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THE FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT December 22, 2024 Pastor Tom Steers Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto Brothers and sisters, peace, grace and mercy be to you through God our Father, and our Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. Our Opening Hymn is: “My Soul Rejoices” Lutheran Service Book, 933 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTSzijTcRF4 Our Collect Prayer: Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come and help us by Your might, that the sins which weigh us down may be quickly lifted by Your grace and mercy; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Our Bible Readings: Old Testament – Micah 5:2-5a Psalm 80:1-7 Epistle – Hebrews 10:5-10 Gospel – Luke 1:39-56 The Apostles’ Creed – I believe in God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. Our Hymn of the Day is: “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” Lutheran Service Book, 357 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXp-bpDaxEU 1. O come, O come, Immanuel, and ransom captive Israel that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear. Refrain: Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel shall come to you, O Israel. 2. O come, O Wisdom from on high, who ordered all things mightily; to us the path of knowledge show and teach us in its ways to go. (Refrain) 3. O come, O come, great Lord of might, who to your tribes on Sinai's height in ancient times did give the law in cloud and majesty and awe. (Refrain) 4. O come, O Branch of Jesse's stem, unto your own and rescue them! From depths of hell your people save, and give them victory o'er the grave. (Refrain) 5. O come, O Key of David, come and open wide our heavenly home. Make safe for us the heavenward road and bar the way to death's abode. (Refrain) 6. O come, O Bright and Morning Star, and bring us comfort from afar! Dispel the shadows of the night and turn our darkness into light. (Refrain) 7. O come, O King of nations, bind in one the hearts of all mankind. Bid all our sad divisions cease and be yourself our King of Peace. (Refrain) The Sermon – Mary, a poor young peasant girl from a small village is pregnant with Jesus. She has a fiancé, but this child is not his. The penalty for bearing a child when unmarried would at least be social isolation as an outcast, and could even be death by stoning. To whom can Mary turn? She goes to her cousin, who’s also expecting, an older woman who can help. Two women get together to talk about having a baby -- the caring and things that need to be done. Mary’s fiancé naturally feels betrayed, but being a good man, simply wants to end the relationship quietly. An angel from God would reassure Joseph he had not been betrayed. So, Mary had a dilemma, a serious one. How was she going to handle this situation? At Mary’s arrival, Elizabeth was thrilled when her own child leaped for joy inside her. Through God’s grace, Elizabeth was granted a child at an advanced age. Yet even beyond this she was given to know her cousin Mary’s baby was something much more. That her young cousin was to be esteemed above all mothers on earth. Through the poor, simple Mary, the Lord, God in human flesh, was coming to the world: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” Elizabeth recognizes one of the greatest miracles in all this -- the miracle of the angel’s message to Mary. The miracle, as well, that God should love us who waste and destroy His gifts in this world, and each other, in rebellion and disobedience to Him. The miracle that God, in His only Son, unites Himself to us to get under the burden of misery we’ve made, and, as one of us, frees us. The miracle that God chose a poor maiden who no one thought of any importance to be His way to come to earth. And then there is what Elizabeth, and also Martin Luther, thought one of the most staggering miracles of all, that Mary believed it -- her faith. She simply and humbly acknowledges this great gift from God. She doesn’t magnify herself; she glorifies God. The peasant girl Mary, born under sin as all humanity, becomes the mother of our Lord. Mary’s response is not, “Yes, that sure is me. Just think what it does for my self-image.” No, hers is the song of faith that tells God, the giver, what an astonishing God He is. Mary says “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.” We call it Mary’s song, the Magnificat, but it isn’t something she just made up. It’s Scripture Mary had learned by heart, that she now uses to praise God. It’s mostly Hannah’s song of praise to God for the son, Samuel, that was given to her, and whom she gave back to the Lord’s service. Leah’s song is in it too. So, Mary’s words are part of the song of all grateful mothers for the gift of a child created in them. Yet Mary is even more blessed, for the fruit of her womb is Christ the Saviour. So, there is a joy in Mary’s song above all others. Her child is God Incarnate, whom she will nurse, and in His state of humility teach to pray, and help Him learn the Commandments and the promises. The Fourth Commandment says, “Honour thy father and thy mother.” This is honour that really belongs to God. An honour He shares with parents who accept the sacred trust of nurturing their child’s life, a precious gift given by God. A life only He has the right to take away. The role of motherhood, a mother’s love, needs another love alongside it. This is the love of the First Commandment, to love God above all things, and in these secular days the love of the Fifth Commandment -- do not murder. God’s love, and our love of Him, are always first and center. For only in so far as our loves are tied to God’s love will they have His blessing. In this way, our love is kept from shriveling or growing hazardously oversize. We’re told of two occasions when Mary had to learn this. At Cana she gave Jesus a prod, “Aren’t You going to do something about the wine?” Jesus replied, “What I’m to be doing is not something that you have management of.” Mary took this, and humbly tells the servants, “Whatever He tells you to do, do it.” On another occasion Christ was with His disciples, preaching. Mary sent a message summoning Him to come to her. Jesus did not go, but proclaimed a relationship with Himself that is deeper and larger than mother and child, but into which the relationship of mother and child is to be included and find its maturing and fulfilling place. He said, “For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.” (Mark 3:35, ESV) Mary, too, had to learn discipleship. It wasn’t easy. Yet in her hour of utmost grief, that pierced her heart like a sword, she knew not only the blessing, but the promised cost of being Jesus’ mother. Jesus appointed the Apostle John to do a son’s work in taking care of Mary because of what Jesus was doing through the cross and resurrection. For her, for us all. Tenderly from the cross, Christ says, “Woman, behold thy son! . . . Behold thy mother!” All our loves have their full meaning and fulfillment within God’s strong, forgiving love. It is toward this great love that we are to look for our hope, and salvation. Let us pray: Dear Lord, we thank You for the Blessed Virgin Mary. For Hannah, Leah, Elizabeth, and for our own mothers. We thank You, Lord, that You use mothers, sharing with them the joy of creation, giving them children to love and care for with and under You. Forgive mothers when they play God without You, and forget they are Your deputies and disciples. We thank You for being born of the faithful, humble Mary, for Your being born of her to become one of us, to walk with us, and bear the burden of our sins on the cross. Keep all our loves within Your forgiving and life-giving love. Frustrate the designs of evil, and bless the efforts of all those who serve and witness to your precious gift of children, both born and unborn. Keep us forever within the true Christian faith, with our eyes fixed on You, and the salvation only You offer. Amen. The Benediction – The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen. Our Closing Hymn is: “Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee” Lutheran Service Book, 803 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDtPG8KYQhA Music: Ludwig van Beethoven