Sermon: A Song of Love

Luke 1: 39-55, by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
December 20, 2015
Fourth Sunday of Advent

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

And Mary said,
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.’ – Luke 1: 39-55

Many of us have a favorite Christmas carol or Christmas hymn. In the Christian tradition music is a proclamation of God’s grace. It enfolds us in the mystery of God in powerful ways that transcends ordinary words. We felt this joyful mystery last Sunday from our own choir singing such a beautiful Christmas medley and at The Lighting of the Way; a movable feast of worship and praise among our sister churches in the Van Wyck community. We all got caught up in the joy of worship and even your pastor was clapping and swaying with the choir at White Oak A.M.E. Church! It was a good Sunday!

What is your favorite Christmas carol or Christmas hymn?

My favorite Christmas song is “Mary Did You Know.” I love the words of the first and third verses:

Mary did you know that your baby boy would one day walk on water?
Mary did you know that your baby boy would 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…
Mary…
Did you know that your baby boy is heaven’s perfect lamb?
This sleeping child you’re holding is the great I Am.

Those words always bring tears to my eyes because we know Mary’s story from this side of the cross. This baby boy is the great I Am and is the One who will grow to understand the depths of our humanity. This Son will empower us to feel the strength of God in the midst of our limitations. This holy Child that Mary is carrying bears the fullness of God’s love to rewrite our broken past into the hope of God’s new creation. The Son of God will bear the joy of God’s salvation from a threadbare wooden manger to a rugged wooden cross.

The words of “Mary Did You Know” point back to today’s text. Luke’s story captures an incredible shift we see in this young teenage girl. Mary is moved from initial fear and shock with Gabriel’s presence and news to an urgent need to share what is happening with her relative Elizabeth. As it all settles in, Mary cannot contain herself any longer. She lifts her voice in a song of love, praising and magnifying the Lord.

Mary’s spirit is empowered by the news of Jesus Christ. And I think this empowerment gave Mary the conviction to know in part that this holy Child would indeed deliver her, the people of God, and all generations to follow. Mary rejoiced in God her Savior without fully knowing how God’s plan would play out. She had a sense that the Mighty One has done and will continue to do great things to bring about God’s divine purposes.

Think back to the time that you encountered the joy of knowing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. It may have been a defining moment in your life. Or maybe Christ's spiritual presence took hold of you through gentle taps through the years. However you have encountered Christ in your life, it certainly brings some clarity, for we only know in part. Jesus Christ ultimately reveals to us the joy of salvation, for God so loved the world that God sent Emmanuel to reveal God is with us every step along this journey of life and faith. God comes alongside us and enters into the fullness of our humanity.

Encountering Christ also brings some clarity to the way we should live our lives. God's steadfast love, grace, and forgiveness change the way we see the world and ourselves. That love, grace and forgiveness bring a new found joy – a spiritual empowerment - that nothing in the world can provide apart from God.

As we go through life we continue to seek the joy of God's salvation. It is a journey of looking for God's presence in the ordinary moments of life. We encounter the sacred in these ordinary moments as we listen and look for God’s presence. God's holiness continues to reveal God's actions to deliver us and shape us to be the people God desires us to be. It moves us to magnify the Lord in our own songs of praise.

You and I are here today because we have heard a portion of God’s song of love in our lives. The Christ Child takes up residence in the spiritual womb of our hearts through God’s Spirit. The fullness of God’s love and promises have caused some sort of shift in our lives. In some way we have experienced the spiritual empowerment of Jesus Christ. The hope of being delivered by Christ is that our story bears witness to a life that is changed by the grace of God.

I love the way poet Ann Weems says it in her book, “Kneeling in Bethlehem:”

Each year the Child is born again.
Each year some new heart
finally hears
finally sees
finally knows love.
And in heaven
there is great rejoicing!
There is a festival of stars!
There is celebration among the angels!
For in the finding of one lost sheep,
the heart of the Shepherd is glad, and
Christmas has happened once more.
The Child is born anew
and one more knee has bowed!

As we draw ever closer to the Christ Child’s birth on Christmas Eve and listen for the familiar songs of God’s love, I ask you this: What are you seeking? What situation are you holding that needs to move from fear or brokenness to being empowered by God’s love? In what are you waiting for God’s deliverance?

Remember your past experiences of knowing the joy of God’s salvation. Hold onto the conviction that the Christ Child, the great I Am, bears the fullness of God’s love and divine promises. You may not fully know what will happen in the situation you are holding. But trust that the Mighty One will do great things to bring about God’s presence, hope, peace, and joy.

Listen to the song of God’s love through you favorite Christmas hymns and let God’s mysterious presence embrace you. Listen for the song of God’s love through the support of family and friends who reveal that God comes alongside us in the messiness of our humanity.

As you listen and look for God’s presence, lean a little deeper into trusting the strength of God’s grace as you draw near to that threadbare manger. Let the spiritual womb of your heart praise God for all God has done and will do - not just in your individual life but in our collective stories - in the empowering and strong name of Jesus Christ.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sources:

Ann Weems, "Kneeling in Bethlehem" (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1987), p. 26.