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December 24, 2006

Luke 2: 39-56

"My Soul Magnifies the Lord"

She is pregnant! The pink tip of the stick seems to glare back at her. The stick seems to flash: She’s pregnant in hot pink neon letters! The stick also seems as if it was a beacon of light unto the world, shining the light into all the dark places so that everyone knows that she is pregnant. Thoughts and fears start rushing to her head. How did this happen? They used protection! She’s only fourteen.

She starts to cry and wonder what is she going to do with a baby? She is afraid now. She doesn’t know who to talk to. Her cousin! She’s pregnant too! She runs to her cousin’s house. She rings the doorbell. When the door opens, she runs through crying, sobbing, breaking down and telling her cousin everything.
Her cousin calms her down, gives her a hug, and says It is not about you anymore. It is all about the baby.
Every day, a young girl finds herself pregnant. Every day, a young girl struggles to know what to do about the baby. Every day, a young girl learns that it is not about her any more, but that it is all about the baby. Just like Mary did two thousand years ago.

I picture Mary having a similar experience as the young girl in the beginning of the story. Sitting in her house, shocked and stunned. She has just learned that she has been chosen to bring forth the Messiah. Not from a pregnancy test but from an angel. Her own personal pregnancy test. Not an EPT but an Apt-angel pregnancy test! They are guaranteed a 100% accuracy!
And on top of that, she learns that her cousin who was not supposed to be able to have children is pregnant!

Then all of sudden, it sinks in what is going on here! Thoughts and fears start rushing into her head. The morning sickness, the stretch marks, the cravings…and she didn’t even consider what would happen nine months from now! How is she going to give birth to the Son of God! Is it going to be painful? Is it even going to be possible?

She is afraid now. She has no one to talk to. Well, except Elizabeth. Elizabeth would understand because, well, she is experiencing a miracle now, also.

She runs to Elizabeth’s house, oblivious to the fact that she is making the journey on her own. She rushes through the door and cries out for Elizabeth! Elizabeth sees her and stops. Elizabeth pauses and puts her hand on her own stomach! The baby just kicked! And then, Elizabeth knows…she knows why Mary is here.

She gathers Mary into her arms, calms Mary down, and says to her, It is not about you anymore. It is all about the child. Mary there is something special about your child, even the baby in my womb knows that. Put your fears aside and trust in God.

And Mary does just what Elizabeth says: She puts her fears aside and trusts God. She starts singing about God’s deeds and works in the world. She starts singing about God’s promises being fulfilled. She begins to realize the importance of this baby. She begins to realize that God is using her, a lowly servant, to bring about the Kingdom of God. She realizes that through this baby she is really blessed among women.

We have all read this Luke text. We have all thought that it sounds pretty odd. And we all have this picture of Mary being a virgin, pure and holy, just accepting that she is pregnant, almost like a porcelain doll sitting and staring off into nowhere with glass eyes. And then if that is not odd enough there is a young girl singing because she is pregnant. What fourteen-year-old girl do you know that would break out in song when she found out that she was pregnant? Not many. But there is more to this text than a porcelain doll or the singing of a pregnant fourteen-year old.

The author, Elizabeth Johnson paints a picture of Mary that is not one of purity or humility. Mary, “this person, this ‘blessed among women,’ was a humble woman, suffering oppression, and the uncertainty of tomorrow, working hard, which is the lot of subjugated people. Mary didn’t only have to wash and fold clothes, but to sew them and before that to weave them. She did not only have to make bread, but also to grind the grain and to cut wood for the needs of the home just as the women in under developed countries do”.

This humble woman becomes an active figure in the bringing about the Kingdom of God. This oppressed woman is now holding the beacon that shines the light of God into all the dark places so that everyone knows that God is listening. This subjugated woman has put her fears aside and trusted in God.

Mary was not simply a piece of the puzzle. Mary was one of the key pieces to God’s plan. Through her, a child would be born that would fulfill God’s promises of a Messiah. Through her, a child would be born that would show the world how to live in peace. Through her, a child would be born that would show the world God’s love.

Mary begins to realize that it is not about her anymore. It is not about her fears. It is about her baby. It is about what her baby will grow up to be. It is about her baby’s destiny. This is why Mary sings. This is why Mary remembers God’s promises. This is why there is joy and wonder. In a world that is crying out for a reversal of fate, this is why Mary sings.

The evening news headline flash: A baby found in a dumpster, “thrown away” by its mother. Somewhere else in our country, the paper reads, Baby found in a bathroom stall at local high school prom. Somewhere else in the world, the police find a baby’s body wrapped in a garbage bag in the trash. The baby was only three hours old.
These headlines are nothing new to us. We see them in our papers. We see them on our news channels. We feel sadness. We feel like crying. We turn the page. We flip the channel.

Have we as a society lost our “messiah” because the mothers and fathers have not thought of the children? Have we lost our “peacemakers” because a child’s innocence is lost to the violence of the world? What if Mother Teresa’s or MLK JR’s or Gandhi’s parents had not provided an environment of growth and faith for their children? Where would our world be now if these people had taken a different path?

What would have happened if Elizabeth had said no to God’s vision of a prophet?

What if Mary had said no to God’s gift to humanity?
Thankfully, Elizabeth and Mary did say yes. Thankfully, they recognized God’s promise. A promise of a world where there is no hunger. The promise of a world where all live in peace. A promise of a world where children are safe, healthy, and can grow up to be the peacemakers for our society? Thankfully, they recognized that through them, a world that was crying out for a reversal of fate would have its cries answered through their sons.

I have never been a mom. However, several of my friends are moms. The one thing that all of them say is that it is not about me [the mom], it is all about the child. It is the dreams for the future that may be fulfilled by this child. It is the hope that resides in this child that maybe he or she will be the one to solve cancer or to help bring about world peace.
Maybe Mary and Elizabeth sat down and really talked about what it means to be pregnant and experiencing God’s miracles together. Maybe they realized the promises that lie with each child. One is to lead the way. One is to scatter the proud, and fill the hungry. One is to prepare. One is to be the Messiah. Maybe both of them realized that it is not about them anymore, it is all about the children that they will bring into this world.

Mary and Elizabeth accepted the call to be a part of God’s miracle. And now, Mary and Elizabeth extend that call to us as people of faith. Mary and Elizabeth have challenged us to take a part in God’s miracle by acknowledging that all are created in the image of God. That all are precious to God. That all have a place in helping to bring about the Kingdom of God.

Mary and Elizabeth encourage us as the community of faith to take an active part in all the children’s lives, young and old. Mary and Elizabeth declare to us that we can do something about it. That we can provide education for all God’s children. That we can help create a world filled with peace and hope for all God’s children. That we can become that beacon that shines the light of God into all the dark places where children are hungry, abused, or lonely.

When we hear Mary sing, we begin to understand that we are to say yes when God asks. When we hear Mary sing, we are reminded that we are called as the community of faith to recognize that all children, young and old, are precious in God’s sight. When we hear Mary sing, we are reminded that we, as beacons of God’s light, are challenged to bring that light into the world.

May we like Mary, sing a song of joy and wonder at all the children’s destinies. Amen.

Rev. Heather McColl
Midway Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

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