Wednesday, December 26, 2018

Sermon - Advent 4 - Luke 1:39-45


Luke 1:39-45
“The Visitation”

Today, as we stand on the brink of Christmas, the Gospel reading is from Luke 1, an episode called “The Visitation”. Mary, the mother of our Lord, visits her cousin Elizabeth. And miraculous words and actions take place. Elizabeth confesses her faith, by the Holy Spirit, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!”. But the unborn John who can't even speak also confesses his faith clearly, and “leaps for joy” in the womb. The Greek word actually means he “skipped”. In word and deed, these people of God welcome the unborn Christ, who is about to appear in the flesh.

I'd venture to say that in this time of year, many of us either visit someone or are visited by someone. Out of town family come for a while. Or maybe you stop by to see some friends. Maybe it's a party. Maybe is just to drop off gifts. Maybe it's just to talk and catch up with someone you haven't seen in a while. The holidays are a great excuse for a visit.

But not all visits go so well. As family and friends stop by, or else we go to visit them – a short visit can be a good time, or it can be another stressful obligation in a busy season. Maybe your in-laws seem more like outlaws. Maybe you're on the opposite side of politics with that certain someone. Or maybe it's just an overbearing personality or two that gets under your skin. It really shouldn't surprise us that holiday visits and visitors can be more of a headache than a joy. After all, we are all sinners – and one thing sinners know how to do is mess up something good. You might find yourself being relieved when even a short visit is over.

After all, a visit is a temporary arrangement. Visits, by definition, don't last forever. Mary stayed with Elizabeth about 3 months. Most of us don't entertain house guests anywhere near that long. If a visit becomes permanent, then it's a residential situation. And so by this measure, then couldn't we say we're all visitors here on earth? None of us will be here forever. We're all short-timers. We weep with those whose lives are cut short, say in a tragedy where some young people die. But really, death could come and visit any of us on any day, even at Christmas. Our problems as sinners in the world go far beyond not getting along with visiting relatives. We are at odds with creation, with each other, with ourselves, and our God. And so we're on the clock. Time is short.

Sinful man doesn't want, and really should not want a visit from Holy God, either. God's holy presence terrifies our old Adam. The original Adam and Eve hid in the garden when they had sinned, and God came to visit. Peter fell on his face before Jesus after the miraculous catch of fish and said, “Go away from me Lord”. Isaiah saw God in the temple and cried out, “I am ruined!”. Even today, some people don't or won't come to church out of a sense of unworthiness. They joke, “Lightning would probably strike me if I set foot in there”. But there's a seriousness behind it, an admission of sin, a wariness of the holy.

Maybe you and I should have a little more of that wariness. A little more sense of fear and awe when we, sinners, also approach or are visited by Holy God. Perhaps we take our confession a bit for granted, that we are deserving of temporal and eternal punishment. Let's not just mouth the words, but let's mean them. We, too, deserve the lightning strike, and much worse.

But there's a difference when God visits people who have faith. Like Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit. Like you and me, as we gather in God's presence each week. He comes to us, he visits us, not in judgment but in mercy. Not in wrath, but in kindness. Not with punishment, but with the forgiveness of sins won by Christ at the cross.

Because Jesus has visited our earth, visited his people, and not just for a pleasant hello and goodbye. His temporary time on earth was purposeful and meaningful. He had a job to do, and he did it. He had a life to give, and he gave it. His visit ended in his death, and his resurrection to glory. And those 33 years bring eternal blessings to all who trust in him. For he now prepares for us mansions in heaven, a permanent place for each of us.

But back to Elizabeth and Mary.
Elizabeth shared some kind words with Mary, but they were more than just the pleasantries of a warm greeting. They were words inspired by the Spirit of God: “Blessed are you among women, and  blessed is the fruit of your womb!

Elizabeth rightly calls Mary “blessed”. But it's not because Mary is without sin, or has some extraordinary spiritual credentials. Elizabeth probably knew Mary for Mary's whole life. She was probably old enough to be Mary's grandmother. She would have, normally, been the one due greetings of honor. But she lavishes Mary with her words of blessing.

Why is Mary blessed? Because of the fruit of her womb. Because he is blessed. He is the blessing that would bless all nations, promised to Abraham and delivered through Mary.

And Mary is also blessed because of her faith in the words of promise. She believed those words would be fulfilled. Unlike old Zechariah who doubted and demanded a sign. Mary's response of faith, “I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be to me as you have said.”

This short visit before each woman gives birth reminds us that even a brief visit with Jesus is cause to leap for joy. Just the sound of Mary's greeting was enough for unborn baby John to react. With Jesus, it doesn't take much.

What about the sound of our Lord's greeting, through the ones who bear him today? When the pastor invokes God's name, and Christ is present according to his promise? What a cause for joy! When the sins we confess are forgiven and absolved, by the pastor, as if by Christ himself in the flesh, we could leap for joy. When we hear God's voice in his holy word, equipping us with righteousness and showing us Christ, we rejoice all the more. And when we receive the very body and blood of Christ – when we taste and see and touch, if only for that brief moment, our soul could and should skip for joy within us. But not of our own reason or strength, but only through his Holy Spirit at work in us.

And finally, Elizabeth expresses her humility, “And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”

It's as if she says, “I'm not worthy for such a visit, from someone as honored as the mother of my Lord. Surely, Mary, you have more important people to see. Surely, Mary, you deserve a more fitting welcome than I can provide. After all, your womb is now home to the Lord of Lords and God of Gods, the Holy one of God, even the long-expected Christ.”

What blessings should come to me, poor, sinful, little old me, that God himself comes to visit me, and give his own body and blood for me, and give to me, yes, even me, his grace and mercy and love! And you, too, for that matter.

So take a page from Elizabeth and Mary and Unborn John. Confess your faith in Christ by word and by action. And don't be a stranger! May your frequent visits to his house make this place seem more like your home, and may it all remind you of and prepare you ever more for the eternal home Christ is preparing for you. Blessed are they, and blessed are you, who believe the words spoken to you will be fulfilled, in Christ our Lord. Amen.

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