Mary Oliver poem this week. 

WE SHAKE WITH JOY

We shake with joy, we shake with grief. 

What a time they have, these two

housed as they are in the same body.

I hear both of these poems resonating through the life of Andrew Niblock, Tom & Judy’s son, who died on Thursday, Dec. 5th from complications of ALS.  Andrew lived a remarkable life which he shared through reflections in his book “The Art of Marrying Well,” which he wrote using assistive eye-tracking technology. His book blended essays, poems, and life lessons; reminding readers of the importance of living authentically and joyfully, in all seasons of our lives. His unwavering positivity inspired me and many others. He consistently demonstrated his remarkable ability to turn personal challenges into opportunities for personal growth and contributions to the greater good. Andrew had experience with holding grief and joy in the same body. He opted to focus on joy.

As your pastor, I am privileged to be present for the interplay of joy and grief while visiting in hospitals and homes. This Advent Season there are sharply felt absences of our dearly departed family and friends. We hold our griefs alongside the joys of memories past. Like Mary and Elizabeth, we hold the joy and grief of complicated births and complicated families, at unexpected and unlikely times and places. If we are fortunate, the joy we encounter steadies us amid the grief. If we are fortunate our griefs are tempered alongside the joys of  being ensconced in multi-generational circles of love and care.

We in this community of faith are present for each other in beautiful and diverse ways. Sometimes grief comes in the form of need. When someone needs a meal… we are there. When someone needs help networking for employment or local services… we are there. When someone needs help making their budget dollars stretch to pay medical bills… we are there.  

Many of us relentlessly find ways to keep joy alive in our hearts and in the hearts of others.

Mary and Elizabeth were also focused on joy. Upon arriving, Mary entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth, likely in the traditional fashion. Shalom. Meaning, peace. Shalom. Meaning, may God cause all to be well with you. 

In our verses from the Gospel of Luke we learn that soon after Mary was told of these two holy conceptions she acted upon the news. Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where Elizabeth lived with her husband Zechariah. 

Why did Mary make this trip that was likely arduous and dangerous, especially for a young woman traveling alone? We can wonder about the motivating factors that prompted this visit. We can wonder if Mary went to see for herself whether the news from the Angel Gabriel of Elizabeth’s pregnancy was really true. We can wonder if Mary made the journey to be in the company of Elizabeth and to deepen and share the truth of their improbable situations. 

We can wonder if Mary needed nurturing and wisdom that only Elizabeth could provide. We can wonder if Mary sought the privilege of helping the elder Elizabeth through the final months of her pregnancy. We can wonder if they were together for mutual courage. We can wonder if they were together for the sheer joy of it.  

We are told that when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped for joy in her womb. Elizabeth listened to and trusted the messages from her body. And she shared her intuitions with Mary. Elizabeth gave Mary what was likely much needed human confirmation of what the Angel Gabriel had promised. 

In my reading this week I came across the thoughts of Paul Simpson Duke, who broadened my understanding of this scripture. He wrote, “Reasons such as these—confirmation of the promise, companionship with kindred hearts, the exchange of wisdom, support, and courage, and the flourishing of joy—[shared between Elizabeth and Mary]—are among the very reasons we join together in the church. [Mary’s visit to Elizabeth, he asserts] is the first gathering of the community of Jesus. [Details of the visit between these two women allow] us to recall how much we need each other, to draw fresh courage from each other, and to celebrate all that we share [together as children in the family of God.]” 

[Paul Simpson Duke suggests…] “If these two women are a prototype of church, they certainly embody how improbable and how subversive the church can be. They make quite a pair: a postmenopausal woman and a middle-school-age girl, both impossibly pregnant. … [who] confide only in each other, filled with [their God-given] power in a world that [conspires to keep them powerless].”

[His is a remarkable visualization…He wrote,] “Like Mary toward Elizabeth, we go to each other; like Elizabeth toward Mary, we bless each other; and like the fetal John the Baptist, [leaping for joy in Elizabeth’s womb], we gladly respond to the Christ in each other.”

“[This Advent Season I encourage us to see through this lens offered by Paul Simpson Duke, so that], like Elizabeth and Mary, we stand in the between times—[between the conception and the birth—between the mystery and the knowing—between the election and the transition of leadership]—and that like [Mary and Elizabeth], as different as we may be from each other, [we are  in this together—waiting and wondering]— ‘expecting’ and rejoicing.”

I pray that our vision of “The Church” allows us to see this world clearly, and that we endeavor to practice living authentically and joyfully in this Advent Season and in the seasons that follow. 

Amen

Rev. TJ Mack – December 15, 2024