Oxygen for Advent (Mary)

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee,  to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David.  Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!”  Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean.  “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God!"

(Luke 1:26-30)

Mary to Me

Lord Jesus:

Forgive my atittude toward your mother,

but You can't believe what some brothers

have done in the name of Christianity:

they've made your Mom a diety.

The Pope once declared 

that every blessing God would share

comes through Mary to us mortals.

It's enough to make me chortle.

Some believers have gone so far

as to declare Mary co-Redeemer.

Hail Mary, favored one, the Lord is with you!

that's what Gabriel said 

outside the grotto where she lived.

but it's not a prayer the angel makes.

He doesn't recite the Rosary.

Prayer to people is blasphemy,

and prayers to the dead necromancy,

deserving the death penalty in the Law.

Their idolatry doesn't stop there.

So she could her divinity share

bishops concoct 

that Mary was virgin-born, too!

What are we supposed to do

when Christians get so off base,

when they your Sacred Word efface

with pagan superstition

to make of Joseph's girl the Roman Diana?

These conjurers of Mary's elevation

are not the brothers weaker

with whom we must be patient (Romans 14).

Luther their betrayal proved,

95 truths nailed at Wittenburg.

Should we believe Mary intercedes

for us to Christ for all our needs?

That is not Scripture's affirmation;

Jesus is the only way to salvation,  (Acts 4:12)

and the divinity of our Savior

is not inherited from Mary's special favor.

Gracious? yes; Favored? true;

She was special, our mutual Father knew.

But there is only one Mediator

for us to God -- You are our only intercessor. (1 Timothy 2:5)

Listen -- Mary herself puts to rest

these notions some confess,

for why else in her Magnificat

does she thank her Savior God?  (Luke 1:47)

A sinless God-mom has no need

for a Savior to whom to plead

and undo the curse of Adam.

That's the Son's work, not a madam's.

But help me neither under-estimate

Mary's openness to God, her trusting faith

that made her reputation suffer scandal

in Nazareth town. Would Joseph annul

their marriage when she turns up pregnant

and she claims God is the parent?

Is this what it means to find God's favor? 

Lord, Your mother's faith is undeniable.

Help us to Your will be so pliable

to set aside risk to reputation,

and accept Your Spirit's invitation

to acknowledge our sinful need

and forgiveness and faith receive

just like Mary, just like me,

to start a journey that leads past Calvary

to the open tomb, our womb to eternal life.

Amen.

---

Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!”  Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.  He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”  Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”  The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.

(Luke 1:28-35)

Overshadowed

Eternal and Overshadowing God:

When I was last in Nazareth town

Communists marached up and down

the streets to loudly celebrate

someting or another.

Red flags unfurled

by boys and girls

and organizer's with wads of money.

But over two millenia ago

no Nazarene saw the glow

of angel fire from the grotto

where Mary wakes from dreaming.

Gabriel gives his mysterious greeting,

explains the purpose of their meeting:

this girl will be overshadowed

to birth Your Holy Son.

At first she may have suspected

that Joseph would not be neglected,

in the procreative act.

But Gabriel describes

how You will reach inside

her womb and plant the seed

that sets all Israel free.

What does overshadow mean?

She's only twelve or maybe thirteen.

Will it hurt? Will she die?

And what will Joseph do?

Will her carpenter beau be forced

to give her a certificate of divorce,

or will this angel also appear

to him for overshadowing?

How like the gift of saving faith

You plant in us for Jesus' sake.

We hear the Word of God announced

and You make us new creations;

body and soul inundating

something new in us creating

and that which overshadows

is the power of the cross.

Like Mary, we are given

power straight from heaven,

Holy Spirit energy from Christ

to satisfy Your righteous Law.

Receiving all, I did not labor

nor do anything to win Your favor,

but by grace You claimed me,

named me as Your very own.

So, we, too, become Your children

conceived not of human choice or blood,

but by the precious Word 

You make us be re-born.        (1 Peter 1:23)

To those who receive Him,

in faith believe Him,     (John 1:11-12)

we, with Mary, find Your overshadowing love

secured by grace forever more.

Amen.

---

The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she’s now in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.”  Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.

(Luke 1:35-38)

Nothing is Impossible

Heavenly Father:

Nothing is impossible with you.

There isn't anything You can't do.

Your Word never returns to You

that it does not accomplish what You purpose. (Isaiah 55:11)

Your majesty we must acclaim

and bow our knee at the name          (Phil 2:9)

of Him who did not leave us the same

as when He found us dead in sin.      (Eph.2:1)

When we were barren and spiritually dead

You let us hear the Gospel said

and awakened soul and head

to know the joy of heart-felt reason.

Impossible is not a word

You, O Lord, have ever heard

or sanctioned when we uttered

prayers of paniced desparation.  (Lk 18:27)

Your only impossibility

is what You do not will for me.

Unanswered prayer can only mean

Your plans for me exceed my grasp.  (Eph. 3:20)

If we would our trials confront

with Your strength and not our grunt, (Romans 12:12)

we might escape the awful rut

of trial and error in our walk.  (Mark 14:36)

Let me see Your work in others,

that encouraged by sisters, brothers

I might follow You, no other

in Your faith and fear always.

And when Your angels will depart

No fear or doubt shall hold my heart.

I need never fall apart.

With You nothing is impossible.  (Mt. 17:20)

Amen.

---

In those days Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth gave a glad cry and loudly exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed.  Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.”

(Luke 1:39-45)

Confirmation

Holy Father God:

When did Mary Your Christ conceive?

As the angel spoke the word,

or later when Nazareth she leaves,

or while staying with Elizabeth?

And why did she to Judea flee?

Eighty miles or more her trek.

Not to escape public shame

for no one yet knows her God-given secret.

Was it for Joseph's reputation?

If she's gone from Nazareth

and people do the nine month calculation,

Joseph's faithfulness remains unsullied.

That may have been Your strategic plan

but Mary's rush to leave her village

and risk the dangers of robber bands

is something more impetuous and human.

Mary needs some confirmation

of this miracle announced. 

Elizabeth may offer some consolation

and let her know this Gabriel is real.

As she traverses country and towns,

she's all but ignored by decent folk.

Men look her up and down.

Is she orphaned or prostitute?

No decent woman would ever make

such a journey on her own.

Robbers, kidnappers, snakes!

A girl alone on the road isn't prudent.

Her journey takes half a week.

She arrives at Bethhaccerem (today's Ein Karem),

She inquires, "Zechariah's house I seek."

Strangers point her to a grotto.

Under the rocky ledge protruding

sits an old woman in shaded recess

behind a pot of soup she's brooding,

til looking up she sees her road-weary niece.

Elizabeth with uncertainty blinks,

then a smile wrinkles her weathered face.

She's not sure just what to think,

but gingerly rises to receive Mary's greeting.

Mary sees her bulging abdomen

"Sal-am alekim, Peace to you!"

She tents her hands, bows her head.

Elizabeth starts to reply, when little John jolts.

First Elizabeth is wide-eyed in surprise,

then joy paints her wisened countenance,

she carresses her belly, tears in her eyes;

With holy recongition she grasps Mary's hands.

She looks the virgin up and down,

then lifting gnarled hands in bendiction,

suddenly she utters such a sound

that echoes all across the village.

Elizabeth sings with voice sublime

the Spirit's Psalm of confirmation.

Mary drops the travel bag at her side,

swept up in Lizzy's inspiration.

John, a fetus still safe and warm,

leaped at the sound of Mary's voice,

the Baptist's mission first performed,

identifies Messiah's coming.

Listen -- even Mary needed confirmation

of the Holy Word of God.

We may also seek direction

to know what God would have us do.

Like Mary we must risk a journey,

go where e'er the Spirit leads,

and find the people who read plainly

Your Holy Word in order to obey.

For God does not His Word contradict

He cannot to Himself be false.    (2 Timothy 2:13)

Though many doubt and try to trick

those He's chosen to despair.     (2 Peter 2)

When we don't know what to do,

may we in Your word confide

and trust that where one or two

believers meet Your Spirit guides. (Mt 18:20)

Thank you, God, for confirmation

of Your working in our lives

through Godly friends, their inspiration,

Your Living Word within us born.

May we, too, be blessed

for believing what the Lord has said.

So we, like Mary, may be possessed

of Heaven's love and confidence.

Amen. 

---

I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.  My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; The humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together.

(Psalm 34:1-3)

 46 Mary responded,

   “Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.

    47 How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!

 48 For he took notice of his lowly servant girl,

      and from now on all generations will call me blessed.

 49 For the Mighty One is holy,

      and he has done great things for me.

 50 He shows mercy from generation to generation

      to all who fear him.

 51 His mighty arm has done tremendous things!

      He has scattered the proud and haughty ones.

 52 He has brought down princes from their thrones

      and exalted the humble.

 53 He has filled the hungry with good things

      and sent the rich away with empty hands.

 54 He has helped his servant Israel

      and remembered to be merciful.

 55 For he made this promise to our ancestors,

      to Abraham and his children forever.”

 56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back to her own home.

(Luke 1:46-55)

Magnificat

Almighty Father:

How does a Galilean peasant girl compose

such a psalm of praise?

Skeptics say she didn't write it,

that it comes from much later days.

Mary includes eight Scripture references:

from the Law, the Prophets, and Psalms.

I confess when I read or hear it sung

I, too, have had some qualms.

But could it be that Mary sang this song 

not just once but many times?

Was it sung in Galilee

by women in their worship and nursery?

Study the Magnificat --

there's nothing uniquely Christian there.

It's Old Testament through and through.

For every handmaiden, this was her prayer:

To give birth to the Messiah Savior,

the righteous revolutionary

come to make the haughty pay.

Is that what's in the mind of Mary?

Is that the context for her praise?

Did she suddenly realize

this song she's sung from early days

is coming true in front of her eyes?

Luke develops the theme of women

in the Gospel story he's weaving.

And Mary quite especially

is the model of true believing.

She not only hears the Word of God,

it saturates her every moment,

and hearing she responds with faith,

accepts it with joy triumphant.

But more than mere intellectual assent

Mary acts on what she knows,

no matter what the consequence,

when God speaks, she goes.

Lord, the truest place of Godly tradition 

is our souls and minds to prepare

that by repetition we aren't surprised

when You act to answer prayer.

Help us, like Mary, accept your Word,

make it faith's sure foundation,

that joyously we too may sing

and celebrate your Incarnation.

Amen.

Oxygen for Advent: Luke 1:5-66 (Zechariah)

When Herod was king of Judea, there was a Jewish priest named Zechariah. He was a member of the priestly order of Abijah, and his wife, Elizabeth, was also from the priestly line of Aaron.  Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in God’s eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord’s commandments and regulations.  They had no children because Elizabeth was unable to conceive, and they were both very old.

(Luke 1:5-7)

When the world was upside down

an Arab wore the Jewish crown.

Herod the Great was not a Jew

but from Edom, he and his crew.

A murderous villian, his reign

was one of treachory and disdain

for anything but raw power and the almighty shekel.

Fifteen or twenty thousand priests

worked at the Temple this Herod built

as much a monument to himself

as to any Biblical legacy.

Priests were divided into 24 orders,

each served two weeks a year

with great reverence and fear.

When not on duty they had to work

at a trade to earn their bread and way

but this was Zecharaiah's special day.

Priests were only allowed to marry

pure-blooded Jews from Aaron's line,

no denying they were perfectly complying

with the Biblical design.

Yet they had no children, this couple,

for Elizabeth was barren, infertile,

which made her the object of ridicule

among the other priestly wives;

for barrenness was the sign of curse,

some sin still obviously lurked

in their background else

why would Yahweh punish them?

When the world was upside down

God perpetually wore a frown,

displeased with those in poverty

and righteousness was about success,

or so said the religious police.

But Zech and Lizzy would soon discover

that God was not their Cursor, but Lover

and bring good news -- God's final prophet

would be their son, Messiah's time had come.

When the world was upside down,

not a single prophet had come to town.

in more than four hundred years of longing.

Had God abandoned his sacred throng,

his own people, his holy nation,

back from Babylonian slavery, chastened

for a time, but now returned

to faithlessness and unconcerned

about Messiahs and other folklore.

The Romans all but closed the door

on hope and joy and David's crown

when the world was upside down.

Help us, Lord, in this Advent season

when days are short and so is reason

that we not despair for Your reviving

of your people and our Gatherings.

When our worlds are topsy-turvey

calm our souls with Your great mercy.

Let us know that you are near

though we see no evidence clear,

when the heavens turn to stone

and prayers seem unanswered and we're alone,

yet we trust that one day soon

we shall see the blood-red moon  (Acts 2:20)

and hear the shouts of angelic hosts

announcing Christ's return and Earth's final Easter.

Lord, our world seems upside down

politicians are such clowns

hope is as sparse as wisdom

what can we do, we feel like victims.

Help us trust in You to bring

the great age for which we sing

our carols and our anthems blend

of peace on earth, goodwill to men,

and put the world upright again.

Amen

---

One day Zechariah was serving God in the Temple, for his order was on duty that week. As was the custom of the priests, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense. While the incense was being burned, a great crowd stood outside, praying. While Zechariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the incense altar. Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him. But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John.  (Luke 1:8-13)

Providential God:

Shift Abijah reports for duty,

they can see the Temple's beauty

gleaming in the morning sun,

the first day of their shift begun.

800 men relieve last weeks' crew,

glad their work was through.

Down Zion they went, yelling "Hallelujah."

Hundreds of duties were required it seems

for Zechariah and his team

to maintain the Temple and provide

for its daily worship and supply.

Duties were assigned by drawing lots.

Some got to pray, others cleaned pots,

while still others butchered animals all day long

and worst of all, some carted off dung.

Temple worship was such a mess.

How could anything so bloody bless?

The greatest honor chance could bestow

was for the priest who got to go

into the the Holy Place to bring

the daily offerings:

fresh show bread, there could be no mold,

oil, to keep the menorah burning

and incense for the prayers of yearning.

Only once in a lifetime could someone serve

so Zechariah was filled with verve. 

But men had been known to falter

while tending to this hidden altar

and even die while on this job. (Leviticus 10)

Zechariahs' heart surely throbbed

both with fear and awe-filled reverence

that fate chose him, a righteous preference.

But this lot wasn't chance at all,

it fell on one You planned to call

through Gabriel for special grace

standing in the Holy Place.

What does this mean to our view

of probability and chance?  This is news!

The lots are loaded toward providence;

nothing happens by blind chance

to those God has chosen for his own.

Luck is so over-blown. No wonder gamblers lose.

A million typing monkeys given eternity

could never produce a sentence you could read,

apart from God's willing, even with spell checker.

We aren't random stardust but special to Your plan

for creation and the destiny of Man.

Help us see You, Lord, not only in second chances

but in those one-in-a-million circumstances

that are not at all circumstantial

but filled with glory more substantial,

as You move, or when You call.

You are Sovereign over all,

cause and effect and chance alike

obey Your providence, prove Your right

to control our destiny and worth

to bring Your Kingdom soon to earth.

If my genetics mean my body is decaying

it's Your perfect will it is obeying.

I will not fear what doctors tell me

for no calamity can befell me

that You are not completely in control

of my body, mind, and soul.

You are my perfect Healer,

Friend, and Lord and life's Redeemer.  

Help us our daily duties do

for we know not when we may encounter You

or some angel in the course of living.

Your Spirit is loose in the world, giving 

knowledge of your Son no Temple can contain.

Thank you that you hear our prayers

and answer every one;

so save us from the myths of chance

and let Thy will be done.

Amen.

---

While Zechariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the incense altar. Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him. But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God.  He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.”

(Luke 1:11-17)

Heavenly Father:

When Zechariah entered Your Holy Place

on his once appointed day

and there saw Gabriel face to face

he was speechless, didn't know what to say.

It had been half a millenium since Israel knew

any angelic visitation;

four hundred years since a prophet spoke

"Thus saith the Lord" without hesitation.

Like us, they were tempted

to think that You had gone away,

tempted, too, to disbelieve

You were counting down the days.

Then Heaven's silence was shattered

and Gabriel himself appears

in the smoking inscence sweet

and Zechariah shakes with awful fear.

Whatever righteousness Zech might have claimed

evaporated at the sight

of this visitor from God's own throne,

robed in radiance, crowned with light.

  

Had Zechariah's eyes had time to adjust

from the dust and bright desert sun

to the darkness of the inner chamber

and the silence, like a tomb,

except for soft sputtering flame

from the menorah in the room.

What petition did Zechariah make?

Did he pray selfishly for a child

or had he given up that dream?

Surely a ritual prayer had been prescribed

for priests on such holy duty,

for those rendered speechless by the sight.

Psalm one hundred forty two, verse two:

"Let my prayer be as incense to You,

and the lifting of my hands

as the evening sacrifice."

But this was more than ritual

for this childless priest and wife.

Zechariah had prepared

for this moment his whole life.

What would he say, what could he do

to let God know how much he cared,

But You, Lord, took the initiative,

sovereign grace and mercy shared.

Gabriel says, "You're prayer's been heard."

Remember, not his selfish petition

for an heir, but for God to vindicate

Israel in in all its affliction.

Gabriel announces Elizabeth

will bear a son and God has named him John;

the name itself a sign

that God is gracious in this one.

He will be Spirit-led in the womb; 

he will jump in Christ's unborn presence, (Luke 1:44)

giving a prophetic sign

to those two Nazarethan peasants.

Greater than any Herod, he

will spark a great revival.

John will be the final prophet,

Elijah come announcing Messiah's arrival.

His message will be so earth shaking

Some might think him mad, untamed. 

He cannot drink wine or alcohol,

Nothing but God's Spirit can be blamed

for his exuberence and gall.

Turning father's hearts to their children

John will fulfill the very last prophecy

of Malachi, the Old Testament ending,

hearlding the Kingdom's amnesty for sinners who repent.

Just as You promised joy and gladness

at the coming of Messiah's prophet,

in this Advent preparation

grant us joy, let nothing stop it.

May we hear the good news of Christ

come to earth, our sacrifice

for sin and deliverance from death,

grace us like Zechariah and Elizabeth.

Amen.

---

Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.”  Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news!  But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be 

fulfilled at the proper time.”  Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah to come out of the sanctuary, wondering why he was taking so long. When he finally did come out, he couldn’t speak to them. Then they realized from his gestures and his silence that he must have seen a vision in the sanctuary.  (Luke 1:18-22)

Heavenly Father:

Thank you that You know our human condition,

that we are frail, that we are dust,

that we do not seek You or do what is just, 

yet you hear and forgive our humble petitions.

So it should come as no surprise Zechariah

responds with doubt to what God had sworn,

to Gabriel's news of a son to be born

who will be the very first to identify Messiah.

But why is the priest struck deaf and dumb

when Mary asks the identical question

and she's not punished for a transgression?

Why is doubt ok for one and wrong for some?

There are different kinds of doubt it seems,

from lack of knowledge to skeptical incredulity.

God sees the heart presumably

and makes allowance as grace might deem.

Zech's response more than mere amazement contains,

Such as "Since we're old, how can this be?"

But he says to Gabriel, "Look, don't you see

I am an old man with aches and pains."

And Gabriel shoots back, "Look, don't you see

that I'm an angel standing here!

It's not every day angels appear,

This Word is straight from God through me."

Suddenly Zechariah's tongue lost precision.

As he stumbles back outside,

making gestures, eyes open wide,

some deride, but others know he's seen a vision.

Those outside the Temple had been praying,

worried something had gone wrong,

burning incense shouldn't take this long.

What could have happened? Why is he delaying?

Then Zechariah stumbles out, blinded by the sun,

making gestures frantically,

pointing inside anxiously.

The New Testament has begun.

So, back to his Temple routines he goes,

butchering animals all day long,

hopeful, joyous but he makes no song.

God's got his tongue and Zech's on his toes.

So may the doubts that in us surface

prod us to deeper faith in your holy Word,

and by Your Spirit stirred

may we follow where you spur us.

Zech should have known what You could do;

You did it before in another era,

with Father Abraham and barren Sara.

Your Word is faithful and ever true.

So, doubt's answer is to rely

upon God's faithful promise,

not become a doubting Thomas.

But to our doubts, your Word apply.

As it worked out with Zechariah

his silence was more eloquent

than any words he might have said

to prepare the way for God's Messiah.

You speak and worlds fly from your hand,

every promise you have said,

every prophecy we have read

will happen at the proper time in Your plan.

In this Advent our hearts prepare

to come before the Son of God,

now King with praise and laud,

and overcome doubt and despair.

Amen.

---

When Zechariah’s week of service in the Temple was over, he returned home. Soon afterward his wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant and went into seclusion for five months. “How kind the Lord is!” she exclaimed. “He has taken away my disgrace of having no children.” When it was time for Elizabeth’s baby to be born, she gave birth to a son. And when her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had been very merciful to her, everyone rejoiced with her. When the baby was eight days old, they all came for the circumcision ceremony. They wanted to name him Zechariah, after his father. But Elizabeth said, “No! His name is John!”    “What?” they exclaimed. “There is no one in all your family by that name.” So they used gestures to ask the baby’s father what he wanted to name him. He motioned for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s surprise he wrote, “His name is John.”  Instantly Zechariah could speak again, and he began praising God.  Awe fell upon the whole neighborhood, and the news of what had happened spread throughout the Judean hills. Everyone who heard about it reflected on these events and asked, “What will this child turn out to be?” For the hand of the Lord was surely upon him in a special way.

(Luke 1:23-25, 57-66)

Gracious God:

This story zooms past so fast

we easily miss the wonder.

Your plan from time's creation

is set in motion at last,

a Gospel so vast

the cosmos cannot contain

the glory of Your love

that overflows in angel chorus.

Elizabeth stays in seclusion

until her belly starts to grow.

Why doesn't she announce to everyone

she's going to be a mother, have a son?

Isn't Elizabeth a lot like us,

uncomfortable with sharing 

what we believe, faith conceived

from heaven's bounteous wonder?

But after five months pass

her robes show the undeniable protrusion,

now confirm the conclusion

that the angel's news is true,

the stigma of barrenness removed,

no more disgrace from nosy neighbors.

She delivers her first born son.

She may be seventy or eighty years of age!

Every  Omar and Jedidiah

wink and nudge Zechariah.

"Children he can produce with ease,"

they chide, "but not a sound proceeds

from his throat or tongue."

Pay attention here -- it's eight hundred years

since Israel's seen any documented miracle.

God is certainly in arrears,

and many were the fears

that God wasn't even real,

or perhaps had made another people

the object of his favor.

On the eighth day after little John's birth

the Law required circumscision.

A day of celebration and mirth,

the relatives gather, give gifts of great worth.

Then comes the time for giving a name

and everyone expects to hear

"Zechariah Jr." loud and clear,

but Lizzy says no, his name is John.      

Family members, confused, decree

"We can't remember a single John

anywhere on our family tree."

Then in a move without precendent

John grabs the tablet and scrawls 

"His name is John" and instantly

his tongue is freed and praise erupts like Pentecostal fire.

Sometimes our tongues get tied

though we can speak perfectly.

But our witness seems to die

in our throats.  We don't or won't

tell others of our Savior's love,

even if they ask, we stumble over words

that should pour out in gratitude.

Has our ritual worship taught us

that we must perform in a certain manner,

say magic words or read from a book

our evangelism to perform?

Is it fear we will mess up the norm?

Here's the truth -- Jesus is already Savior and Lord,

my words don't accomplish his grace,

his presence has already been out-poured

on those who cross my path.

It's not up to me to prove Christ's worth.

I don't need to be an expert,

but all authority in heaven and earth

belongs to Jesus Christ alone.             (Matthew 28:18)

The Great Commission does not mean

I have to sell to others what I've bought.

Evangelism is not a pyramid scheme.  

The mandate for giving witness

is not to benefit the other guy

but for me, to open myself to the divine

appointment that has already claimed the world.

This Advent open our lips and hearts,

let us say with political incorrectness

Merry Christmas, not some inane

Happy Holidays as if all relligions

and philosophies are equal and the same.

Help us name the precious name

above every other name on earth,

the name of Jesus and his claim

on everyone, not just those who call him Lord,

or who need their hope restored,

but to all the tongue-tied to our pride.

Let our words be of Your grace,

Your mercy and Your abiding love,

to share Good news in every place.

Help us not to fear or cower

when the skeptic invokes the power

of man-made philosophy or science;

we need not feel shame to keep our silence

like some frightened Zechariah.

Loose our tongues to tell the news

This world does not belong to Gaia.

Christ isn't waiting for you to choose;

Jesus is already King and Judge,

and faith is not a crutch

but the gift of Christmas come.

Amen.