The Rev. Peter M. Carey
23 December 2012
St. Paul’s Memorial Episcopal Church
Well, congratulations! You made it through the "end of the world." We
made it through December 21st, 2012, when some interpretation of the
Mayan Calendar thought that the end of the world was here.
While we don’t dwell on it all that much, our own faith is
also grounded in the sense that there is an end towards which our story is
moving. There is a final chapter. This
looking at the “end times” is not usually done so much in mainline
Christianity, least of all the Episcopal Church, that rational and sensible and
establishment church. However, Advent
reminds us in no uncertain terms that while Jesus came into this world, he will
be coming again. Advent reminds us that
God created the world, but that there will also be an end. This is, perhaps, hard to grasp, especially
as we try to reconcile Biblical theology with our scientific knowledge.
We are already living in the end times, we are already
grounded in the sense that our individual lives are finite, but also the world
itself is finite. But we also rest in
the notion that God is already wrapping us up in loving arms, is hovering over
us as a mother hen, is already caring for us as a shepherd, is already caring
for us deeply. This ever-present and
ever-flowing love of God does not begin at some point, rather, it is eternal,
and it is now and forever.
How do we notice the ways that God is already “breaking”
into the world? How do we open ourselves
up to this reality? It seems to me that
we have to make some room for God. Not
that God “needs” us to make room, but that we need to make room so that we can
increase our awareness of God’s presence in our lives. John the Baptist preached those lines from
Isaiah when he said, “prepare the way of the Lord,” and we can prepare
ourselves so that we can embrace God’s presence in our lives. Opening a space in our calendars means
setting other things aside, and creating time for God. We can also create spaces in our homes and
workplaces that remind us to notice God in our midst. In a sense, the preparation and expectation
of Advent are qualities of our entire spiritual lives.
We can create time and space where we might pray and allow
God to enter into our lives. “To pray is
to take notice of the wonder and to regain a sense of the mystery that animates
all beings, the divine margin in all attainments. Prayer is our humble answer to the
inconceivable surprise of living.” Abraham Joshua Heschel
Certainly, Mary was open to the wonder that was around her.
Certainly, Mary was open to the mystery and surprise. With this sense of wonder, mystery and
surprise, she visited her cousin Elizabeth, and the baby in her womb leaped for
joy!
Leaping for Joy! How often do we leap for Joy? However, this portion of Luke’s story of Jesus’
birth is quite telling. The child of
Elizabeth, the child who would become John the Baptist, recognizes his cousin
from the womb! Recognizes Jesus,
recognizes God with us, Emmanuel! The
child of Elizabeth leaps with joy! And
what of us, are we open to the Joy that is constantly breaking into the midst
of our world? Are we open to the Joy
that is breaking into the dark and dismal days of our lives? Are we open to the Joy that even comes in the
midst of disappointment and desolation?
The Joy that God provides is a deeper Joy than even the womb
of our imagination can contain; the Joy that God provides. The gift of God’s Joy is beyond our thinking,
our dreaming, and our understanding. We
may not think that we will leap for joy like we once could, but the Joy that
God provides is that which lifts us beyond our dreams, even in the midst of
this world, God’s Word becomes realized in our world, as Joy that cannot be
contained by the womb of our imagination.
"Awe before Isaiah's God
refreshes our reverence. It submerges the ego, paving the way for owning up to
our frailty. It turns us outward from concern with self to the need and
suffering for others, especially the poor and peripheral. As we repose ever
more deeply in God's mystery, the Lord who is absolutely sufficient for our
succor increasingly works through us to relieve others' brokenness.
Simultaneously, the Holy transforms us into ever more reverent advocates of the
natural world." ~Stephen Cook
When we recognize the ways that God is already breaking into
the world, is already surrounding us and caring for us, we see the world
differently. When Mary received the news
that she was the God-bearer, her view of the world changed, and she sang of the
ways that God’s kingdom was becoming real.
She sang of the impossible becoming possible. The impossible Joy of God on earth led her to
see that everything was being turned on its head. The Song of Mary, the Magnificat, gives us a
clear vision of how God breaks into the world, and also how we are called to
help usher in this kingdom. She sings of
justice, of love for all, of a turning around of the powers of the world. She proclaims the greatness of the Lord, and
recognizes the joyful impossibility of God looking with favor upon her. She sees that he will “scatter the proud,”
“cast down the mighty,” and “lifted up the lowly.” “Filled the hungry with good things,” and “
the rich he has sent away empty.” Mary
saw that God’s presence in the world is grounded in justice and mercy, and the
profound joy of God in our midst – Emmanuel.
The Joy that God provides is a deeper Joy than even the womb
of our imagination can contain. The gift
of God’s Joy is beyond our thinking, our dreaming, and our understanding. However, God has given us clues about this
joyful kingdom in the words sung by Mary, who inspires us to get busy, to work
for change, to work for justice, to work with Joy to help usher in God’s loving
kingdom.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; *
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed: *
the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him *
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm, *
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, *
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things, *
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel, *
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers, *
to Abraham and his children for ever.
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; *
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed: *
the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him *
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm, *
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, *
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things, *
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel, *
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers, *
to Abraham and his children for ever.
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