Due to technical issues, Early parts of the Service was missed.

Luke 1:26–38 & Luke 1:46b–55
Over the last month I have repeatedly asked the question what does hope, peace and joy look like.
That question now applies to the matter of Love.
What does Love look like?
The other theme that I have found running through my reflections this month, is one that while I may not have been explicit in stating this; each of these things: Hope, Peace, Joy and Love, are also forms of resistance against a society or a system that so often seems to discourage them as ways of living in this world.
While it may not be a conscious decision or action by a person or persons, I do believe it can be argued that we are told in a variety of ways to hide away from a cruel world. Hide away, numb yourself to the cruelty and the violence and the apathy of so many. Look after yourself; maybe care for your close family and don’t expect anything more of those in power. Accept the status quo and live your best life with no expectations.
I find myself this year – seeing the time of Advent we have been in – as a way of reflecting on that and telling ourselves that this world and its inhabitants are capable of so much more. As we await the coming of the Christ child, God also sees us as being capable of so much more. God is ready to take on the work of changing the world and has made room for us to join in that project.
We are reflecting on two significant passages of scripture this Sunday. One is commonly referred to as the Annunciation; Mary’s conversation with the Angel telling her of God’s plans that she will give birth to a child who will be the Messiah.
The second is commonly named the Magnificat; Mary’s song of her vision of God’s work in the world.
When we stop and consider what we hear in these passages of scripture, we should be left with the realization that God saw in Mary a remarkable and powerful individual; even if society in general was predisposed to simply ignore or dismiss her thoughts and her presence.
Let’s consider the basics of Mary’s conversation with the Angel.
The angel appears and Mary is perplexed.
The angel says, don’t be afraid, God has incredible plans. You may be a virgin, but you will have a son and that son will be of the line of David and will be the promised Messiah.
How can this be?
Answer: it will be the work of the Holy Spirit, and look at your cousin Elizabeth. God can do anything.
Mary: “Well, here am I.” An answer that echoes the response of so many prophets over the ages. Mary is presented with an opportunity to make a difference in the world. It is a frightening and challenging and overwhelming prospect.
Another thought to consider in this moment is the wording of her predicted pregnancy. The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
If we only see God in masculine terms. If our only vision of God is that of a man, this imagery can quickly become quite disturbing, especially for a girl or a young woman.
Okay, some or all of you may be wondering; Warner what are you doing? It’s Christmas Eve Day, give us something nice and comforting. This is supposed to be about love today. Where are you going?
I get it.
Stick with me.
To start with the Greek word for spirit; used in this scripture, written by Luke, is Pneuma. That word is gender neutral. But, when we turn to Hebrew, or Aramaic, the language used by the people in this story – the language that would have been used by Jesus and the earliest followers of his –
the language used by the communities of faith that shared the stories of Jesus and his birth –
the word used for spirit is Ruach; and it is feminine.
Furthermore, we find several scriptural references to the Spirit in feminine language. In John’s Gospel, Jesus says, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit” (John 3:5, 6).
Early Church fathers in the Syriac church referred to the Spirit as Mother, and frequently used feminine language to describe the spirit.
Julian of Norwich for example, saw feminine, motherly characteristics in Jesus. Julian writes:
So we see that Jesus is the true Mother of our nature, for he made us. He is our mother, too, by grace, because he took our created nature upon himself. All the lovely deeds and tender services that beloved motherhood implies are appropriate to the Second Person.
I mention all this because I hope it helps move this story from one of a young woman or a child being compelled onto a frightening path of forced birth, to perhaps more of a story of a life-giving nurturing narrative of collaboration and creation.
How can this be?
That question is not just one of how Mary will end up pregnant. I think it is also one of how it is God choosing this way to enter the world and offer salvation to the people of Israel at this time.
Why would God do this, and why does God choose this way, and why does God view Mary as favoured?
And the answer is God loves us. That’s why.
God loves us so much, that God is ready to come to the world in the form of an infant; to live with us; grow with us; experience all that human beings experience and endure in their brief lives. Because God so loved the world.
And when told of God’s plan,
and offered this explanation of what God has planned,
and her role to play in this story,
Mary says yes.
Where so many look upon us and see our weaknesses or our failings; where the world so often looks upon us and sees a burden or a drain on government resources, or perhaps as troublemakers; God sees us as capable and special. God looks at Mary and seems someone special; someone remarkable.
God works through us in ways we can not possibly imagine.
Beyond anything else, we are reminded to look at ourselves and look at each other and remember, we are most likely overlooking so many things that God sees in each and everyone of us.
Luke doesn’t wait to long to give us a glimpse of just who Mary is in this story. Mary, now pregnant, is sent off to live with her cousin for a few months. So she meets with Eliabeth, also experiencing an apparently impossible pregnancy. We aren’t told why this is necessary. We get to arrive at our own conclusions and reasons for this journey.
Elizabeth, pregnant with John, looks upon Mary and proclaims that her child recognizes the divinity of Mary’s coming child.
And Mary sings her song.
My soul magnifies the Lord. God lifts up the lowly, casts down the powerful. God feeds the hungry and sends the rich away hungry.
Mary is confident in stating clearly where her God stands in the conflicts of the world.
God is on her side. God desires a world of justice and compassion, and she has been chosen to play a part in making that new world a reality.
God loves the world and acts on that love by entering the world and experiencing all that humanity experiences. God desires a relationship with the world. God desires to walk with us, to live with us, to be with us in times of pain and heartbreak, and in times of joy and triumph.
What does love look like? Love is so much more than an emotion; a feeling; a connection between two people. Love is a way of being in the world. It is an action, a response to the difficulties we may face or witness. Love is a choice we make when confronted by a world that is so often indifferent to the suffering of our fellow humans.
Christmas is the celebration that God is with us. It is the time we choose to rejoice that God came to us as an infant, born to a couple who were welcomed to a strange city, but left to survive the night in a stable.
We recall that their child, who was the Messiah, was first visited by poor shepherds.
God loves us and came in the humblest of ways to walk with us. To heal us and to guide us to a more loving relationship with God and the rest of the world.
So let us rejoice and live with hope for what this world can and shall be.
Amen, thanks be to God.
Rev. Warner Bloomfield

Music provided with permission through licensing with CCLI License number
2701258 and One License # A-731789