What's With All That Stuff?

Luke 1:39-55

You probably might have noticed that a lot of the readings for the season of Advent can seem to be somewhat gloomy, or at the very least, they are not the cheery, breezy, upbeat readings that we would tend to associate with what we see as a fun and festive season. For example, on the first Sunday of Advent, the gospel reading begins with a forecast of doom; speaking of distress among nations, of people being confused and fainting from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And it ends with the warning to pray and be on guard so that that day does not catch you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. Pretty heavy stuff.

Then last Sunday there was John the Baptist, admonishing those who were coming to him for baptism to bear fruit worthy of repentance, warning of serious judgement if they failed to do so.

So when you are presented with such readings, at this time when everything around speaks of having a golly good time, you might be inclined to wonder: “What’s with all that stuff?”

Well, all of that stuff reflects the reality of our lives and our world; the reality that our world is troubled, and many of us in many ways, are not living our best lives.  

The reality that there are many who are afraid and confused, because that which once brought stability to their lives have been weakened, and that which brought hope and joy to them has been overshadowed by the cares and concerns that they carry.

All of that stuff reflects the reality that many are in distress, struggling to find their way in the darkness that has overtaken their lives – the darkness of addiction, abuse, broken relationship, homelessness and need. Some sit in the darkness of mental illness, fear and hopelessness.  Still others dwell in the gloom of grief - grief for those who have died or grief for their own decline or that of a loved one.

And those my friends are the stuff of life that takes more than the bright and cheery songs and greetings of the season to change.

So what’s with all that stuff?! It is the difficult and destructive reality which we face, and which God in Christ has come to change. And in Today’s reading from Luke, we see what that change can look like.

Luke introduces us to Mary, a teenage girl, unknown unmarried, with nothing to her name; but yet chosen to be the mother of the Saviour of the world. Luke presents Mary’s song of exaltation in which Mary says:

My soul magnifies the Lord, 
and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, 
for he has looked with favour on the lowliness 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. 

His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. 
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts 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. 

The events of Mary’s life reveal what God is up to and how God generally operates. It highlights the reversal of circumstances that God brings about. The lifting up of the lowly, the exaltation of the humble, the bringing down of the powerful – who are often agents of exploitation. The filling of the hungry with good things, while the rich go away empty. What a stunning reversal!

Mary’s song is a compelling testimony to God’s healing presence and transformative grace. It bears powerful witness to what happens when we live in relationship with God: how we receive God’s affirmation and embrace, God’s empowerment, and renewal.

Here we have Elizabeth, a postmenopausal woman and Mary, a teenage girl. Two women favoured by God, empowered, exultant, lifting their voices in praise of God’s newness and power alive in them.

That’s how it will always be! God choses who will be the voices and agents of God’s purpose, and the chosen will often be those who have little social or economic power. The message is that anyone can be in the forefront of God’s work.

So yes, there may be a lot of gloomy stuff that makes up a significant part of our Advent readings, but that gloomy stuff is the stuff of our lives, and Mary helps us to see that we can live through all of that stuff, and come out blessed, because God meets us where we are and transforms our lives. God comes to us when we are down and out, uncertain and afraid. God come to us when we find ourselves among the least and last, unseen and unheard, and God lifts us up. And what Mary is saying to us in her song, is that “What has happened to me, can happen to any and all of you.”

God comes to us because God is willing to enter into the gloomy and difficult places of our lives to bless us with hope and renewal, newness and freedom. That is what Mary bore witness to, and that is what we are called to bear witness to in our time - a time when so much is happening that casts a shadow of gloom over so many.

We like Mary must bear witness to the light of Christ coming into the world, exposing that which needs to be exposed and pointing us to a better way, a more hopeful way.

So we receive these Advent texts, including the gloomy ones, because they remind us of how the coming of Christ calls us to live and calls us to be. They remind us of that which Christ calls us from and that to which he leads us.

And they give us cause, like Mary, to rejoice in the new life that God gives, and to witness to our God who moves about this world feeling everything we feel, and who promises to come alongside us, especially as we face those gloomy and difficult stuff of life.

As we wait in anticipation of God renewing and empowering work in us, let us open our hearts to God and affirm God’s call as Mary did. Let us see God as the one who empowers us and gives more that we can imagine.

Thanks be to God.