Love is Revealed When Mary Visits Elizabeth

In Luke 1:39-55, when Mary visits her relative Elizabeth, love pours from Elizabeth and she says exactly what Mary needs to hear. God's love is revealed in their relationship.

Scripture is read by Susan Hutchison

Sermon by Rev. Beth Demme
For more information, visit www.graymumc.org

Transcript

Susan Hutchison (00:05):

Please pray with me. Lord, open our hearts and minds by the power of your Holy Spirit that as the scriptures are read and your word proclaimed, we may hear with joy what you say to us today. Amen. Today's first scripture is from Luke 1 39 to 55. I think it's the only scripture, but in those days, Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country where she entered the house of Zacharia and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me that the mother of my Lord comes to me for as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting. The child in my womb leaped for joy and blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.
(01:13)
And Mary said, my soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant. Surely from now on all generations will call me blessed for the mighty one has done great things for me, and holy is his name indeed. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm. He has scattered the proud and the imagination of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. He has come to the aid of his child Israel in remembrance of his mercy according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever. Here ends the reading. Rev. Beth Demme (02:16):

May God out of blessing to the reading, hearing, and understanding of this scripture. So every year I bring this painting out at some point during Advent. This is the Annunciation by Henry Asawa Tanner, you may know that Steven and I were in New York City last weekend, that's why I wasn't here. And we had a family event happening and we took the opportunity to track down some more Henry Asawa Tanner paintings in the museums there in the Museum of Modern Art. And I can confirm for you this is the best one. I really love this painting. I love how he captures the moment when the angel Gabriel tells the virgin Mary that she will conceive and give birth to a son. I love how the blankets are rumpled and the carpet has been nudged aside, conveying to us not only surprise, but interruption. Mary wasn't expecting a visitor and she certainly wasn't expecting to hear that she would be the mother of God. The theotokos, that's the Greek word that means literally God bearer Mary will be the theotokos. The light that Mary seems to be communicating with that is the angel Gabriel, and I love that Tanner doesn't depict Gabriel with a human-like form, but instead Gabriel is this just almost but not quite blinding light.
(03:49)
The thing is, six months before this moment, six months before Gabriel appeared to Mary Gabriel appeared to someone else, to a man named Zacharia who was married to Mary's relative. Elizabeth Gabriel appeared to Zacharia while he was alone serving in a restricted area in the Jerusalem temple, fulfilling what was surely a lifelong dream because Zacharia was a priest in the order of Aja and there were 24 divisions of priests who served the temple in Jerusalem. And they each served a week at a time, which means that each division served for about two weeks each year. And the way that the temple worked, as you moved further and further in closer to the red dot, the more you moved from the courtyard into that building, the closer you got to the holiest spaces. And as you moved through towards the holiest spaces, the areas became more restricted.
(04:55)
And ultimately in the back of that building there was the Holy of Holies, the place where the Shekinah glory or the presence of God rested. You can think about this area, about the temple area, almost like a concert venue. It's kind of like the civic center. There was a space in the temple complex where everyone was allowed to gather. I've tried to put a white circle there to kind of show you that or a white dot. See there's this large flat area on the outside, this huge courtyard. Well, anyone could go there. That's the parking lot of the civic center on the night of a big concert. Anybody can be there. You don't have to have a ticket to get there. But if you want to get through that door, you have to have a ticket. So this courtyard area, anyone could be there, even Gentiles, folks who weren't expected to know or worship or adore Yahweh, they could be there but they couldn't get through the door. If you wanted to get through the door, you had to prove that you were ritually pure. So ritually pure men and women, they were allowed to go to where the green.is.
(06:06)
Ritually pure men could go a little bit further towards that middle divider there. They had a ticket that got them a little bit further. It's like the women were allowed to be in the high seats of the civic center and the men were given the floor seats because we're going to move further and further in from the parking lot. We show our ticket, we get inside and then we either go to our high seats or our low seats. But then there was an altar area just past that other door in the building next to the pink dot. There was an altar area in there where priests could enter. And the priests, that's kind of like if you're at the Civic center, that's kind of like getting on stage. A lot of people go to the civic center to see shows, but only a few people are on stage at a time.
(06:55)
You've got to have special permission to get there. So the priests had permission to get there, but only the priests who were part of one of the 24 divisions who served the temple and then only when it was their division's turn, and then only when they were the person from their division who was chosen to go. And so Zacharia had probably waited his entire adult life to get his turn to go and work and serve in the temple. It was a tremendous honor. It was a very big deal because this would be the closest that he would ever get to the Holy of Holies because you see the Holy of Holies, only one person got to go in there. That's like the stars dressing room, right? You have to have more than just a VIP pass or a backstage pass. You've got to be the one.
(07:48)
Only the chief priest was allowed to go into the Holy of Holies. It was kept behind a veil or a curtain. And the chief priest would go behind that veil into the area with the Holy of Holies one day a year on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. And he would go in and he would atone for the sins of the people. He would make sacrifice. Now scripture tells us that that veil was torn into from top to bottom on Good Friday as Jesus took his last breath. The book of Hebrews says that Jesus entered once for all into the holy place, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. But before the first Easter, that veil was in place and the holy of Holies was in a highly restricted area. And Zacharia had waited his whole adult life to get his VIP pass to get close to it, still not in the stars dressing room, but closer than 99.9% of people would ever get.
(08:54)
And when it was finally turn to enter the temple and at least stand near the veil protecting the holy of Holies on that day. And in that place, the angel Gabriel showed up and said, Zechariah, God has heard your prayers. God knows you and Elizabeth aren't getting any younger and we know that you want to have a child. And so God has sent me to tell you that it will happen. Your wife, Elizabeth will give birth to your son and you will name him John. He will do great things for the Lord. And Zechariah was like, I have questions. And Gabriel says, you're not going to speak again until this baby is born. And Zachariah was not allowed to talk again until John was born. Well, six months later, the angel that had been with Zechariah in the temple, that angel appears to this young woman, Mary, and he tells her that she has found favor with God, that she'll be overshadowed by the Holy Spirit who will place a baby in her womb who when he is born will be called the son of the most high.
(10:03)
And then Gabriel says something else incredible. He says, while I'm here, I want to let you know that your relative, Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son. Gabriel says, everyone thought she was barren, but by the grace of God, she is now six months pregnant. It's as if Gabriel is saying, God knows you're going to need a friend to help you through this Mary. And God has taken care of it. Six months before Gabriel came to Mary, God was putting something in the work so that Mary would have the support system she needed.
(10:45)
The story of Mary and Elizabeth is more than a joyful meeting between two relatives. It is a lesson to us of how God doesn't just work in abstract ways, but God works in very tangible, practical ways to help us build bonds with people and that in those relationships God's love is revealed. So Mary says to Gabriel, she says, well, here am I the servants of the Lord. Let it be with me according to your word. And Gabriel left. And the next thing we know it says, Mary set out with haste to visit Elizabeth because Gabriel has told her Elizabeth is going to have a baby too and it's going to shock people. And as we heard in this morning scripture, when Mary already the theotokos already pregnant, she arrives and she greets Elizabeth. And what happens? The baby in Elizabeth's womb, the infant who would become John the Baptist, he jumps for joy.
(11:51)
What must that moment have been like? That moment when Mary walked up to Elizabeth and Elizabeth felt the baby in her womb leap. I can imagine Elizabeth marveling over her own pregnancy. I can imagine her saying, gosh, I didn't think I had any hope left in my body and now my body has become a vessel for life. I imagine that as she felt her body change and the miracle inside her unfolded, I imagine she was not only joy filled but also humbled, overwhelmed, wondering about God's plan to use her, wondering about what her son's life would mean for the world. And then Mary arrived her young relative. Sometimes we say they're cousins, but actually scripture's not specific about this. It could have been that Elizabeth was an aunt's to Mary, Mary was a niece. But in any event, as Elizabeth is marveling over what is happening in her own body, here comes Mary surely glowing with the light of God. And Mary greets Elizabeth and Elizabeth feels her baby within her leap as though he recognized that something or someone far greater was there as if he wanted to worship the Messiah growing within Mary's womb. And Elizabeth was so moved by this experience that the words pour from her. She says, blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
(13:31)
I bet that was exactly what Mary needed to hear. Mary is young, unmarried, and pregnant in a world where that could lead to severe judgment or worse, she has just received life-changing news. She will carry the Messiah. She may not even know at this point how Joseph is going to react. We don't know exactly how the timeline played out, how overwhelming that must have been. And in her moment of need, she turns to, she runs to Elizabeth and Elizabeth has exactly the right words. Blessed are you among women. This story of Mary and Elizabeth is more than just a joyful meeting between two relatives. It's a powerful reminder that God works through relationships to reveal God's love. When Mary arrived, Elizabeth didn't greet her with judgment or skepticism. She just welcomed Mary with joy. And through Elizabeth's warm embrace and affirming words, God's love is revealed to Mary.
(14:45)
Again. These women, they laughed and they cried together, marveling at what God was doing through them, through their ordinary lives. They knew in a more personal and profound way than anyone before them or since, that God was bringing salvation to the world. And through many years or over the years, many, many artists have tried to capture that moment or depict that moment and what it was like. This is how an Italian painter named Pellegrino Aldi imagined it as he was painting in the 15 hundreds. There's a lot going on here. I'm sure this is a fine painting, however, it's a little weird to me. Do you see that there's an older man with six pack abs on the far edge of the painting that is St. Jerome who lived 400 years after Mary and Elizabeth, and he's important in church history. He translated the Bible from Hebrew and Greek into Latin. That was important in the development of the church. It was important in the history of Bible translation. But if Rev. Beth Demme (15:59):

You want to portray this poignant, there's a man on the other side of them in this beautiful Rev. Beth Demme (16:09):

Yellow wrap. It's so gorgeous. I love that color, right. Well, that Joseph Mary's fiance, what's he doing Rev. Beth Demme (16:18):

There? This moment is about Mary and Elizabeth. I have another one for you. This one is better. Rev. Beth Demme (16:48):

Maybe this is actually a little older. The other one was from the 15 hundreds. This is from the late 14 hundreds. It's also by an Italian painter. This was commissioned Italian of sacred art. We have a lot to be thankful to him for, but I cannot pronounce his name and I will not try. The thing about this painting is you can see there are four women in it, right? Well, Mary and Elizabeth are in the middle. Elizabeth is in yellow kneeling before the obviously younger Mary, but the other two women, there's two other Mary's. The one in pink is Mary, the mother of James. And you can't see this in the image, but if you were to actually get close to it in real life there, it's inscribed on the column, which is how we know that this is who she is. So she's Mary, the mother of James and the other woman, the woman in blue is Salome, sometimes called Mary Ome. And these other two, Marys, the Bible tells us they were present at the crucifixion, but they don't have anything to do with this moment between Mary and Elizabeth. I do think this painter has done a better job of portraying the depth of emotion that Elizabeth felt as she met Mary again. But he's completely missed the joy of the moment, hasn't he?
(18:15)
I have another one for you. I actually like this one much, much better. This is from 1866. It's by a Danish painter Carl Heinrich block. And I like this better because you can see Elizabeth's joy, her arms are thrown open and welcome to Mary. And I also like that Mary is at the bottom of the stairs looking up at the older wiser Elizabeth, almost as if in relief, like I'm not alone, thank God. But this picture, this next one, this is my favorite. This is a contemporary piece called Jump for Joy and it's by a North Carolina artist, a man named Corby Ebaker. You don't really need to know this, but I ordered a signed print from the artist as my Christmas present to myself because life is short. So I love this. I love this image. I love this watercolor. Both women are filled with joy.
(19:18)
I love that Elizabeth has her head thrown back in a laugh as if she is not only laughing, but as if she is speaking to the Lord, right? Maybe she's saying thank you or I love you, or wow, she's doing that. Even as she laughs with delight. I love that the women are touching each other's baby bumps. I love that there are no extra people in the scene. It's just these two beautiful women sharing this incredible sacred moment. And I love that he titled this Jump for joy because that's what the baby in Elizabeth's womb does, right? He jumps for joy. Let me read to you what the artist Corby eba or what he says about this painting because I bet it'll make you love it even more. He describes himself as the brush that God uses. He says, I'm simply the brush that God uses, very humble.
(20:21)
So he says this jump for joy was the first painting I did after becoming sober in 2007. He had had surgery and then he had become addicted to opioids after taking the pain medicine and it nearly destroyed his life. But he got sober and he started painting again, and this was the first thing he painted. He says, I was definitely filled with a new life and I prayed. Others would see that through my art. He wrote earlier this year, I've been sober for more than 17 years, and there are still some people finding joy in my gift of art. And for that I am truly blessed. So are we Corby? So are we. Corby. Buer knows salvation. That's why he's able to capture the joy of it in this painting. Mary was in a difficult situation and she needed Elizabeth's reassurance. Together they are going to going embody salvation for the rest of us, John the Baptist will go on to prepare the way for Jesus and Jesus will prepare the way for us.
(21:38)
These two women are essential to God's mission, and they didn't have to do it alone. God gave them each other. Elizabeth was more than just a relative or a friend or another pregnant woman. She was evidence of God's care for Mary. God didn't just call Mary to an extraordinary role. He also provided someone to journey with Mary In this incredible time, think about how transformative that must have been for Mary. Elizabeth's presence reminded her that she was not alone, that her calling wasn't a burden she had to bear in isolation. Elizabeth says, oh, blessed are you among women.
(22:32)
Elizabeth's encouragement reveals God's love, a love that doesn't call us out to do great things, but also provides the support that we need to carry them out. Who's been an Elizabeth in your life who's reminded you of God's promises and encouraged you when you were weary? Because friends, we all get weary who has shared your joy and allowed it to grow. These relationships are not coincidences. They are holy gifts. And through them, God's love is revealed. Where are your opportunities to be an Elizabeth for someone else? Elizabeth's words to Mary were filled with encouragement and affirmation. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Elizabeth recognized God's work in Mary's life and celebrated it. Elizabeth was able to give words to how God's love was being revealed. In Mary's circumstances, we can do that for others. We are called to see and affirm God's work, others to walk with them through their challenges, to celebrate their joys.
(23:50)
And when we do, God's love is revealed to us and through us and to others. There's tremendous power in these shared moments when Mary and Elizabeth share this sacred moment that is so beautifully depicted by Corby Eiser. As she and Elizabeth share the joy of their pregnancies and they touch each other's bellies and they wonder over how God is at work, it is at that moment that the magnifi hot pores from Mary. She says, my soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God. My savior, for God has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant. Magnifico is her bold declaration of trust in God's promises. She says, yes, Lord, I will carry this burden and this blessing. The Magnificat is a song of faith and humility and courage from an ordinary woman who believed that God could use her to change the world and it pours out from her.
(25:04)
After God's love is revealed to her through Elizabeth's encouragement. And Mary doesn't just marvel at what God is doing for her. She proclaims about what God is doing for the whole world. She declares that the powerful will be humbled. The lowly lifted up and the hungry will be filled. God's love for everyone will be revealed and will transform the world. The Magnificat is a song of hope. Mary trust that the God who has been faithful to Abraham and to all of his descendants will continue to be faithful to the world. Mary says, we can all trust in God's promises even when the world seems dark. She says believe that God is at work. God's love is going to be revealed to the world. The Messiah is coming. And that truth, again, it pours from Mary only after she is encouraged by Elizabeth. The story of Mary and Elizabeth reminds us that God's love is revealed through relationships. God's love is revealed in the support Elizabeth offered to Mary. God's love is revealed in the way they share their joy and their faith. And God's love is revealed in the people that God places in our lives to sustain and encourage us. So as we approach Christmas, let us remember that Emmanuel God with us means that God's love is real and present, not only in the Christ child, but in the joy we share with one another through Christ. Thanks be to God. Amen.