The Rev. Virginia W. Nagel
Ephphatha Parish of the Deaf
Episcopal Diocese of Central NY
Today's Bible readings give us two themes that weave together and entwine
themselves around each other to give us a better understanding of what Advent is
al about.
The first theme has to do with the building of a Temple, a place to worship
God. During the time of the Exodus, God gave Moses clear directions on how to
build a Tent of Meeting, a special tent where the people could go to talk with
God. Until God gave Moses these directions, there had not been any question of
where God was, or where God lived, or how people could communicate with God. The
people were led out of Egypt and through the desert by God himself, in the form
of a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. They could see for
themselves that God was always with them, and they knew that they had to obey
God: when the pillar of cloud went on to the east, they followed. When the
pillar of cloud or fire stopped, they stopped, and pitched their camp. It was
very clear: God is always with us.
Then, after God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, he gave instructions for the
building of a Tent of Meeting. It was not a place for the people to meet each
other. No business meetings were held there. It was a place for people to go to
meet with God. The Tent of Meeting was made of the best and finest cloth, and
furnished with gold and silver, sweet-smelling cedar wood, and the best things
the people could make to honor God. The Tent of Meeting was set up right in the
middle of the camp every time they stopped, because God is always in the midst
of his people. The directions God gave Moses for making the Tent of Meeting, and
carrying it from place to place, and setting it up again every time they pitched
camp, were a clear teaching: God is always with us.
Perhaps if we all remembered that and behaved with the knowledge that God is
always with us, there would be less crime and trouble in the world. What do
you think?
Several hundred years later, when David became king, God promised him that
David's family would always rule over Israel, as long as they obeyed God's Law.
Israel became a strong nation while David was king, and he built a fine palace
for himself and his family. And then he thought: it is not right for me to
have a fine house while God still lives in the Tent of Meeting. I should build a
beautiful Temple, where people can go to worship and praise God. So he
told God what he wanted to do...and we heard in the first reading today what God
had to say about it. David was not allowed to build the Temple, for two reasons:
first, he had committed a serious sin; and second, God lives among his people,
not in a building built by human hands. Many years later, David's son, King
Solomon, was allowed to build a Temple where people could worship God, but again
and again God reminded the people that he was always with them, never away from
them. The Temple was a place where people would go to praise God, but it was not
necessary to go to the Temple to pray. God was always with them in their homes,
their work, their travels.
Now let's turn to the Gospel reading. It's the story of how the angel Gabriel
appeared to Mary and told her that she would be the mother of God's son. And,
Gabriel added, Elizabeth, Mary's elderly cousin, was already six months
pregnant, although she was far beyond the age when women normally can have
children.
Think about that. The angel said to Mary, You are highly favored. God
has chosen you for a great privilege. You will become pregnant by the Holy
Spirit, and the child you will have will be the Son of God. You must call his
name Jesus.
Now, wait a minute! Mary was highly favored, chosen by God for a great
privilege. And what was included in that privilege?
First of all, she would be pregnant without being married. That doesn't seem
to bother many people today, but in those days, it would be considered proof
that she had broken the Law of God. Girls were not supposed to get pregnant or
to have any close contact with a man before marrying that man. Joseph could
break their engagement, and divorce her. If he did that, she could be stoned to
death for breaking God's Law. And even if he did not divorce her, and she was
not put on trial and killed, there is always gossip...especially in a small town
like Nazareth. She would bring public shame on her family. Joseph would probably
not truly trust her for a long time, even if he married her. Her baby would be
called a bastard, and that meant that he would be limited in what he could do in
the Temple, and in what jobs he would be allowed to do. All her life, she would
be known as a "bad" woman. And eventually, she would watch her son being nailed
to a cross, and see him die there, and help bury him in a borrowed tomb.
And what about Elizabeth? A woman in her fifties or sixties, who had never
been able to have a child, was now pregnant for the first time. Pregnancy
doesn't mix well with arthritis and the troubles and weaknesses of old age. A
woman of that age will not find it easy to raise a lively boy. And then he'll
run off and preach all over the desert, and never be around to help her as she
grew older and weaker. We don't know if she lived long enough to hear that King
Herod had ordered him killed; if she did, her grief would be harder to bear at
that age, too.
The truth is that almost every blessing brings problems with it. Blessings,
you see, flow from God's love, which includes the cross. You cannot separate
God's love from the pain of the Cross and of repentance, and from the difficult
struggle to bring God's love and justice to others in our world. People who were
baptized behind the Iron Curtain, even as recently as 20 years ago, might lose
their life or their jobs and homes, and be tortured. That happened during the
time shortly after Jesus' death and resurrection, too. The blessing of love and
marriage often leads to money problems, problems raising the kids, maybe
problems about jealousy of "the other woman", or resentment about the
limitations that marriage and parenthood put on the parents. The blessings of
being chosen to be a political or religious leader often bring big problems and
much suffering with them. So does the blessing of extraordinary talent in some
field...think of all the people who will be jealous, or misunderstand the
talented person's calling.
And what was Mary's reaction to all this?
First, she said, Be it done unto me according to your word. She
turned her whole self over to God to do what God wanted to do with her. She
committed herself wholly to God's Kingdom, God's plan of salvation, no matter
how much it would cost her.
You and I have done that too, through our Baptism and Confirmation vows. But
we do not, all of us, live out our vows with the whole-heartedness which Mary
had as she lived out hers.
And then, Mary praised God. She praised him for what he had already done for
his people, and for what he was going to do for her and for his people. She
committed herself to that work of his. Her song was lovely: the Magnificat.
And she began it in a lovely way: My soul has magnified, praised the Lord!
That is the pattern we have for our own prayer. It is the pattern the Psalms
follow, those Psalms that were the prayers and hymns of the Jewish people from
the time of David up to the present, and are our prayers and hymns today.
Even though we know that in following God and taking him as our Lord, we are
allowing him, not ourselves, to rule our lives...
Even though we know that many other people will not understand and will want
to follow their own ideas and make fun of us (or torture us) for following God's
ideas, instead...
Even though we know that doing God's work is not easy, and can bring great
difficulties and suffering...
We feel blessed because we are chosen people, people God has chosen and
accepted to be his own, people whom God trusts to help build his kingdom here on
earth, to bring others to him, to make earth more and more like heaven itself.
And so we praise the Lord with our hearts and souls, and rest peacefully in
the contentment of knowing that we are truly and wholly God's, and that we are
blessed to be his.
Amen.
