Old Testament Readings 

Micah 5:2-5a 

But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah,
 who are one of the little clans of Judah,

from you shall come forth for me
 one who is to rule in Israel, 

whose origin is from of old,
 from ancient days.

3 Therefore he shall give them up until the time
 when she who is in labor has brought forth;

then the rest of his kindred shall return
 to the people of Israel.

4 And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the LORD,
 in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. 

And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great
 to the ends of the earth;

5 and he shall be the one of peace.
If the Assyrians come into our land
 and tread upon our soil,

we will raise against them seven shepherds
 and eight installed as rulers. 

New Testament Readings 

Luke 1:39-55 
Mary Visits Elizabeth 

39 In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill
country, 40 where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42 and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43 And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? 44 For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.” 

Mary’s Song of Praise 46 And Mary said, 

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

48  for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
 
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

49  for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
 
and holy is his name.

50  His mercy is for those who fear him
 
from generation to generation.

51  He has shown strength with his arm;
 
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.

52  He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
 
and lifted up the lowly;

53  he has filled the hungry with good things,
 
and sent the rich away empty.

54  He has helped his servant Israel,
 in remembrance of his mercy,
 

55  according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
 to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

 Sermon:                                               

Today is the 4th Sunday of Advent, the Love Sunday! This Sunday is often called the Sunday of birth, and also the waking of the church. That fits, because joy, hope, and peace, are a part of love and “love gives birth to new things”, it also awakens us to new realities. Now, in full disclosure, I’d have to say that last comment about the church being awakened could have also been influenced by the Star Wars movie, “The Force Awakens”. 

But, still, Love is an interesting word. It gets tossed around quite a bit in our culture. 
I also found this description online: 

Love is unconditional affection with no limits or conditions: completely loving someone. It’s when you trust the other with your life and when you would do anything for each other. You hide nothing of yourself and can tell the other anything because you know they accept you just the way you are and vice versa. 

Regardless of how love is defined, it’s safe to say that love has lots of meanings to different people. I would say, at its core, that love is a deeply relational term that has a meaning of commitment, loyalty, joy, faith, compassion, grace, honesty, and deep affection. 

In our gospel passage today, we see this kind of love expressed in many ways. Mary, a soon to be teenage mom, is pregnant with Jesus. She takes a journey to visit her cousin, Elizabeth, who is much older, and is also pregnant with John. She is much further along than Mary. 

Mary is also from a working class family, she doesn’t have much status in society. Elizabeth, on the other hand, is married to a priest and she comes from a priestly line. She has standing in society. 

Yet, that didn’t matter. They have a close relationship that transcends societal barriers and Mary goes to visit her. 

The authors of Luke are not trying to give out facts, they are telling a story of promise and deliverance for all who are enslaved to something, which is everyone. They make a point to say this is a journey, just like the Israelites were on a journey in the wilderness. This deliverance is a process that takes time, but something good is being produced in us in the journey. Both of these women have been promised that they’d be blessed with pregnancies, although both pregnancies have difficulties: one has the stigma of being a teenaged mom who isn’t married yet, the other is an older woman well past her child- bearing years. Yet, they trust God and God’s love. 

Mary goes, she is moved to action, she takes a journey to Elizabeth, out of relationship, out of love, and a need for comforting each other in what could be a difficult, albeit hopeful and joyful time. This passage is conveying to its readers that God makes promises to us, dreams big dreams for us, yet those dreams involve risk and may bring some anxiety…and seem complicated. Yet, God has given us God’s self, and God’s self, at God’s core, is about a crazy love for all of us, we can move through life with purpose and peace even in complicated, anxious times. 

When Mary greets Elizabeth, the words we read of greetings, multiple greetings, indicates an excitement, a joy, to be together. They are bond together. They can’t wait to see each other. There is an emotional response from both of them, as well as from Elizabeth’s womb. The baby John leaps! 

Maybe some of us can relate with that sense of love. I know there are folks who I can’t wait to see. When we made the journey to England a while back, I couldn’t wait to see our friends the Sextons, the Gravelings, the Kenny’s and so many others whom we’ve shared community with…when we saw each other, we were filled with excitement because of the love we shared for each other. There are family and friends we are going to see over Christmas, and I’m looking forward to that as well. 

John, while still in his mother’s womb, senses Jesus, and leaps for joy…and for love!

I believe that this is a lover’s leap! 

The love that John experiences is carried to him through the Spirit of God that embodies love. God’s Spirit fills all spaces and is present whether we recognize it or not. This love can be experienced through friendships, moments of great importance, during hard times when we feel like giving up yet something holds us together, through simple things like sunsets, music, or a small gesture of kindness. This love permeates everything and always wins! And, it’s for everyone! 

I found it interesting as I prepared this message reading and often seeing people that claim to be followers of Jesus, the very expression of God’s love for humanity and creation, talking about excluding others of different faiths, skin color, nationalities, etc.., even advocating for violence, denying safety for others, gossiping about folks, saying incredibly offensive statements, and encouraging division. 

Friends, if someone makes a statement that isn’t motivated by deep love for another, it isn’t a Christian statement. 

We have come to this Advent season to celebrate the coming of Christmas, the coming of God into humanity as a human. We come to celebrate a God who keeps promises of being with and of loving us radically and unconditionally. As my friend Brennan Manning would say, “God loves you just as you are, not as you should be, because you never will be as you should be.” This is the kind of message that should permeate our thoughts about ourselves and others. This is the kind of message that people should be hearing from Jesus followers, and experiencing! 

We should be telling others, as well as ourselves, that NOTHING can separate us from God’s Love as it says in the book of Romans. Nothing. This love is like a stream that keeps on flowing. It carries things, moves things, shapes things, fills every nook, and is relentless. This love changes us, just as streams grow into rivers and rivers flow into oceans…it is unstoppable. We can even nail that love to a tree, try to kill it, yet even death can’t overcome God’s love…it keeps moving! 

So many times we try to change situations or others through other means rather than love. God’s way, the way of love flows differently. We can be reflections of that love in beautiful ways if we can simply trust and let God’s love flow through us, loving us, changing us. 

I don’t know if this was on purpose, but New Year’s follows Christmas. Change happens as love is birthed into us and the world around us. 

Friends, may the Love of Christ cause us to leap with joy. May we be awakened to God’s delight and God’s Spirit washing over us and be reminded of God’s faithful and loving relationship with us.