Faith from Women Who Shouldn’t be Pregnant
Luke 1:39-56
December 24, 2023 anno Domini
In Bible Study on Sunday mornings, I frequently ask the question, “Where have we heard this before?” It’s a question to teach us that the Bible is one story – God’s story of saving you from yourself.
Where have we heard of pregnant women who shouldn’t or couldn’t be pregnant? There’s Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Tamar, and Hannah. Those pregnancies were conceived by the promises of God, given to faith, and resulted in the birth of sons. Those births didn’t just bring joy to the mothers but hope to a nation. The New Testament continues and completes the story. Elizabeth shouldn’t be pregnant – she’s old and barren and Mary couldn’t be pregnant – she’s a virgin.
But God promises and pun intended He delivers, and faith receives joy and hope. The visitation of Mary to Elizabeth teaches us of such faith, and that is good, right, and salutary because we are waiting for the Christ to come and that takes faith.
It takes faith because it doesn’t look like Christ is drawing near. It looks like God is running away, that He’s hiding. Sometimes we feel like the false prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel calling on God to do something, anything, and there is no answer from heaven, no fire, no voice, no nothing. Where is He when our state government legalizes child mutilation of teenagers, when the life of the unborn isn’t considered life, when criminals are martyrs, when pornography is good literature for grade schoolers, when fatherless homes are encouraged, when righteousness and worthiness is tied to your skin color or your twisted gender and not to the fact that all humans are created in the image of God and only created male or female.
Is God really near? Is Jesus coming soon? It’s hard to believe. You don’t need to look out there at the Government, the politics, and the laws. Most of us need look no further than our own homes to see pain and sadness and death and guilt and self-inflicted wounds.
That’s why we need to look in with Saint Luke on the blessed story of Mary running to Elizabeth’s home to learn what faith is and what faith does.
First Mary teaches us that faith receives the gift, as gift. Think about what Mary received from the Holy Spirit through Gabriel. Eastern Christians rightly call Mary “the mother of God.” But you don’t hear Mary boasting about that. There are no stories in Scripture where Mary is at the Benton County fair boasting that her little Jesus won every Grand Champion Prize the 4H was giving out. That’s my boy. By the way did you know He’s God?
What does Mary say to God’s gift? How will this be since I am a virgin? How will this be – I’m not even married. I’m a poor teenager. My Joseph is a righteous man. We haven’t slept together. How will this be? And Gabriel answers that it is all gift, all from God because He graciously chose Mary. The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the Most High will overshadow you – that sounds like creation, that sounds like God’s glory overshadowing the Temple in the Old Testament – because that’s what is happening. God is taking up residence in human flesh in Mary’s womb. Jesus of Nazareth is the eternal temple in which the Son of God dwells.
Then, so that Mary’s faith might be given even more she receives a physical sign – a sacrament if you will – to back up with her eyes what her ears have heard. “Your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.” And to that Mary responded with faith. This is what we should confess every day, even on the worst day, even when it appears that God has turned His back on the United States, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to Your word.”
And then Mary went with haste to see Elizabeth. She went to see what the Lord had given her to see. Mary is the mother of God, but she isn’t above going where the Lord sends her and doing what the Lord has given her to do – to take care of her old cousin in the last months of pregnancy and change a few of Johnny’s diapers when he is born. And what does Elizabeth do? She doesn’t boast of her baby. She boasts of her Lord visiting her, “Why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” Who am I that this should happen to me?
As we hear this story recorded by Saint Luke, we can easily forget that Luke is telling us something that was hidden from the world. Mary left Nazareth without anyone knowing she was pregnant except Joseph, and he certainly wasn’t telling anyone. Elizabeth had a few friends who knew she was expecting, but the imminent arrival of John the Baptist and Jesus the Christ was unknown, except to the poor and lowly.
And that is what Mary sings about – how God works faith in this world. He looks on the humble and scatters the proud – maybe we should put that on our church sign in June. He brings down the mighty from their thrones and exalts those of humble estate. Perhaps God gives the unrighteous worldly success and power for the very reason they don’t believe. Their love of power and perversion and destruction and hatred will destroy them. And what does He do with His little church – he keeps her humble, like Mary and Elizabeth. Hidden to the world.
There’s nothing going on here that would catch the attention of the world and attract the high and mighty to look up to us. We preach Christ and Him crucified – which is foolishness to a world that cannot even define sin. You confess that God became a man, that God wore a diaper, that God died for the sins of the world, and that a man walked out of the cemetery three days after His funeral never to die again. The most outrageous belief you have is that He did this for you. Seriously? Yes, that is my hope and joy.
What is here at Redeemer? There are humble sinners receiving the forgiveness of Christ. There’s your faith which confesses, “Who am I that God would love me, choose me, forgive me? How can that be?” We run like Mary to the signs that are given us – the water of baptism, our pastor preaching God’s Word, the bread and wine of the supper. We confess that the mighty One has done great things for me – He gave his Son, He forgives my sins, He cleanses me from guilt and shame, and clothes me with Christ that I might come into His presence.
Today a long line of pregnant women who shouldn’t or couldn’t be pregnant teach you that God delivers on His promises. That gives your faith hope and joy. God came for you once and He is coming again. Of that you can be certain. In the name of Jesus. Amen.