The Fourth Sunday in Advent - The Rev. Colette Hammesfahr

 

Luke 1:39-45

Rosa Parks was born in 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama. At a young age, her parents separated, and she moved in with her grandparents, mother, and brother. Her grandparents were formerly enslaved people, and they instilled in her a strong sense of racial pride and a commitment to social justice. She was baptized at a young age, and her faith was a significant part of her life. Quiet and unassuming, she was profoundly compassionate and cared immensely about the well-being of others.

Her life changed on December 1, 1955, when Rosa boarded city bus number 2857 in Montgomery, Alabama. She boarded the bus and took a seat. The bus driver ordered her to give up her seat to a white passenger, and Rosa refused. This act of defiance became a monumental event in the Civil Rights Movement. Her courageous act led to a citywide bus boycott led by Martin Luther King, Jr. It went as far as the Supreme Court, where they ruled that racial segregation on buses was unconstitutional. This sparked millions of people fighting for equality and justice.

Because of her actions, Rosa endured harassment and threats. But she also experienced the unexpected joy of standing up for what was right and witnessing the progress sparked by her actions. She was an unlikely person, chosen to change the world.

In what is referred to as “The Visitation” in today’s reading, Elizabeth and Mary, cousins, are drawn together by their shared experience. Both unlikely people chosen to change the world. Elizabeth is carrying a son named John, who will be called John the Baptist. Mary is carrying a son who will be named Jesus -- the Messiah. Mary traveled alone to visit Elizabeth, where they shared their very different yet similar experiences.

The Visitation story is a story of unexpected joy. When Mary visits Elizabeth, Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit and immediately recognizes that Mary is carrying the Messiah. Her unborn baby, John the Baptist, leaps in her womb, signaling divine affirmation. This unexpected moment brings overwhelming joy to Elizabeth, who is not celebrating her excitement of carrying a child, but instead, she celebrates Mary’s faith and the fulfillment of God’s promises.

Mary and Elizabeth were quiet, calm, and unassuming women called to unlikely tasks. Two marginalized women experiencing God’s favor in miraculous ways. God intervened in their lives and worked through the least likely.

God often works through the most unlikely people, including us, to accomplish God’s purposes. This visitation story reminds us that our daily lives, relationships, and small acts of faith can have profound significance. Even when we feel overlooked or unworthy, God can use us to bring hope and joy to others. This story also reminds us that joy doesn’t depend on our circumstances. True joy comes in recognizing God’s presence and trusting that God is working for our good in whatever our circumstances.

Our responsive reading for today is known as The Magnificat, which is also the text that follows the verses in Luke we read in the Gospel reading. This song of Mary is a song of praise. In it, Mary’s words overflow with joy and gratitude. She rejoices in God’s mercy, God’s faithfulness to God’s promises, and God’s justice in lifting up the humble while bringing down the proud. Her joy is not about personal gain but about being part of God’s redemptive plan for the world – a story much bigger than herself.

Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her bus seat wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision. She later described it as an act of faith and conviction, saying she felt “a strength inside” that came from God. Rosa was a seemingly ordinary person who was chosen for an extraordinary purpose.

There is a paradox that comes with listening to God’s call. What God calls us to do or expects of us is not always what we desire for ourselves. I was listening to an app the other morning. In the time set aside for reflection, the listener was asked to consider Joseph in the birth story of Jesus. But we could insert Mary, Elizabeth, Rosa, or ourselves instead of Joseph. The reflective question was, “How do you find the courage to say yes to God? Joseph (or Mary, Elizabeth, or Rosa) had their own plan, but God invited them on a greater journey. Where might God be inviting you, even if it disrupts your comfort or desires?”[1]

William Barclay writes, “To be chosen by God so often means, at one and the same time, a crown of joy and a cross of sorrow. The piercing trust that God does not choose a person for ease and comfort and selfish joy, but for a task that will take all that the head and heart and hand can bring to it. God chooses people in order to use them.”[2]

When life feels uncertain or overwhelming, we are called to trust that God is at work in ways we cannot yet see. We are called to cultivate gratitude and praise in our daily lives, focusing on God’s blessings and God’s promises rather than our struggles. Mary, Elizabeth, and Rosa were all women of humbleness and uncertainty. They recognized and found unexpected joy when they stepped out of their comfort zones and said “yes” to an opportunity to make a difference despite the risks and challenges. We are called to live with faith, joy, and a willingness to participate in God’s work in the world. We are invited to trust that even in our ordinary lives, God can bring about extraordinary purposes when we are open to listening to what God says.

On this fourth Sunday of Advent, I’ll leave you with a poem from the book Kneeling in Bethlehem by Ann Weems.[3]

                Mary, Nazareth Girl:

                What did you know of ethereal beings with messages from God?

                What did you know of men when you found yourself with child?

                What did you know of babies, you, barely out of childhood yourself?

                God-chosen girl:

                What did you know of God that brought you to this stable blessed among women?

                Could it be that you had been ready waiting listening for the footsteps of an angel?

                Could it be there are messages for us if we have the faith to listen?  

 

Amen.

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[1] Pray as You Go. (2024, December 18). Wednesday Meditation. Retrieved from https://pray-as-you-go.org 

[2] William Barclay, The Gospel of Luke, rev. ed., The Daily Study Bible Series (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1975), 14.

[3] Ann Weems, "Mary, Nazareth Girl," in Kneeling in Bethlehem (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1980), 25.