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Dec. 20  Luke 1 : 46-55 

This morning we hone in on the line from Howard Thurman’s Christmas poem: “I will light candles of peace for tempest-tossed days.”  Candles of peace for days that are stormy or filled with upheaval, for days that are chaotic and unsettling, for days that are fear inducing or stressful.  I hope you have been making use of a candle or candles in your home this Advent.  Just lighting a candle changes the atmosphere of the space where you live, work, eat, and relate to others. At our house we often light the purple Advent candles at dinner, this year claiming them as candles of joy, of hope, of courage and of peace. 

Candles of peace.  Could be the literal candles lit at a peace vigil after the killing of one of our neighbors in Baltimore.  Could be the attempts at peacemaking between gangs here at home or between warring factions in Cameroon.  We could very easily turn our attention to peace in our community, peace between nations, peace between neighbors, even peace in your own family.  God knows we need some shalom, or well-being, in many of those areas!

But this morning I invite you to consider peace within instead of peace around us.  I mean peace of mind, peace of heart, peace of spirit.  Peace between you and God as we draw closer to Christmas.  Listen to the words from one of Howard Thurman’s meditations in Meditations of the Heart—  Thurman says: 

“I seek the enlargement of my heart that there may be room for peace.  Already there is enough room for chaos.  But the need of my heart is for room for Peace:  Peace of mind that inspires singleness of purpose; Peace of heart that quiets all fears and uproots all panic; Peace of spirit that filters through all confusions and robs them of their power. These I see NOW.  I know that here in this quietness my life can be infused with Peace.  Therefore, before God, I seek the enlargement of my heart at this moment, that there may be room for Peace.” 

Making room for peace in our hearts during tempest-tossed days is an ongoing challenge for any of us. Peace within could include falling into a restful sleep at night, enjoying quiet times of prayer and reflection during the day, sharing a laugh with a friend or loved one, recognizing that your Christmas celebrations must be adapted but still being committed to celebrating Christmas well, as Scrooge finally did at the end of A Christmas Carol.  Celebrating Christmas well is giving thanks for the birth of our Savior.

I want to lift up Mary as an example of a serious disciple who has found an inner peace even though the circumstances of her motherhood surely raised eyebrows among the nosy neighbors in her village, even in the face of the upheaval her child will bring to the world, reversing the fortunes of the rich and powerful and lifting up the lowly and the hungry, leveling the playing field for all of God’s children.

.  Mary seems to understand her newfound vocation in life, the Christ bearer, or as some will call her, “the mother of God”.  Last week we read earlier in Luke’s gospel that the angel Gabriel informed her (twice) that she was favored by God, not because of anything she had done, but because God chose her for a divine task. In her song she now responds with first praising God and then acknowledging for herself that God has indeed favored her, a young woman of low estate, very likely one of those Thurman refers to as the disinherited.  She is committed to following through on her response to God, allowing God to work through her in an amazing way.  We could say that this is one of the marks of a true disciple—one who is willing to allow God to work through him in ways that he could not do on his own. 

Mary proclaims the profound societal changes that will come about when this child is born, changes that tip the scales toward justice.  And she claims the work of God in the world as if it has already been accomplished, using the past tense all the way through—God has scattered the proud, God has brought down the powerful, God has lifted up the lowly, God has filled the hungry and sent the rich away empty, God has helped Israel, the nation who historically offended God’s holiness and compassion again and again, who violated God’s love and justice with their actions–  Mary signals a reversal of Israel’s fortunes, for God is now showing mercy toward them through the arrival of God’s Son in the flesh.

I wonder if Mary’s pregnancy felt like standing on the edge of a volcano of change that is about to erupt.  Of all people in this birth narrative, Mary knew for sure that this was no ordinary child.  The words of her song echo the words of Hannah, who was barren and prayed to God to open her womb.  Hannah’s story is found in the first chapters of 1 Samuel in the Old Testament—it is a God thing that our group reading through the Bible is reading 1 Samuel right now!  God listened to Hannah’s prayer, opened her womb, and she bore a son, Samuel, who she dedicated to serve the Lord, and who became a key figure in the story of the people of Israel.  Samuel was the prophet-judge who anointed their first human king, Saul.  Hannah’s song also describes the great societal and political reversals in the past tense, affirming yes, they are as good as done:  the bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble gird on strength; the Lord raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. She begins her song with these words of confidence and trust in God: “There is no Holy One like the Lord, no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. “  Mary has the same quiet confidence and trust in God who is guiding this pregnancy and the impact this child will have on the world.  She does not appear to be afraid, but sure.  She appears to have found a peace within her heart, within her spirit, within her mind even though there will be tempest tossed days ahead, even though this birth is going to turn the world upside down. 

In addition to echoing the words of Hannah, Mary’s song also foreshadows the reading that almost gets Jesus thrown off a cliff by his neighbors in Nazareth.  It was his first sermon in his home church.  He reads from the prophet Isaiah the passage about the Lord’s spirit which had anointed him to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free.  He could have added a phrase, to provide an inheritance for the disinherited.  Then he tells his listeners: “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” His ministry upends things, like the lava from the volcano of change flowing into the community around him, blanketing it with the kingdom of God which he is ushering in. 

In his book, Howard Thurman describes the way people who are disinherited must respond to the ever-present fear of living in a world of violence, threats and control by the privileged and powerful.   He says the way to survive is to cling to the foundational truth that each of us is a child of God.  No one can take that away.  When that status is claimed and celebrated, the tempest-tossed days have no real power.  There is a peace of spirit that filters through all the confusions and robs them of their power.  Each of us is a child of God.  Thurman’s point is that absorbing that truth brings peace within, pushing aside the fears and the tempests of life that surround those who are oppressed, vulnerable, living with constantly scarce resources, disinherited. 

Can we sit with that for a moment?  You are a child of God.  (pause)  Can we learn from Mary about making room in our hearts for peace?  Can we learn from Jesus about living as confident children of God?  Can we find a way to center ourselves in God even on tempest-tossed days?  Let us light the candle of peace, peace for ourselves, peace that comes from trusting that we are indeed beloved children of God, the peace that Christ gives, not the peace that the world gives.  May you enlarge your hearts to make room for that peace.  Peace be with you all.  Amen.

12.13.2020 Luke 1:26-38

Rose Bryant worked in retail, but she wanted to be a teacher.  She had started at an HBCU in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Stillman College, but did not finish her degree.  In 2015 she took a courageous step, quitting her job and visiting Stillman to see if she could pick up where she left off and work toward graduation.  A faculty member at this Presbyterian college told her about funds that were available to help students get both feet back in the door of higher education.  It was a scholarship provided by the Christmas Joy offering which we participate in each Christmas with Presbyterians all over the country.  Rose finished her coursework and graduated in 2019.  Now she is a 7^th grade language arts teacher in Dallas, Texas.  Rose says: “I don’t think I would be here without the support of Stillman. The amazing thing is that all of this has had a ripple effect.  I was able to finish my goal because of the support I received, and I know of at least six people who came directly to me about how they could do the same….” 

Sometimes all we need is a little step to stand on to take a courageous movement in a new, bold direction.  The Christmas Joy offering provides that little step for many students who are the first in their families to attend college. 

Mary had a couple little steps to stand on before she surrendered to the plan put forth by the angel Gabriel on God’s behalf.  She already knew God could do impossible things.  Her relative Elizabeth had been barren like forever, and now she was 6 months pregnant!  She would have grown up hearing the stories of an elderly Sarah giving birth to Isaac, of a barren Hannah giving birth to Samuel.  She would not put it past God to enter into her life in such a radical way. 

Another step to stand on was the message from this stranger who appeared in front of her.  There was really no reason for her to be selected for this role as the Christ bearer.  She was young, likely a teenager.  She came from an ordinary family, likely poor.  She lived in an out of the way village, not in the bustling big city.  She was definitely not on the lookout for God to show up in her life like this.  Imagine what is going through her mind when Gabriel shows up.  Why me?  What have I done to deserve a visitor like you? She was perplexed and probably at least a little afraid.

Gabriel addresses her as the favored one and tells her the Lord is with her.  Being favored means that she is the recipient of undeserved love from God.  She has been chosen for a big role in the developing story of the relationship between God and human beings.  Then Gabriel tells her not to be afraid.  Have courage.  Your life is about to be rearranged in a way you would never have imagined in a million years!   At first, she is puzzled, and with good reason: “how could this be?”  How could this be if she had never been physically intimate with a man, or as she says, literally,  I have never known a man.  It is a clear way to describe herself as a virgin, and many translations of the text just use the word virgin here.

How could this be?  Excellent question, you say.  How indeed?  This whole thing sounds improbable, if not downright impossible.  Mary knows good and well that she does not currently have the capacity to conceive and bear a child.  On her own this would not happen.  This is going to take divine intervention.  But look at what happened with Elizabeth, says Gabriel.  Nothing will be impossible for God.  That is the step Mary needs to stand on, the boost of courage to move forward into this new vocation as the bearer of a child who will be holy, even the Son of God, a king whose kingdom will never end.  Nothing will be impossible for God.

Mary was a young Palestinian woman living under the constant fear of the iron hand of the Roman government, expected to at least fake worship of the emperor, always keeping watch for soldiers who might mistreat her, forced to pay taxes to fund a military regime which oppressed her people.  She was among the disinherited that Howard Thurman describes in his book, Jesus and the Disinherited.  The disinherited are any people or groups who have their back against the wall, who have to figure out how to manage a life crowded with fear and hatred on a daily, even hourly, basis.  Written in 1949, Thurman refers to life in the Jim Crow south, but also to the prejudice and discrimination experienced by Blacks in the northern states as well. I feel like his words continue to speak directly to our time in history!  We still live with ongoing gaps based on skin color between people of privilege and opportunity and generational wealth and people without privilege or opportunity or generational wealth.

God dives right in to this social and political milieu.  God dives right in and bursts open the assumptions that God only uses the rich or the famous or the males or the mature or the powerful or the inherited.  God dives right in and shows us all that God works through ordinary people like Mary, ordinary people like you and like me.  The way Luke will spin this story of Jesus, God dives right in and especially works through the disinherited, the poor, the downtrodden, the vulnerable, the ones most likely to suffer and even die if they contract covid-19, the ones without stable housing, and so on.  God dives right in and Mary says YES

Mary listened to Gabriel’s  message—first she questioned it, but then she believed it and accepted it.  She submits to the Lord, ready to be the Lord’s servant, to be the vessel God has chosen her to be, as humble and disinherited as she is. 

Remember the words from Thurman’s poem:  I will light candles this Christmas.  Candles of courage for fears ever-present.  For some of us the fears never go completely away.  They may not be at the forefront all of the time, but they are ever-present.  Fears for our young Black men who could potentially be targeted by police, by vigilantes, by any of us, when assumptions are made just because of their appearance.  Fears of driving through a neighborhood where you might arouse suspicions.  Fears of a rampant virus.  Fears of what the future may hold for our children and grandchildren.  Fears of a medical diagnosis for ourselves or a loved one.  Fears of being alone.  Fears about aging and losing independence.  What fears seem ever-present in your life?  What fears do you try to push back and ignore, but find that they continue to bubble up to the top on a regular basis? 

We all need a little step to stand on, a step to give us courage to move forward when fears are ever-present.  We don’t get an obvious visit from an angel to remind us that all things are possible with God.  Or do we?  Perhaps we can we see God’s messengers, for that is what the word angel means—messenger—all around us.  God’s messengers can show up in the darndest places—when you are waiting for your car repair, when you connect with a friend from long ago, when you see a colorful sunset, when you read a poem that touches your heart.  Messengers can bring different messages at different times.  I have heard you say, “That encounter, that phone call, that event, came at just the right time for me!”  God’s messengers can give us courage even though the fears don’t go away.  God’s messengers can push us toward being the vessels God has chosen us to be in our own environment.  We can use the little step to propel us into accepting the role God has equipped us for—a listener, a baker, a note writer, a song writer, a child care giver, a non-anxious presence, a support for someone in grief or turmoil, an agent of change in our society that seems mired in the ripple effects of barriers set up for black, indigenous and all people of color in this country, even 70 years after Thurman wrote his book, Jesus and the Disinherited. 

I want to encourage you to watch for God’s messengers. To listen to the message.  To believe and accept.  You too can reflect the light into the darkness of this world we live in.

 One of God’s messengers to me this week was a card from the Sisters at Emmanuel Monastery.  It came to the church, addressed to the interim pastor who was here before me, at least 10 years ago!  They clearly keep their mailing lists for a long time.  Sometimes I open those envelopes and sometimes I don’t.  This week I did.  The words on the card are these:  One woman trusted God and carried the Hope of the World…it is now our task to bear that same Hope into the world today.  Emmanuel!  Let us be lighters of candles of courage where fear is ever present. Amen.