Word to the Wise
Sunday, December 20, 2015 - 4th Sunday of Advent - C
[Mic 5:1-4a; Heb 10:5-10; Luke 1:39-45]"Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb." [Luke]
When the scene of the "Visitation" of Mary to Elizabeth appears as the gospel scripture I really believe the preacher should be a Mom, maybe two Moms. The full meaning of the passage, or at least one of the most significant ways of understanding it, would have to be available only to someone who has been pregnant! I think it would be an amazing preaching, especially if both Moms would be pregnant - one of them young and the other toward the end of child-bearing years and never before pregnant. [Let them tell you about 'leaping in the womb!']Their greeting in the gospel shows not just the theological meaning of Eliabeth "being filled with the Holy Spirit" and Mary being "the mother of my Lord," but also the sheer improbability and amazement of their being pregnant at all! For both Moms the last line of the passage is powerful: "Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled."
The fullest meaning of Advent and Christmas/Epiphany comes to life when we consider all those persons whom the event impacted: Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, Jesus, John, Zechariah, shepherds, Magi, Herod, and even the angels! The fulfillment of prophecy stands alongside the fulfillment of personal dreams and anyone's place in God's plan of salvation. Even if Elizabeth, Zechariah and John don't make it to the stable in Bethlehem, they are part of the story on the pages of the scripture and part of our story as well. Today, the two Moms preach it all to us! AMEN
config
view
logs
3840.0 KB
107 ms
4
