“The Leap of Faith!” (Luke 1:39-45), Advent 4C, Dec. ‘15

1. Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  This 4th Sunday in Advent turns our attention toward the Nativity of Our Lord. The message today is entitled, “The Leap of Faith” and is taken from Luke 1:39-45.  Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2. A number of years ago, there was a humorous cartoon in the paper about two men and their dogs. “Say, that’s an unusual-looking dog,” said the first man. “He doesn’t have any ears.” “It’s a very rare species,” said the second. “They were bred to guard top secret messengers during the war. That way they wouldn’t have access to any of the information.” “Why that’s absolutely fascinating! What do you call a dog with no ears?” “You can call him anything you want, but he ain’t com’n.”  In our text for this morning we see exactly the opposite. When the Lord spoke to Mary, Elizabeth, and John the Baptist within his mother’s womb, God’s Word went into their ears, and they believed.  For Romans 10:17 tells us, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
3. But, we tend to believe the imagination of our hearts.  We look to ourselves for answers.  Years ago a stand-up comic on TV’s “Comedy Channel” commented somewhat thoughtfully: “Once upon a time we subscribed to Life magazine, but that was too wide a circle of concern, so we narrowed it down to People magazine. But that was still too much, so we shrunk it down further to Us magazine. And now the final and inevitable step: Self magazine.”  When we look to ourselves we don’t find what we really need.
4. In our Gospel account from Luke 1:39-45 we’re told that Mary went to visit her relative Elizabeth.  In her pregnancy it must have been a “leap of faith” for her to go and see her relative while she was pregnant. The Apostle Luke appears to be echoing the language of 2 Samuel 6, which describes the journey of the ark of the covenant in the Old Testament that was kept in the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle & temple. As the ark of the covenant marked the presence of God, so also Mary becomes the vessel for God’s new presence among his people. The very same Lord who dwelled with his people Israel made his residence within the womb of Mary.
5. Mary’s eagerness to confirm the amazing announcement the angel Gabriel had brought to her is evident in Luke’s writing: “In those days Mary arose and went with haste.” Here we see that Mary was eager to see her elderly cousin Elizabeth, who was in the sixth month of her surprising pregnancy. This would confirm the angel’s words to her and would establish her readiness to be the mother of God’s Son Jesus. It was a considerable journey for Mary. Zechariah and Elizabeth lived in the hill country south of Jerusalem, 70 miles from Nazareth. But Mary was accustomed to walking.  But, she wasn’t alone. She joined others along the way, pilgrims traveling to the temple in Jerusalem.  Surprise followed surprise! When Mary entered Elizabeth’s home and greeted her cousin we’re told that Elizabeth’s unborn son “leaped for joy” in her womb.  We’re also told that Elizabeth knew Mary’s situation even before Mary could tell her about the angel’s announcement.  What an awesome leap of faith!
6. My wife Roxanne has told me that when she was pregnant with our son Eddie that there were times when I was preaching the Word of God in church on Sunday morning when little Eddie would leap for joy in her womb.  In our text from Luke 1:39-45 we have evidence that even infants growing within their mother’s wombs are given the gift of faith in Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  We are also given a reason for why we baptize infants based on Jesus’ command in Matthew 28:19-20. Luke 1:39-45 says, “³⁹In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, ⁴⁰and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, ⁴²and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! ⁴³And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
7. Here we learn in Luke 1 that at Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaps in her womb. This is instructive on a number of levels. The same word for “child,” in Greek is brephos, which is also used by Jesus later when he instructs his disciples to allow the children to come to him in Lk 18:15. Luke’s Gospel teaches us that pre-born children are surely children and are precious to God. We also see that Elizabeth’s child leaps in her womb.  Even as a pre-born child, John’s faith is strengthened and excited by the news that Mary will give birth to the coming Savior.
8. This would be the role of John the Baptist to prepare the way for the Christ child sent to save us from our sins.  Here in Luke 1 the reaction of John while still in the womb points to him as God’s chosen way-preparer for the Christ. Remember in Luke 1:15 that the angel told John’s father Zechariah that his son would be filled with the Holy Spirit “even from His mother’s womb.”  What a leap of faith!  This incident also gives evidence to support the view that human personality begins already in the unborn.  Psalm 51:5 says, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”  Scientific studies today are agreeing as they show not only physical but also emotional reactions on the part of the fetus. All of this underscores the tragedy of a supportive attitude toward abortion in our society today.
9. This leads us to Mary’s response to all of these surprises by which God validated His Word to her and confirmed her faith was to praise Him with the song we call the Magnificat.  We sang a version of Mary’s magnificat in our sermon hymn.  The word comes from the key word in Latin, translated “magnifies” or “glorifies.”  In the Magnificat, Mary spoke out of the fullness of her heart and her words show to us the Old Testament prophecy that spoke of Jesus as the coming Messiah are being fulfilled in her pregnancy and birth of Jesus our Savior.
10. Within Mary’s Magnificat we learn of God’s purpose in sending His Son Jesus to be born of a woman.  Mary reminds us that there’s no time limit to God’s grace.  When she mentions the words, “Those who fear Him” she refers to those who believe the Good News of the Gospel found in Jesus Christ. Mary’s words remind us that pride is at the core of sin; it exalts self to the place in life that belongs to God. It’s the original sin, insistence that we determine for ourselves what is good and what is evil. Humility acknowledges God’s priority, confesses sin, and is ready to look to God’s grace and power for forgiveness and life. The Magnificat must be understood not only in terms of our relationship with God but also in terms of our relationship with each other.
11. As Mary sang the Magnificat we learn that she saw in her unique pregnancy and in the child who would be born the fulfillment of God’s covenant promise to Abraham and his offspring. We too rejoice at this, especially as we remember Paul’s assurance that Abraham’s offspring include all those who share Abraham’s faith in God’s promise, now fulfilled in Jesus Galatians 3:26–29 says, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.”  Thanks be to God that through Jesus, the child born of Mary, we are given the forgiveness of sins and eternal life.  It’s through the same “leap of faith” that we received in our baptisms and the hearing of His Word that we are saved.  Amen.