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“Fulfillment of What Was Spoken”
Luke 1:39-45; Luke 1:46-55; Micah 5:2-5, Hebrews 10:5-10
Rev. Sandy Nuernberg
Oakland-Cambridge Presbyterian Church, Cambridge, WI
Fourth Sunday of Advent
December 24, 2006
As the fourth and last Sunday in
Advent, and perhaps especially as the day is also Christmas Eve, the time we
have been waiting for, preparing for, is indeed the fullness of time; the
fulfillment of God’s time. Yes, the time to tell Jesus’ birth story has arrived;
it is here! The promises of all that were spoken by the Lord are fulfilled;
Elizabeth bearing a child, Mary bearing a child. Mary, in a timely way, sings
praises of what has happened; their wishes and promises fulfilled.
Mary, the mother of Christ Jesus,
the Son of God, perhaps the most adored of Christian women in the history of the
world, was blessed, in her belief that ‘there would be fulfillment of what was
spoken to her by the Lord.’ Mary had heartfelt blessings and her response
is a hymn of praise we traditionally call the ‘Magnificat’, echoing another
familiar song of triumph in the O.T. by Hannah, the mother of Samuel, the
earliest prophet after Moses almost twelve centuries earlier.
For me, these women personify
motherhood in the Hebrew scriptures, and in the New Testament Gospels. Their
fulfillment of the promises of God came from quite humble beginnings; Hannah,
breaking away from old traditions, and Elizabeth, Mary’s cousin, the mother of
John the Baptist, and Mary, in her virginity and of the house of David. Yet all
were jubilant in their faith. Their spirituality breathes all of the love and
the care and the hope of their firstborn sons; worthy mothers of worthy sons!
These humble mothers, along with
others of sacred Biblical history were poor and oppressed in spirit initially,
and grieved of their barrenness as women. Responding to God’s will for them,
Sarah, barren, was amused (she laughed!) of her conceiving a child ( Gen. 18:
12) at an old age, Rebekah, barren, apathetic, and barefoot Rachel, barren,
waiting and waiting exclaimed, “Give me children, or I shall die!” (Gen. 30:1).
Hannah, barren, the prayerful handmaid was hopeful for a son, and Mary, who
carried the fulfillment in all of Hebrew history. She echoes the song, “My soul
magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” (v. 46-67), in her
praise.
All of these women, and others,
carried the promise in their hearts of Israel’s faith, and as they were
grappling with what were God’s intentions for them, the ultimate promise is Mary
carrying the Christ child, a gift from the Holy Spirit!! These were promises of
God’s actions that were provided in the fulfillment of what was spoken by God.
The Lord did for each as the Lord promised; each a simple story of these simple
people, and we know the rest of each story, as the fulfillment of God’s Word!
In Bethlehem, this scene of
Elizabeth and Mary’s pregnancy, is an importance of Elizabeth’s womb and in
Mary’s greeting, the child, John, leapt in joy. Mary’s greeting was a
fulfillment of the promise of God that was in Elizabeth’ womb; being filled with
the Holy Spirit. It is being united with God’s will and being renewed with
strength to carry out God’s mission for us, a baptism. We are not told that
Elizabeth or Mary even knew the struggles and strains ahead, the foresight of
their son’s life and death. But most important, they had each other to lean upon
for comfort, connection, and confidence in what was promised to them by the
Lord. With each other they heard, they felt in their heart, and received in
their womb and were empowered by the Holy Spirit in the Lord’s promise to them.
Mary’s prophetic voice responded in thanksgiving of God’s blessings, for the
oppressed and the lowly, and for the world to come. In their togetherness they
possessed the power and hope for themselves and mostly, in those deprived people
of Israel. In their being filled with the Spirit they are hopeful–there is no
submissiveness here, no opposition in this story and image of Elizabeth and
Mary. Where the promise and hope has and will come, the Lord is to be praised,
the lowly and oppressed are lifted, and the powerful are brought down from their
thrones; there is fulfillment in the spoken word of the Lord. Jesus Christ is
the fulfillment of human history, as well as the fulfillment of divine
intervention; their Hebrew faith and life.
Bethlehem in 2006 looks like many
other Middle-Eastern towns, no longer has a stable, but includes a pilgrimage to
the Church of the Nativity by many tourists. There are less tourists today,
however, because of economic situations, war, and unrest among those in the
area. Christians in Bethlehem live in a Palestinian area now, dominated by
Muslims (The Presbyterian Outlook, Vol. 188, No. 43, December 25,
2006, p. 3-5). Over the past one-hundred years, the little town of Bethlehem is
Muslim-dominated in numbers and character, and is no longer a Christian
stronghold. There is hostility among peoples and tourism is about non-existent.
Today in Bethlehem there is prayer and hope for peace and harmony.
In these past few years, even now,
Christians in our land are grappling with the reclaiming of Christmas and its
spiritual richness. There has been an effort to bring the good news of the birth
of Christ back into Christmas, from that of the material and commercial
celebration of the season. Presbyterian pastor, William Mangrum, in the field of
spiritual formation, said recently that if we have this ‘war’ upon the real
reason for the season, we can relax and use our best weapon of telling Jesus’
birth story; ‘let the Holy Spirit do the rest’
(Presbyterians Today, “ The Story Is Alive!” , Richards Hill, Toya,
December 2006, p. 13). This view helps many of us realize that the
spirituality of this time has really never left, in this time or in this season!
The Gospels will tell of God’s Holy Spirit and our confidence in that Holy
Spirit strengthens and leads us, everyone of God’s people. Yes, the story of
Christ’s birth is alive today!
In hearing the good news of the
gospel this Christmas Eve day, there is the fulfillment of the promise to Mary
and Elizabeth in being filled with the Holy Spirit. In hearing, feeling in their
heart, and carrying in their womb a child of God, there is promise of hope for a
world in communion with one another, in Israel, Iraq, the Western world, with
peace and harmony. There is hope in the fullness of time in the spoken Word of
the Lord. The good news is in the promise in each child growing, being nurtured
by God, in their mother’s womb. As we come to baptize Kate Lauren, and as Jesus
was baptized by John the Baptist, we are all born in the image of the invisible
God. We are children of God’s promise, God’s fulfillment. Jesus lived in
communion with God and neighbor; let us celebrate Jesus’ birth, our birth, in
being united with God’s promise and strength to carry out the fulfillment of
what was spoken by the Lord. AMEN .
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