“Mary’s Hope” by David Lloyd

December 20, 2015

The Fourth Sunday of Advent

Women in the World of the Earliest Christians,[i] was legally binding as a marriage; the only thing yet to happen was the wedding ceremony.  Mary and Joseph wouldn’t be shamed if it was known they had had sex before the wedding.  They wouldn’t be deemed to have committed fornication nor would the child be deemed illegitimate.  There might be a few tongues that would wag, a few of Joseph’s cronies might tease him for a bit, but it wouldn’t last.

after Joseph and I have sex!  I’ll even seduce Joseph right away!  Just don’t make me pregnant before then!”  But according to Luke the angel didn’t repeat, “Do not be afraid.”  Instead, the angel told her that it will be the Holy Spirit who would impregnate her, that the child would be called “Son of God,” and that by the way, her aged kinswoman Elizabeth who had been barren was now six months pregnant after all these years of praying to God for a child. 

Magnificat, which we heard as the prelude today, sung in Latin.  Mary’s words echo the words of Hannah, whose story we heard several weeks ago, and whose barrenness Elizabeth’s barrenness recalls.  Hannah’s son was Samuel, the last of the judges and the first of the prophets, who anointed Israel’s first two kings, Saul and David.  Elizabeth’s son was John, a prophet who baptized Jesus, the new “king” to be.  And Mary’s words also call to mind the words of another Mary, the sister of Aaron, who after Pharaoh’s army drowned while pursuing Moses and the Children of Israel, with the chant, “Sing to the LORD, for he has risen up in triumph; the horse and his rider he has hurled into the sea.”

God’s arm has performed mighty deeds;

   God has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.

God has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.

God has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty,

not been lifted up, the hungry were still hungry and the rich were still there.  Yet Mary’s prayer was of gratitude and praise and, above all, of hope.

not been lifted up, the hungry were still hungry and the rich were still there.

none of their laudable goals to help the people who live in “have not” nations.  Diseases such as the Ebola virus and SARS and drug resistant bacteria can now spread almost instantly across the globe.  The Republican Party presidential candidates rush to xenophobia and racism and religiously bigotry, drawing the circle of “us” ever more narrowly.

YES!  Does our hope need sustaining?  YOU KNOW IT DOES.

[ii] has noted that hope is like a middle child with faith and charity as her two more popular sisters.  She wrote that hope is invisible, ignored, and frequently misunderstood.  Let me give you some examples.  According to Donnelly, “Hope is not wishy-washy, nor is she comfortable with doubt.”  (Is it going to be warm today?  I hope so.)  “It’s not hopelessness.”  (The only thing left for us to do is hope.)  “It’s not frivolous.”  (I hope our team wins today.)  “It is not the same as optimism.”  (As Scarlet O’Hara used to say, ‘Tomorrow is another day.’)

In that same issue of Weavings, Michael Downey[iii] says that

Donnelly notes that

My soul glorifies the Lord

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for God has been mindful

of the humble state of God’s servant.

From now on all generations will call me blessed,

for the Mighty One has done great things for me—

holy is the Lord’s name.

The Lord’s mercy extends to those who follow God,

from generation to generation.

God’s arm has performed mighty deeds;

God has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.

God has brought down rulers from their thrones

but has lifted up the humble.

God has filled the hungry with good things

but has sent the rich away empty.

God has helped servant Israel,

remembering to be merciful

to Abraham and his descendants forever,

just as God promised our ancestors.

AMEN.