Celebrating Ahead of Time

December 23, 2007

Fourth Sunday of Advent
Luke 1:47-55; Matthew 1:18-25
The Reverend Javier A. Viera

Listen to this sermon

Something happened that day the angel came. I can’t explain it, but it did. Something happened because Mary is singing when it seems there’s nothing to sing about. Picture her with the words of the angel still ringing in her ears (daunting words, frightening words even) – yet there is Mary spinning in circles and dancing with a joy she had never known – one hand on her belly, the other open wide to the bright sky singing: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my savior!” God has put her in a most compromising situation, one that could cost her her life, yet Mary sings. Something happened to Mary that day.

Then there’s Joseph. I know something happened when the angel’s words gripped him while deep in sleep. I don’t understand it really, because his part in the story is almost as improbable as Mary’s. Mary comes to her fiancée and shares her joy about God’s new thing that would come to pass, and at first Joseph doesn’t believe her. Her story wasn’t terribly convincing, after all. But he loved Mary and didn’t want to shame her or her family, so he quietly began the separation process and prepared to go his own way. Then something happened. The angel came in a dream and spoke those words about God’s new thing and, before you know it, Joseph joined Mary in her song and dance. Something happened to Joseph that day.

Mary’s and Joseph’s stories, roles, and choices are different, but what they shared was unrestrained hope. On that day hopeful expectation conquered fear, freeing Joseph and Mary to be part of God’s new thing that would come to pass. I’m sure it seemed naïve, even ridiculous at the time, but that didn’t matter to them because they knew, they could see what was coming, and what was coming was enough to make you want to sing and dance. Something happened to Joseph and Mary that day. Something wonderful happened

And what was this new thing? What could possibly make her sing under such terrifying conditions? What could make him lose reason under such unlikely, unbelievable circumstances? The world would tell each of them that their choices would jeopardize and even destroy their future, but they could see beyond into an even brighter future, a future that was so wonderful, so right that it made you want to celebrate even when celebrating didn’t make any sense.

Here’s the future Joseph and Mary saw: they knew a day was coming when the lowly would be blessed. They could envision that moment when the Mighty One would do great things for those exploited by the mighty. Because they lived in a violent age, an age of great uncertainty and terror, an age when wars were waged under false pretenses and when the sword was the only law of the land, because they lived in a world like this they could – and they needed to – envision that day when “justice shall roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream, when nation shall not lift sword against nation, and neither shall they learn war anymore.”

Something happened to Mary and Joseph. It seems they caught sight of God’s vision for God’s world, and that world was radically different from the world they knew. Whatever it was that happened to them helped them understand what the prophet meant when he wrote: “every valley shall exalted and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight and the rough places plain.” They knew the day was coming when the arrogant would be humbled, when the powerful would no longer rule and the lowly and hungry would be exalted to their rightful place. They could see that day when the rich were indeed sent away empty, emptied of all that takes God’s rightful place in order to make room for that which money cannot buy.

It was bold vision. It was God’s vision, and Mary sang it proudly and expectantly. When I see her dancing, reaching out for Joseph as he courageously joins in, I can’t help but think of others who have also taken her hand and joined in her song. Oh, I think of so many people, people like Florence Nightingale, a young woman born into privilege and wealth, and who could have had a life of comfort and ease. But she knew Mary’s song. She reported having a divine calling; something that happened to her caused her to see with new eyes. She noticed the conditions that the poor lived in, the health care they received, and how most of them were just left to suffer and die without adequate care. She became a nurse, a profession that at the time was reserved for servants and the lower classes. She scandalized her parents and their wealthy friends by choosing a profession, and even worse choosing one that did not befit someone of her social standing. Florence, however, wasn’t compelled by ease and place; rather, she longed to be the presence of Christ to the sick and dying, and in the process the world was changed by her efforts. Something happened to Florence.

I think of people like Dietrich Bonheoffer, a studious young German who was preparing for a career as a university professor. He too knew Mary’s song and joined her dance. Living in Nazi Germany in the 1930’s, he grew increasingly outraged by the quiet, yet systematic treatment of Jews in his homeland. Born into a prominent family, Dietrich had no reason to ruffle feathers and threaten his own future success. Yet, the Spirit of God doesn’t work by human logic, and thus Dietrich took up the cause of attempting to stop the mass murder of Jews. It cost him his life. He paid the ultimate price for living his faith. Something happened to Dietrich, something that made him bold, daring, and faithful – like Mary.

I think of people like Oscar Romero, a shy country priest in El Salvador. Over the years he rose through the ranks of the Roman Catholic hierarchy to become Archbishop of El Salvador. He was chosen because it was assumed that he would not challenge the political leaders of the country, a violent, ruthless military regime. But Oscar knew Mary’s song, and something happened to the quiet, bookish Archbishop, for before long he was leading the movement for justice and equity on behalf of the poor in El Salvador and all of Latin America. He demanded, in the name of Mary and Joseph’s son, that the marginalized be cared for and that economic inequity in the country be addressed. The suffering masses transformed him, and he knew it was they Mary sang of. Oscar too paid with his life, assassinated while celebrating communion in a small convent chapel. Something happened to Oscar; he was transformed by the Spirit of God and he transformed the world around him in the process.

I think of the young woman who is a participant in the Disciple class that Joyce Palevitz and I lead each Wednesday. Grappling with God’s word each week is lighting the spark of Mary in her. In an email she wrote me this week she says, “I've experienced small-scale changes in myself, in other people, and in my community, and I know those changes are possible; but when I think about the bigger picture, I feel so unable to connect the dots or even to conceive of what the dots might be… But here's where my faith comes in, because even though I feel helpless to connect the dots myself and to see the connectedness, the greater good, the hope for humanity, and the potential for a truly peaceful world…I trust God can. Maybe he already is doing it. Maybe he has been doing it since humankind has existed but we just can't see it. Maybe it's what the prophets tried to reveal, what Christ tried to reveal… Should I try to imagine transforming the world in greater ways? Do I even have that power?” Something is happening to our friend.

Which means something is happening here. Maybe something is happening to you and me. Do you sense it? Is Mary’s song finding its way into our hearts? Are we preparing to take her hand and join Joseph and the others in her dance? Mary chose this hope. Joseph chose it. Others have chosen it, and so can we. It makes my heart race just to think about what might be if we chose it too. I tremble when I think of what could happen if we let God’s Spirit have its way; we will be changed, and the world will be changed through us.

Something is happening here today, friends. Something is definitely happening.