Loading...Sermon December 20, 2015
The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, LSW
The Church of the Nativity and St. Stephen, Newport, PA
… she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.
... And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry…. Luke 1:40-41
Please be seated.
Most of you know that I enjoy singing. I was in the children’s choir at church growing up. I was in school choruses from sixth grade until I graduated high school. And then was in church choirs for many years. I enjoy singing; however, I am not really a soloist.
I recently attended my granddaughter’s school concert, which prompted many memories of my own school concerts. I remember wearing an interesting hat of my mother’s for a first grade concert where we sang “The Easter Parade.” When I finally got to a 5th Avenue New York Easter Parade, I could not compete with the many wild and crazy creations on the street that day!
When I was in high school, my choir director gave me a part in a Christmas song. It was a song I loved, The Friendly Beasts. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard it, but there are six verses about how the animals in the stable where Jesus was born gave their gifts to the baby. I was to sing the verse about the cow, who gave its manger for Jesus’ bed. Well, on the night of the performance, I started off my verse with the first two lines of the sheep verse!
Rather than singing about the cow all white and red, I started singing about the sheep with the curly horn! Panicked about what to do, and not sure I could remember all of the words, I finished with the two lines of the cow verse! I was told most people didn’t notice, though.
In today’s Gospel, we hear about Mary visiting Elizabeth and about how they greeted each other. When I visited the Holy Land in 2012, we visited Ein Kerem, the sight where this meeting is observed by the faithful. Our professor explained that Mary traveled 100 miles by donkey when she heard Elizabeth was going to have a baby, because Mary was so excited and happy for her cousin.
In some cultures, when family and friends are away and come home, they are “sung back.” They greet one another with a song that includes the names of the family member, but in a different form. Thus, when Elizabeth sees Mary, she has a revelation and sings, “Blessed are you…,” which is an acknowledgement of the mystery about Mary’s pregnancy and the coming birth of Jesus.
Mary responds with the song we know as The Magnificat. In her song, she acknowledges Elizabeth, Zechariah and even the unborn baby John.
For instance, in verse 50: His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
We hear about God’s mercy. God has mercy is the meaning of the name, John.
In verse 53:
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
We hear how God satisfies the hungry and gives plenty, which is the meaning of the name, Elizabeth.
And in verses 54 and 55:
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’
We hear about God remembering Israel, which is the meaning of the name, Zechariah.
Mary and Elizabeth, in their welcome-singing to each other, are also expressing and sharing their personal stories of faith. They are recounting the presence of God in their lives and their blessings.
Recently a friend said that we as Episcopalians seem to participate in plenty of projects. We do a lot and are active. However, he said we don’t often offer Jesus! As we discussed this further, he explained that we do not tell our faith stories. We don’t say how Jesus undergirds our daily living and undergirds how we live in this world. We don’t share how our souls magnify God or exhibit God to the world.
Like Mary and Elizabeth, we all have a song to sing or story to tell about God’s presence in our lives… about how our souls make God visible to others. I know we are all in different places regarding faith. Yet, we have experiences and beliefs that guide our actions and ways of being in the world. We come together in this place as part of a community. We pray together and we share in the Eucharistic meal together. That is part of our faith song…our faith story.
On this last Sunday in Advent, what is the faith song…the faith story you will sing and tell to your family and friends? It might be something like how your week goes better when you worship in community each week. It might be that praying allows you to be more patient and more kind. It might be that Christ’s example of deep love for all creation makes you compassionate. What is your song? What is your story?
Maybe we won’t always get it right, mixing up the words like I did in my high school solo. That’s okay. Newport and Thompsontown and Perry County and Juniata County and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the United States and the world need our story and our song!
Amen
Jesus our brother kind and good
Was humbly born in a stable rude.
And the friendly beasts around him stood
Jesus our brother, kind and good.
"I," said the donkey, all shaggy and brown,
"I carried his mother up hill and down
I carried his mother to Bethlehem town."
"I," said the donkey, all shaggy and brown.
"I," said the cow, all white and red
"I gave him my manger for his bed
I gave him my hay to pillow his head."
"I," said the cow, all white and red
"I," said the sheep, with curly horn,
"I gave him my wool for a blanket warm
He wore my coat on Christmas morn."
"I," said the sheep, with curly horn.
"I," said the dove, from the rafters high
"I cooed him to sleep so he would not cry
We cooed him to sleep, my love and I
"I," said the dove, from the rafters high.
Thus every beast, by some good spell
In the stable rude was glad to tell
Of the gift he gave Emmanuel
The gift he gave Emmanuel
The gift he gave Emmanuel
