Sacred pause

 

Luke 1:39-45

Mary Visits Elizabeth

In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah 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 fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

In the name of the Creator, the Redeemer and the Sustainer Amen

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb.

What a lovely moment in our journey through advent

Two women sharing a pause.

The very young Mary, seeking out her elder relative Elizabeth.

Sharing the joy and anxiety of motherhood.

Two women, unexpectedly pregnant - Mary, because she was not yet married - and Elizabeth, because she thought she was beyond the age of bearing a child

Two women, pregnant with potential, sharing a moment, each recognising in the other the blessing of God

Knowing that they carried within them the world’s salvation, promised forever, knowing that they had a role in the fulfilment of that promise.

Two women, taking a moment to pause at the wonder of it all.

So let us pause for a moment.

Let’s pause.

To breathe in grace…

And breathe out fear…

Breathing in grace…

And breathing out fear…

If we learn anything from Mary and Elizabeth, it is that their joy in the Lord was embodied.

It wasn’t just in their head.

Or even just in their heart.

Their whole body cried out in joy.

Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit just as she was filled with the child in her womb - and she cried out:

“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 fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

Mary’s song, that we read as our canticle this morning- is just as Spirit filled, just as full of passion- The Magnificat - a song of utter faith and trust in God to fulfil God’s promise - 

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.

Embodied faith.

Embodied grace.

Something that plays out in our everyday lives.

As we were reminded us last week - when crowds went out to hear John the Baptist in the wilderness, he didn’t ask them to stay there with him - he urged them to go back and live out faith where they were - by sharing what they had - if you have two coats, give one away, share your food, don’t cheat others…

The faith we profess has to be visible in our lives, has to be embodied, not just held in our minds or our hearts - but lived out.

Mary and Elizabeth embodied their complete trust in God.

As their sons grew, they would experience great sorrow, witness things that no mother should ever have to witness for their children, the kinds of things that countless mothers still endure today.

Yet each of them, knowing that sorrow awaited, rejoiced in the moment of being chosen by God to bear the herald of God and the Son of God.

We are told that Mary stayed with Elizabeth about 3 months.

And I can’t help wondering if that was the most peaceful time that both Mary and Elizabeth knew.

Because once their sons arrived, the world was changed forever.

Perhaps they knew that they had to make the most of the time before.

The time when they still had the power to protect and nurture their sons.

A blessed time for two women to care for one another, to rejoice, to soothe and comfort and to share strength with one another for the journey ahead.

And it seems like this might be a good time for us, in our race through Advent, to take some sacred pause.

To marvel at God’s blessing and God’s care for each of us.

To feel, not just in our hearts and minds, but with our whole being, the love and care of God for us - the grace that is ours, freely, extravagantly given in love by a God who chooses us.

It’s a good time to take a sacred pause and to notice - How are we embodying that grace?

Where do we feel it in our bodies?

Where does it ooze out into our everyday lives?

Let’s take a sacred pause.

Let us pause, from our preparations, from our anxiety, from our wondering what government announcements await us tomorrow.

Let’s pause.

To breathe in grace.

And breathe out fear.

Breathing in grace.

And breathing out fear.

As we pause here, with Elizabeth and Mary, may we gather strength, from one another and from God, to face whatever is next this Advent, knowing that the grace of God accompanies us as we go from here, filling us and equipping us for abundant life.

To the glory of God

Amen