This Sunday, our Advent journey continues with Elizabeth’s story, which quickly becomes intertwined with the more familiar story of Mary, a cousin of Elizabeth who receives her own visit from Gabriel and the promise of a miraculous pregnancy. We’ll look at how their connection helps give them strength to continue in their calling. In the midst of weariness, joy and rejoicing grow through connections and community.
This is week 2 in our Advent 2023 “How does a weary world rejoice?” theme from A Sanctified Art, which is where the quotes in the sermon come from. Today’s message focuses on Luke 1:24-45, 56, and a few bits are repeated from a 2016 sermon on Mary’s call story.
Here’s this week’s worship livestream and sermon podcast audio.
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Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen
Last week, we heard about Zechariah, a Levite priest who was serving in the temple when the angel Gabriel appears and informs him he and his wife Elizabeth—who’s “getting on in age”—are going to have a child. We talked about Zechariah’s doubts, how the angel struck him mute, forcing him into silent reflection on the miracle God was doing.
What we did not hear last week was Elizabeth’s perspective. For years, Elizabeth has been unable to conceive a child, in a society where it’s very much expected that a married woman ought to have children. She’s noticed the whispers as the neighbors wonder if maybe God has something against her and her husband. She even calls it a “disgrace” she has endured among her people. She’s wondered if there’s something wrong with her, something she should have done differently. I suspect she’s probably felt isolated as her peers grew their families, and it became harder to relate to her friends and relatives.
In Luke’s story, Elizabeth doesn’t speak until verse 25, where we started today’s reading. When we do hear from her, she is five months pregnant and praising God, giving thanks for the miraculous child inside of her. She is ready for this baby; she has been waiting for this for years.
And yet, Luke tells us that since she conceived, Elizabeth has remained in seclusion. Is she embarrassed it took a literal act of God for her to get pregnant?
Perhaps over her years, she has endured and grieved miscarriages. Is she afraid it’s too late for her, that even with a child growing inside of her, something will still go wrong, afraid to get her hopes up?
Was she worried about what the neighbors would say, shaking their heads at the idea of a woman her age having a baby? Or perhaps she is in spiritual solidarity with her husband, waiting in silence for the angel’s promise to be fulfilled. Imagine all the emotions swirling around in her.
In verse 26, Luke pulls back from Elizabeth’s story and shifts his lens to focus on another person, a young woman over in a small town called Nazareth, in the region of Galilee.
Mary is in a very different stage of life than Elizabeth. Luke doesn’t tell us her exact age, but she’s much younger than Elizabeth, a teenager, a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph. Like Zechariah, Mary is surprised to find an angel speaking to her. The angel says, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”
And I love the way Luke describes her reaction. He writes, “She was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.” I don’t know if the angel Gabriel had wings like in the paintings, or if he looked like a normal person, but either way, I think perplexed is a great way to describe her reaction.
Gabriel, seeing her perplexity, backs up a little, and says what angels nearly always say, “Do not be afraid.” I suspect that’s easier said than done when encountering an angel. Gabriel tells her to not be afraid, and then repeats that Mary has found favor with God, and he goes ahead and outlines this plan, that she’s going to give birth to the Son of God.
I don’t know what Mary thought she had planned for her life. She’s engaged to Joseph, so there are probably wedding plans, maybe a house under construction, perhaps even thoughts of children in the not too distant future. But this is not what Mary was planning. She is not ready for a child, on several levels.
Mary might be young, but she knows a few things, and she has a rather important question: How exactly is this going to work? She knows certain things need to happen before she can have a baby, and there are some pretty important details not specified.
Nevertheless, after Gabriel explains a little bit more—it’s the work of the Holy Spirit—Mary responds, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”
Mary is not ready, and there’s a lot she doesn’t know yet, but she says yes to God. What an example of faith! She agrees to be part of God’s plan; she’s on board to participate in the work God is doing.
And then she sets off to go see her relative Elizabeth, whom the angel has told her is also miraculously expecting a child. This is not a leisurely visit; Luke says Mary sets off with haste. Even though she has said yes to God, she still has some questions, so she makes the roughly 80 mile journey to go see her cousin quickly, looking for connection, looking for someone who understands, trying to find a sense of peace in the midst of her entire life being disrupted.
Maybe she feels like Elizabeth is the only one who might understand, because certainly she can’t expect Joseph to understand. Her parents aren’t likely to celebrate with her. This is not the way things were supposed to turn out for her. Elizabeth is probably the only other person in the world experiencing a miraculous pregnancy after an angel’s visit.
When Mary arrives, Elizabeth greets her (and notice Zechariah says nothing – still mute), and in Elizabeth’s greeting, her seclusion comes to an end.
Artist Nicolette Peñaranda’s painting of this moment illustrates the beauty of their connection. In her artist statement, she talks about her own experience this spring of the traumatic birth of her own child and the struggle of driving back and forth to the NICU to check on her three pound infant.
Some of you know Jonah spent a few days in the NICU in Grafton this spring after he was born, and he was about the mildest NICU case I can imagine. He just needed a little extra time to learn to eat well. Having premature infant spending weeks in the hospital is a whole other ballgame.
Pastor Nic writes, “It was terrifying and tiresome. But during that time, so many wonderful people sought us out. We were gifted food, baby clothes, childcare, and rest. But the greatest gift was the comfort I received from other people who had given birth. There was this sacred sharing of birth stories and postpartum depression. Parents passed on beautiful garments that they, too, received after birthing a preemie. Some of these pieces looked like they had been passed down many times before, like each thread held a memory from a different family. We were connected.”
In their mutual experiences of disruption, uncertainty, even fear and doubt, mixed with hope and joy, Mary and Elizabeth find a connection. Mary’s arrival seems to be the catalyst for Elizabeth to come out of her seclusion, and Elizabeth’s affirmation of Mary’s call gives her strength to return home after three months and carry out the task to which God has called her.
Pastor Lisle Gwynn Garrity writes that in this story, she wants to “highlight the mutuality of their joy—even if they each cannot feel joy for themselves, they are both holding joy for each other. From that connection, joy grows.”
Sometimes that’s our call as people of God, as members of a community. In Isaiah, God says, “Comfort, O comfort my people.” In this weary world, we are called to comfort one another. Paul calls us to “Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.” The life of faith is not meant to be walked alone. We need each other. Even in times of weariness when we are not able to rejoice ourselves, we can carry each other’s joy. We can take strength from each other’s faith.
That’s part of why it’s so important to tell our stories of faith, our testimonies of experiencing God’s faithfulness. We need to hear from those who have had similar experiences, who have been through the valley and have found the way out.
This is not the same level of art as the rest of this series, but I saved this comic a few years ago as a reminder of the importance of mutual prayer. When we pray for one another, when we connect as God’s people helping each other on the journey of faith, we carry one another.
Have you had times when you drew strength from a connection with someone else? Maybe it was in the hospital, or perhaps a funeral. Maybe in more joyful times like starting a new job, or being part of a team.
How have you encouraged others—family, friends—as they seek to follow God’s call? Where do you look for strength on those days when the weariness of this world gets to you?
Mary’s yes to God is obviously at the heart of the Christmas story, but Elizabeth is essential as well. Elizabeth affirms Mary’s call, declaring her to be blessed. And in Mary’s visit, in the reaction of her own unborn child leaping in her womb, Elizabeth’s own faith is affirmed. Joy expands in connections, in community.
As we consider how to rejoice in a weary world, remember you are not alone. You are part of the body of Christ. Even in times of physical isolation, even in times of loneliness, Christ is with you.
You have gifts and a story to share, and your community needs you, just as you need community. The Holy Spirit is surrounding you, and you are not alone. May you find joy and peace in connecting with God and with each other. Amen