4th Sunday of Advent: May God's Word be Fulfilled
(Free Version)- Year B; 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16; Romans 16:25-27; Luke 1:26-38
Icon: “Annunciation” by Ivanka Demchuk
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This Sunday is the fourth Sunday of Advent. The way the calendar falls this year means that it is also Christmas Eve. Depending on your tradition, your congregation may observe this Sunday in a variety of different ways. Traditionally, the morning is the observance of the Fourth Sunday of Advent. A Christmas Vigil (Christmas Eve) happens in the evening, as well as Mass on Christmas Day. There is, of course, variety.
Today, we are looking at the readings for Advent IV, and our readings lead us to the beauty of God’s grace. We are told of the ways in which God has done and will do for us (and for the world) what we are unable to do for ourselves.
In our Old Testament reading (2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16), David is “settled,” at the height of his powers. A confidence rests on him because of his many victories. David does what a conquering king would be naturally inclined to do in this situation: to find something else to conquer. In this case, to build. It is time, he thinks, to build a house for God. After all, all nations have gods, and all gods have temples. It is time, David thinks, to build the God of Israel a big, beautiful house. The prophet Nathan, before asking God about it, tells David to do what he feels is best.
But then…Nathan prays about it. God speaks to Nathan and tells him that David has put his architectural cart before his theological horse! Is David to build a house for God? God has been “mobile” for awhile now, and he has never told the people to build him a house. And remember, it was God who plucked David from the pasture in the first place! It is God who saved David from his enemies. All of this is grace. Surely, God has good things for his people, and for David himself. But it will all happen on God’s initiative and timeline.
Our epistle reading (Romans 16:25-27) is short, consisting of three verses which make up one single sentence. The sentence begins with the underlying truth that “God is able…” He will strengthen the church according to the good news of Jesus. In Jesus we see the unveiling of something which God has planned from the beginning. What has happened in the death and resurrection of Jesus is consistent with how God has always cared for his people. It has not happened because human beings made it happen, but because of the command of the eternal God. He is the only one who is wise. In fact, all wisdom comes from him! Though we have fallen short of his glory (Rom. 3:23), he has reversed things, and is now glorified.
Our gospel reading (Luke 1:26-38) is the story of the angel Gabriel’s announcement to Mary that she would conceive and bear a son, who will be Son of the Most High, and an ancestor of David. He will be a ruler. Mary wonders how this could happen since she is a virgin (ancient people knew where babies come from just as we do). Consistent with all of the miraculous births throughout Israel’s history, this will be an act of God. Yet, it will be the birth to which all of the other miraculous births point; for he will be “conceived by the Holy Spirit,” as the Apostle’s creed articulates. Mary receives this news, this gift, and the pain that comes with it (Luke 2:35) with willingness, as the servant of the Lord. “Let it be according to your word” is Mary’s “Amen.”
Mary knows, better than we do, that God is present in vulnerability. This is often challenging for us to accept. We are not prepared to receive because we are so often focused on our strengths, on the places in which we can show power, where we can prove ourselves. In this way, we are often like David, ready to “build something” for ourselves, or for God. Yet, it is only through surrender, through acknowledging God as the giver, sustainer, and rescuer, that we participate in God’s work and receive all that he has for us.
Where are the points of vulnerability for those in our congregations today? This story of Gabriel’s announcement to Mary and her response, call us to pay attention and acknowledge those places rather than running away from them.
Notice what we are NOT saying: If you are experiencing weakness in your life, hold on…your blessings a comin’. This is not the promise a check in the mail for your lack, that your sickness will be instantly healed. That, of course, may happen. We pray for that to happen. We trust that it can and does (sometimes) happen. When we experience these kind of immediate, dramatic reversals, we give thanks for we have experienced a glimpse of God’s future world here and now.
Our gospel reading does not tell us that this young girl overthrows the Roman empire, or that the manger becomes an earthly palace. Instead, it proclaims a new kind of kingdom, where God is present in the lowly manger with shepherds as witnesses. We are taught to pay attention to the unlikely places in our lives and in the world.
Our world is groaning. All of us are aware of the places where it seems that God is silent, and where those who claim to speak for God have given in to worldly power. That was Mary’s world. And that’s our world. In such a world, we must look for God, present among the weak and vulnerable.
Perhaps our calling in life is not to chase our own fulfillment, to chase after fitting in, or cultivating our own reputation. Perhaps our calling is not even moral purity. Mary’s response comes without her knowing the outcome. It is a response of faithfulness, from someone who has lived into God’s story.
Mary’s decision comes from somewhere: the core of who she is, her trust in God. May we be formed in such a way that our calling is to respond to God’s coming into the world the way that Mary responded, I am the Lord’s servant,” “May your word to me be fulfilled.”