Sermon “Unexpected Greetings”
Lord, speak to your people in clarity, bringing us your forgiving grace. Amen.
How do you expect people to greet you? I remember when caller I.D. was first showing up on telephones. It really surprised me when I called someone and the person picked up the phone and greeted me by name immediately. How about this one? When the trick-or-treater comes to the door, have you ever asked him if he has brought the pizza you ordered? Have you ever thanked the clerk at the doctor’s office for letting you pay?
In our readings appointed for today, the feast of Mary, the mother of our Lord, we see unexpected greetings. In Isaiah we who are unworthy are welcomed into the presence of God, who adorns us with forgiveness and salvation. In Galatians we who were slaves to sin are made heirs of God. In Luke, Mary, who is pretty newly pregnant, is greeted as the mother of the Lord by her cousin Elizabeth, who had noticed her unborn son leaping for joy in the presence of the Savior. The Scriptures draw our attention to God’s forgiveness, granted according to his sovereign will, in his timing, on his terms. And his revelation of this forgiveness should take us by surprise.
How will we enter into the presence of God? Shouldn’t we have every expectation that we would need to earn that privilege? We who have clean hands and a pure heart may ascend to the holy hill of the Lord. We would come with sacrifices of thanksgiving and praise, also with worthy gifts, showing that we have cleansed ourselves and purified our hearts. That’s what we would imagine. But how are we brought into the presence of God in our passage from Isaiah? We who are sinful are brought into the presence of God as unclean beings. We bring our shame, our grief, our iniquity, our uncleanness. It is God who proclaims us righteous, who puts his holy love upon us, who raises us up as pure and spotless servants in his kingdom. Salvation is of the Lord, not of our own devices. We cannot come to Christ on our terms. Not at all. He brings us to himself on his terms, or salvation is of someone other than the Lord. We who come to Jesus in faith are greeted as his great friends, his heirs.
But what of the fact that we are enslaved to sin? This is exactly what Paul points to in Galatians. We who are slaves find that our God greets us as slaves no more, but now as heirs, joint-heirs with Jesus. Once again we have to ask how this came about. Did it happen because we were worthy? Not at all. Did it happen because we brought the right offerings? No, again, we can do nothing to earn our Lord’s favor. Our Lord greets us as heirs because of his good pleasure, because he called us to Christ, because the time was fulfilled and he wanted to save the world through God the Son. So we who are slaves come to our Lord and he greets us as sons. We are slaves no more but are heirs. This is our Lord’s choice, in his timing, according to his perfect will.
As we look at God’s timing we have to look to the timing of Mary’s visit to Elizabeth. This is about the right time of year for the visit. Mary was found to be pregnant of the Holy Spirit. She went to visit Elizabeth, who was about six months farther along. So it’s early in Mary’s pregnancy, late in Elizabeth’s pregnancy, and we’re about the right amount of time after the feast of the anunciation and before the feast of Christmas. How is Mary greeted at this time? Upon perceiving that his savior had come into the room, John leaped in his mother’s womb. Elizabeth greeted Mary as the mother of the Lord. And Mary burst into poetry, proclaiming God’s mercy on his people, on all who believe on him.
Not only have Elizabeth and Mary greeted one another, let us remember that our God, God the Son, Jesus Christ, has greeted us as he greeted his cousin John. It is our Lord who calls us together, who promises to pour out his righteousness upon us, who has called us heirs along with him, and who has proclaimed the day of salvation. It is in Jesus that the rich are humbled and the poor are exalted. It is in Jesus that we are sent away with all the blessing of God.
How have we been greeted? Our Lord and Savior greets us with salvation, just as he has been doing since he was still in his mother’s womb. Let us then look to Jesus Christ, the savior of the world, believing that he is indeed able to adopt us into his kingdom and fill us with his glorious righteousness.
This may be the feast of Mary. It’s the day we remember Mary. But why do we remember Mary? We remember her because she carried our Savior. We remember her because she burst into praise of her Lord and our Lord, proclaiming his mercy. So may the Lord give us grace to proclaim his mercy, just as Mary did on that day.
Our Lord, author and finisher of our salvation, show your redemption. Have mercy on your people. Grant us to believe on you, looking to your loving kindness and receiving from your favor, for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever.
No comments:
Post a Comment