Dr. Jon Burnham preached this sermon from Luke 1:39-55
at Batesville Presbyterian Church on December 24, 2006
Imagine the conversation between Mary and Elizabeth. Elizabeth is a woman who has been married for many years. She is old enough to be beyond child bearing years. Mary is a recently married woman who is still a teenager. Both of them are kin. Both of them are pregnant. Both of them are ecstatic with joy. Both of them are bearing sons of significance. Elizabeth is pregnant with John the Baptist. Mary is pregnant with Jesus Christ. Both of them are blessed among women.
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby in her womb leaped. She was filled with the Holy Spirit, and sang out exuberantly,
You're so blessed among women,
and the babe in your womb, also blessed!
And why am I so blessed that
the mother of my Lord visits me?
The moment the sound of your
greeting entered my ears,
The babe in my womb
skipped like a lamb for sheer joy. (The Message)
And like the babe in Elizabeth's womb, our heart skips a beat from sheer joy. We get this feeling about this time every year. This feeling that something big is happening in the midst of the little ones among us. We get this feeling when we see the innocent children dressed like donkeys and cows, angels and drummer boys, playing their part in the great play of resurrection life that we reenact every year about this time. And we know that Christmas once again has come.
So we gather in the church sanctuary on Christmas Eve, having overcome many an obstacle just to sit in these pews for less than an hour's time. Hard to get here with the family to feed at home. Presents to be wrapped. Or unwrapped. Food to cook. Phone calls. Laughter. And a few minutes of silent reflection in the sanctuary. Some carols. Some scriptures. Some dressed up children singing. And we know, once again, it is Christmas.
So we take some time to sit together in the stillness of this day. We join all the faithful of every time and place in anxious terror and hopeful expectation, looking for a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger. What a relief to know that the child is indeed in the manger. What a joy to see once again that God has indeed been born into human history. How happy we are to have it confirmed: We are not alone. We are not all there is. There is more to existence than material things. Even after we die we get to live again.
It's all there, wrapped in mystery like the Christ child in the manger. The prospect of human suffering. The reality of death. The celebration of life. Baptism. Death. Resurrection.
When we find baby Jesus we ponder the miracle with Mary then return to our home like the shepherds glorifying and praising God that in Christ's birth myth became fact.
The birth of God in human history. We never imagined it would happen this way. But let's not get caught analyzing the hows or whys or wherefores. Let's throw reason to the wind. Get down on our knees. And join the heavenly choir in singing:
Come, Thou long-expected Jesus,
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us;
Let us find our rest in Thee.
Born Thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all sufficient merit
Raise us to Thy glorious throne.
For it is there, at Christ's glorious throne, where we may still find Mary and Elizabeth, blessed among women. There, at the foot of the throne of God, Mary still ponders these things in her heart, ever the mystic mother. And there, by her side, we may imagine, is Elizabeth, the wise old woman whose immortal body shines like the sun and will never fade away. These two women, blesssed among women, point us the way home. Show us the way down the narrow path to salvation. Draw us onward in the inner journey toward the effervescent flaming throne of God that is surrounded by the blazing violet fire of the Holy Spirit. There, at the foot of that throne, is where we want to be on this Christmas Eve.
Mary and Elizabeth, blessed among women, friends, relatives, strong and loving mothers, show us the way to God's throne, to God's very presence. It is the way that we already know. It is the way that begins with birthing a child in a manger in an obscure town in the Middle East. It is the way that produces one son who lives like a desert hermit and another son who is accused of partying with prostitutes. It is the way that rears one son to be a prophet and another son to be the King of Israel. It is a way of great joy in watching these sons grow in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. It is a way of great sorrow for Elizabeth when her son, John the Baptist, is beheaded by Herod the Great and his head presented on a platter to a woman of power and questionable morality. It is a way of sorrow for Mary as she stands at the foot a crucifixion scene in which her son plays the role victim while he is mercilessly ridiculed by a crowd of religious leaders and foreign soldiers of the occupation forces.
Mary and Elizabeth, blessed among women, bless us with the joy that come from watching the children grow. Mary and Elizabeth, blessed among women, help us accept the pain that comes from watching our child suffer. Mary and Elizabeth, help us to experience the joy that comes from transcending all human pain and being reunited with God in this life and in the life to come. Mary and Elizabeth, blessed among women, move on over a little bit and let us sit down beside you — there, where you are, at the foot of the throne of the everliving God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob — for there is a Christ-child waiting to be born in our hearts today.
