Fourth Sunday of Advent
Readings – Micah 5: 2-5a; Psalm 80: 1-7; Hebrews 10: 5-10; Luke 1: 39-55
People of faith make space for light shining brightly.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth…. And God said, Let there be light; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. Genesis 1: 1,3-4
People of faith continue the tradition of making space for light to shine.
Mary, in her parents’ garden, was invited by the angel Gabriel to create space in her life for light. Imagine a 14-year-old girl invited to create space to host the infant Jesus.
And the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have
found favor with God. And behold you will conceive in your
womb and bear a son…The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and
the power of the Most High will overshadow you: therefore, the
child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God… And Mary said,
Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be with me according
to your word.
Luke 1:30-34b-35,38
Imagine her mother and father’s response. Scripture is totally silent. Must not have been helpful, and why else would she flee with haste to her cousin Elizabeth. And here scripture is very clear, Elizabeth welcomed Mary with open arms. Elizabeth gave Mary space to share the light, to share her news. In that space Mary poured out her soul in one of the greatest songs of faithfulness.
My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and
holy is his name…
Mary gave space to the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth gave safety and space to Mary to explore what was to come. Perhaps her parents settled in so Mary could return home.
And Joseph, he had to go to Bethlehem to be registered for the new tax, but Mary was not required to travel with him. Yet Joseph was drawn into the future vision, and would not let Mary’s call be diminished. Thoough initially, scripture tells us, he was inclined to break the engagement, Gabriel also visited him, and invited him into God’s plan of salvation. He joined with Mary in God’s plan to share the light. He protected Mary since by law she could have been publicly stoned for adultery.
God created space for light. Mary created space for light. Elizabeth created space for light. Joseph created space for light. This is what people of abiding faith do.
I want to add one more, the innkeeper’s wife. Tradition tells us that her husband declared that there was no room in the inn for the tired couple, and closed the door. On the second pass through the village seeking refuge, they were ushed by his wife to the back door and then to the stable, occupied by cow, ox, doves and mice. The floor was covered with fresh straw with a manger at the center. The innkeeper’s wife pushed aside the manger, and cleared the space of animals so that Mary could give birth to her first-born son. She cleared space for the light of the world, cleared space for the Son of God to be born, for the 8th day of creation.
Our collect for today prays that we may be purified so that Jesus “at his coming may find in us a mansion prepared for himself”. We pray that God may find space in our busy lives to live within us.
My prayer is that we will also create space for others to share their light, for space for others to be creative as God gifts them.
May we join the tradition of our God, of Mary, of Elizabeth, of Joseph, and of the innkeeper’s wife, the tradition of creating space for light, for the illumination of the world.
The forces of darkness are many. Let us as people of faith say there is room here!
Let people of faith give space to others so that their light will shine brightly to light up the world.
Amen
