BELIEVE

December 23^rd, 2018        “BELIEVE”      Rev. Heather Jepsen

Luke 1:39-56 and Micah 5:1-5a

         There are many holiday decorating trends and each year something new seems to pop up.  One year it was elf on the shelf, and one year it was silver trees.  This year there are sure a lot of those spot lights that you can shine on your house that rotate different images or laser lights.  I think we have three new sets on our street alone.  Several years ago, the trend was signs that were simply one word, “Believe.”  It wasn’t clear what exactly we were supposed to “believe” in.  Some signs had Santa on them so I think the admonition was to “Believe in Santa”.  But a lot of folks took these signs to mean “Believe” in the Christmas story of Jesus.   This became a popular gift among folks in my old church and consequently your pastor has one of the best collections of “Believe” signs and ornaments around.

I was reminded of this holiday slogan as I was studying the texts for this week.  Today it is still Advent, a time to prepare our hearts for our Lord’s coming, now and in the future.  We stand on the precipice of Christmas, as tomorrow night we will celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  But today, we are still preparing. 

In our reading from Luke, Mary is preparing as well for the birth of Jesus.  She has gone to visit her cousin Elizabeth who the angel told her is also pregnant.  As Mary arrives and calls out to her relative and friend, the child within Elizabeth’s womb leaps for joy.  Readers of the gospel know that this baby is the prophet John the Baptist, and even in-utero he is announcing the arrival of the Messiah. 

Elizabeth is overcome and cries out “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb” announcing to all Mary’s special status as the mother of our Lord.  Elizabeth adds “Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”  There’s that word, “believe”. 

Elizabeth has an interesting view on this “believing” matter.  Earlier in this chapter an angel appeared to her husband, Zechariah, a priest.  Within the holy of holies Zechariah was visited by the angel Gabriel and was told that his wife, Elizabeth, would bear him a son who would be a great prophet.  Zechariah questioned the angel and Gabriel chastised Zechariah, “Because you did not believe my words, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur.”  Zechariah didn’t believe and it cost him.

 Mary of course, is visited by this same angel, and although she asks questions about how a virgin might become pregnant, her response is clear, “Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”  And so, as the two women gather together to celebrate these miraculous pregnancies, Elizabeth makes her astute observation, “Blessed is she who believed.”

Mary’s belief leads to her state of blessedness.  When I speak of belief leading to blessing it is not in a prosperity gospel understanding of things.  Our relationship with God is not transactional, like if I do this then you owe me that.  Rather, Mary’s belief leads to a blessed world view, a new way of living in hope and looking to the work of God in the world. 

We see this in her song, the Magnificat.  Mary is moved and sings out, but her song is not about blessings and babies.  Instead her song is about Advent, and the coming of God’s reign of justice and peace.  God has looked with favor on the lowly and downtrodden.  The humble are lifted up and the proud are scattered.  The powerful are knocked off their thrones.  The bellies of the hungry are filled and the rich go away empty handed.  This is that same Jewish apocalyptic writing that keeps showing up on Sunday mornings.  This is the hope that God will come again and make the world right.  This is what we are looking forward to during our Advent season of preparation.  What does Mary believe?  She believes the promise of God to bring hope and peace to our world once more.

Our reading from Micah is also encouraging us to believe in the saving power of our God.  “But you, O Bethlehem, from you shall come forth the ruler of Israel”.  We love this reading this time of year as it speaks of the woman in labor and the birth in Bethlehem, but this too is Advent prophecy.  Written at the time of Bethlehem’s destruction, when the people were in exile, this was a word of hope to the people of Israel and Judah.  Labor and new birth are common metaphors for God’s bringing of a new world of justice and peace.  Micah looks for this justice to come from the land of Bethlehem.  Micah looks for a ruler who will rule with peace, rather than the sword.  Micah believes in God’s word for the future.

All of these texts offer us hope today.  We too are a people who are looking for hope in our world.  We are a people who are longing for a prince of peace and not war.  We are a people who are yearning for God’s justice.  And we are a people who want to believe. 

(show pictures of modern Bethlehem)

Many of you know that I visited Bethlehem this past spring, and I will never read these texts the same.  Modern Bethlehem is a place of hardship and suffering.  Home to the Palestinians, it is a place of violence and fear.  Within Bethlehem is the one square mile Aida refugee camp, the most tear gassed place on our planet.  Surrounded by walls which are manned by snipers, the residents of Bethlehem are not free to come and go as they please.  With checkpoints on every corner and gates often closed, the Bethlehem of today is as sad and sorry as it was during the time of Micah.

When we contemplate this setting, it brings new meaning to our texts.  “Now you are walled around with a wall . . . siege is laid against us . . . but you, O Bethlehem, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule Israel . . . and they shall live secure . . . to the ends of the earth . . . for he shall be one of peace.”  Blessed are we when we believe in this Advent hope.  Blessed are we when we believe in the power of God to bring healing and restoration to Bethlehem and all the broken parts of our world.

Today we gather around the communion table and this is always a place where we look forward to God’s good and glorious reign.  As we gather here with family and friends, we share our belief as a community.  We tell the story of our Lord, come to be one of us, and to share with us the profound love of God.  And we look forward to the day when people will gather from all corners of the globe and celebrate together at our Lord’s Table.  “And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth; and he shall be the one of peace.”  “For the Mighty One has done great things, and holy is God’s name.”

This Christmas as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the first Advent of God among us, let us also believe in the second Advent of our Lord.  Let us live each day yearning and hoping for the healing power of God.  Let us look for small acts of justice and peace.  Let us strive for a better world.  And let us bring the Christmas spirit into every interaction we have.  God has promised us a new a glorious creation, God has promised us healing and peace.  Today let us believe.  Amen.