I presented this homily on December 19, 2021 at Christ Episcopal Church, Yankton, South Dakota. It is probably one of the shortest homilies I ever gave.
O come thou wisdom from on high, who orders all things mightily, to us the path of knowledge show, and teach us in her ways to go. Amen.
The Gospel according to Luke wonderfully depicts God’s holy wisdom at work in our world. In Luke’s telling of Jesus’ story; from the moment of his conception to his death, from Mary saying to Gabriel, “Be it unto me as you have said” to Jesus’s dying words, “In to your hands I commend my spirit,” we are shown the pathway of God’s wisdom.
In Luke, this pathway begins with the story of two unexpecting, expectant mothers, Elizabeth, considered incapable of having children and Mary who wasn’t anticipating having a child when Gabriel appeared to her. Like the parabolic thief in the night, the loving essence of God, God’s Spirit, came into the world of our making, to a remote village in Galilee to overshadow one our world wouldn’t notice; to Mary whose great faith and purity of heart was so favored by God that she was entrusted with bearing the hope of our world in her womb.
Paradox is a sign of God’s wisdom at work in our world, and Mary’s story presents us with a paradox. Mary, a child made in the image of God, like us, was chosen to bear in her womb the incarnate love of God made our image; who became one with us by becoming one of us. As such, Mary became the living ark of God’s new covenant in the person of Jesus, who would show us the path of knowledge; God’s loving wisdom working for us through him.
In today’s Gospel reading, Luke brings the stories of these two expectant mothers full circle in a joyous reunion where Mary praises God with her whole being in the words of the Magnificat. In it, Mary rejoices at God’s wisdom working within herself and then traces it back through the generations to Abraham; recalling how God chooses to reveal God’s wisdom through those so often ignored; the hungry, the poor, and the vulnerable, and so a humble young girl was chosen to bear God’s son, our brother Jesus, who was, himself, born in a humble stable at Bethlehem.
In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Mary is called the Theotokos, the God-bearer. From this term comes the Western concept of Mary being the Mother of God. That Mary holds such an exalted title is not surprising. Having born in her womb the one whose image we bear and the one who bears our image, Mary becomes our Mother also, the new Eve of God’s new creation, which came to fruition in the resurrection of Jesus, the new Adam.
The story of Mary’s willingness to participate in bringing about God’s new creation presents a model for us who desire to follow the knowledgable path of God’s wisdom; to be in ourselves the humble bearers of God’s love in our world. With Mary’s story in our hearts and minds, let us open ourselves to the daily visitation of God’s wisdom in the words of the familiar Christmas hymn:
“O holy child of Bethlehem descend to us we pray. Cast out our sins and enter in. Be born in us today…. O come to us, abide with us our Lord Immanuel.” Amen.
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Until next time, stay faithful.
Norm
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