The Hope Of A Girl -- And The Hope Of The World
Worship
They Came Together In Bethlehem
Messages for the Advent/Christmas Season
Object:
Second Sunday In Advent
Isaiah 7:10-14; Luke 1:26-38
They Came Together In Bethlehem:
The Hope Of A Girl -- And The Hope Of The World
Years ago in a small European town a visitor noticed that on one of the streets when the citizens of the town walked by a certain wall they would nod and make the sign of the cross. As he stood there and watched he observed that they all did this. He became curious about the practice and began to ask around. But no one could tell him what it meant. Finally, he obtained permission to investigate the wall. He began to chip away layers of paint and dirt. He discovered underneath them a beautiful mural of Mary and her baby. People had always made the sign of the cross as they passed by that painting even after it was covered over. They had passed on the tradition, though the reason for it had been lost.1
Remove some of the things in which we dress Christmas and there beneath the surface you come to the central meaning of it. And you find there this beautiful story about a young girl and her baby -- the hope of a little girl and the hope of the world.
On these Sundays we are thinking together about the theme, "They Came Together In Bethlehem." And today we turn to this: "The Hope Of A Girl -- And The Hope Of The World."
Long ago the prophet Isaiah saw a time when God would send a Messiah to set his people free. We read earlier that passage in which God speaks to King Ahaz, telling him to ask for a sign. But Ahaz responds by saying, "I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test." Isaiah answers for God, saying, "Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a young woman shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." That name means "God with us." That would be a sign that God would save his people.
Centuries pass by and finally the hope of the world comes through the hope of a girl. Saint Luke tells us about it. The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a little out-of-the-way town up in the Galilee district. He spoke a simple message to a simple peasant girl. Her name was Mary. She was just a teenage girl, whose future had already been planned for her by her family and the family of a man named Joseph, a carpenter by trade. But God had other plans for Mary. He chose her to be the mother of the Messiah.
God chose her because she was only engaged, and there would be no doubt this virgin was having God's Son and the son of no other. But we know people, don't we? And we know what they said about her. However, she and Joseph held onto what the angel Gabriel had said about him: "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus."
It is here in this event that we see coming together in Bethlehem the hope of a girl and the hope of the world.
Young Mary, approaching marriage, had wonderful hopes about her own little family and the birth of her own little children. Her hopes came together with God's plan about his Son who would be born to become the hope of the world.
The hope of this girl has become the hope of the world -- and he is our only hope. This is what the Advent season says to us. Prepare to receive the hope of the world.
The commentary on this passage in Luke in the New Interpreter's Bible was written by Alan Culpepper, Dean of the Theology School at Mercer University in Atlanta, Georgia. He said, "The glory of Christmas came about by the willingness of ordinary people to obey God's claim on their lives."2
I wonder if you are willing to do that, to obey God's claim on your life? If you are you will experience the glory of Christmas, and you will find hope in your life, the hope of the world.
I want to tell you why this child became the hope of the world.
I
He is the hope of the world because he is God coming to us.
Gabriel said to Mary, "He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High." He is God coming to us. He is bringing God into our world and our experience.
We have him as a part of our lives today and will forever. That is what this Advent time of preparation is all about. We are getting ready to celebrate the fact that he is God coming to us.
There is a story I love to tell at Christmas. A pastor traveled from his church in a small town to a large city. While there he was to purchase a sign to go on the lawn of his church during the Advent season. He had both the words and the dimensions written down on a piece of paper, but when he arrived he realized he had forgotten to bring it with him. He sent a telegram to his wife, "Send motto and dimensions." It was during the lunch break and a different clerk was on duty when the reply came back. She fainted and fell on the floor when she read it, for the message said, "Unto us a child is born, six feet long and two feet wide."
A child has come to us. I wonder if you really believe this for yourself. Is it really true for you?
A professor went through an hour-long lecture on the existence of God. Finally, he turned to one of his students and said, "Now have I proved to you that there is a God?" The young man replied, "You didn't have to prove it to me. I knew it all along."3
I wonder if you really believe this for yourself. I wonder if you not only believe this intellectually, but if you would also be willing to receive it. Would you believe it and receive it?
A woman had a sick child and was unable to get her any help. She read in the paper about a famous doctor being in town. She prayed he would come to her house. Out for a walk that afternoon, the doctor was caught in the rain. He knocked on her door, but she refused to open her door and let him come inside. She refused to believe God was answering her prayer.4
God sent his Messiah to his people. They had been asking for and looking for him for a long time. But when he arrived the vast majority of them refused to open their doors to him.
Sometimes we say, "Oh God, come help me!" But I wonder.
In this Advent season I hope you will remember he is the hope of the world and your only hope, because he is God coming to us.
II
He is the hope of the world because he is God ruling over us.
Gabriel said to Mary, "The Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David." He not only comes to us, he is God ruling over us. We have him taking part in our lives today and will forever.
That is what this Advent time of preparation is all about. We are getting ready to celebrate the fact that the one who has come will rule over us.
Do you really believe this for yourself? Is it really true for you?
One time in Peanuts Lucy said to Charlie Brown, "Merry Christmas! Since it is Christmas, I think we ought to bury the hatchet and put our past differences behind us and try to be kind!" Charlie Brown thinks it's a great idea, and says, "Why does it have to be limited to Christmas? Why can't it be all year long?" She looks at him and says, "What are you, some kind of fanatic?"5
How far are you willing to go with all this Jesus stuff? Are you willing not only to believe Jesus is God ruling over us, but also to receive his rule in your life, and over your life?
When Josef Stalin came to power in Russia he destroyed the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. In its place he was having built the monument to the Soviet Union, with a great statue of himself on top. But as it was being built it began sinking into the ground. The weight of it was too great to hold up. The city of Stalingrad no longer bears his name. Jesus Christ remains, but where is Stalin now?
With what are you filling your life? What kind of monument are you building? Monuments we build to ourselves are always too heavy to hold up. They sink in the ground. Those which show God is ruling over us always remain firm.
Some tourists in Brazil came to a place where they could see that great statue of the Christ of the Andes. But the clouds moved in and suddenly they could no longer see it. Their guide said to them, "It's all right. He'll be there when the clouds move away."6
In this Advent season I hope you will remember he is the hope of the world and your only hope because he is God ruling over us. And I hope you will let him always be there, ruling over you.
III
Finally, he is the hope of the world because he is God including us.
Gabriel said to Mary, "He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there will be no end." He not only comes to us and rules over us, he is also God including us. We are a part of that kingdom today and will be forever. We are included and always will be.
That is what this Advent time of preparation is all about. We are getting ready to celebrate the fact that the one who has come has included us forever.
Do you really believe this for yourself? Is it really true for you? Are you willing not only to believe Jesus is God including us, but to be included and to accept your inclusion in his kingdom, of which there will be no end?
Edgar Dewit Jones was a well-known preacher in earlier years. One night at the end of a service a man came down the aisle and took the hand of Reverend Jones. He said, "Preacher, you said God could save anybody, no matter who they were or what they had done. I want to believe that. I want him to save me." Then he told all the things he had done and said, "I'm a Swedish blacksmith by trade ... I don't know whether God can help me or not." Edgar Dewit Jones said, "You are in luck. God is specializing in Swedish blacksmiths tonight!"7
Whoever you are, God has included you. You are his specialty.
I hope you will remember in this Advent season Jesus is the hope of the world and your only hope, because he has included you. Sometimes he is the only one who does. I hope you will always be included.
In her book Kneeling in Bethlehem, Ann Weems says: "You see what concerns me, what lies on my heart, is this: that we in the church papered and programmed, articulated and agendaed, are telling the faith story all wrong, are telling it as though it happened 2,000 years ago or is going to happen as soon as the budget is raised. We seem to forget that Christ's name is Emmanuel, God with us, not just when he sat among us but now, when we cannot feel the nailprints in his hand."8
He is with us now -- God is coming to us, God ruling over us, God including us.
He is not just the hope of a girl. He is the hope of the world. Our only hope.
Thanks be to God!
____________
1. James W. Moore, Standing On The Promises Or Sitting On The Premises (Nashville, Tennessee: Dimensions For Living, 1995), p. 32.
2. R. Alan Culpepper, "The Gospel Of Luke," The New Interpreter's Bible, Volume IX (Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press, 1995), p. 53.
3. John Killinger, The Greatest Teachings Of Jesus (Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press, 1993), p. 26.
4. Earl G. Hunt, A Bishop Speaks His Mind (Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press, 1987), p. 177.
5. William J. Carl III, Waiting For The Lord (Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press, 1988), p. 60.
6. Emphasis (Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing Company, issue unknown), p. 17.
7. Moore, op. cit., p. 80.
8. Ann Weems, Kneeling In Bethlehem (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Westminster Press, 1980), p. 75.
Advent 2
Candlelighting And Prayer
Lighting Of The Second Advent Candle
Leader: Scripture Reading -- Isaiah 7:10-14
Leader: This candle we light today reminds us of the light of Salvation the prophets had in their expectation of a Messiah who would redeem God's people.
People: Thanks be to God.
Prayer
Eternal God, Father of all humankind, who has sent thy well-beloved Son to be the Hope of the world, so prepare our hearts in this season of Advent that we would be able to receive him and have our lives filled with hope.
We thank thee, O God, for all thy blessings upon us, for we know thou art the source of every good gift. We thank thee for all the ways thou hast blessed us, for the gift of life, for strength and faith and courage, for work to do, for people who care about us.
We are thankful for this Advent season, and for him whose birth we celebrate. May he find a rebirth in us so that in our lives we would reflect the meaning of who he is.
Fill our hearts with love, and put a new song on our lips. Enable us to give, to share, to rejoice, to dream. Fill our thoughts and motives and deeds with peace and joy and good will.
Continue to bless us, O God, with the knowledge of thy presence. Continue to lead us as a church, and work thy good work in us and through us that thy Kingdom may know no boundaries.
Bless the sick of our church family and those who are troubled, and we will give to thee all honor, praise, and glory, for we pray in the name of the Prince of Peace. Amen.
Advent 2
Children's Message
Looking At Our Chrismons: A Cross
Good morning, boys and girls. Who knows what today is? That's right. It's the Second Sunday in the season of Advent. Remember, this is the time of preparing for the celebration of the birth of Jesus.
On these Sundays we are talking about our Chrismons. A Chrismon is a Christ-monogram.
Today I want to talk with you about this one. We have several of these on our tree. Why do you think we have crosses on our tree here at Christmas? That's right, because Jesus was born so that he could live in this world and then finally die on a cross and be resurrected. He overcame the cross and death and the tomb.
This was a part of God's plan for his life all along.
When Mary was told she was going to have a baby she was also told to name him Jesus, for he would save his people from their sins. He would be great and would be the Son of God.
Jesus came into the world to save his people -- to save the world. He is still today the hope of the world.
That is why the cross is a symbol of hope for us. We not only have it on our tree, we also have it other places here in our church. It is on our altar table. Many of us wear crosses around our necks.
The cross at one time was a symbol of suffering and death. Now it stands for victory and life and hope. This is true because Jesus is the hope of the world.
Let us bow our heads for our prayer. O God, our Father, we thank you for your Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ. We pray in his name. Amen.
Advent 2
The Beholders
Mary, The Mother
(Aside, to Joseph) Wrap the cloth a little tighter, dear, the baby might be cold.
(To audience) No woman is ever ready for motherhood, I suppose. But I was just getting used to being betrothed. With marriage staring me in the face, I thought I was as terrified as I could get. Then one night the angel came and told me what was to happen to me. I thought, "No, no, you've made a mistake. I'm much too young to bear the Messiah. Please, God, choose someone older, someone stronger, better, someone ... else."
(Aside) Joseph, please cover his face. It's dusty in here.
(To audience) But I saw the beauty of God's plan -- God's son, coming to share life with all of us, life as we live it, dirt, tears, and all. The Son would be born of an ordinary woman, like any other baby. And I'm certainly ordinary. Well, maybe God sees something sacred in being ordinary. Maybe from now on, all the ordinary people will feel especially blessed by God.
I thought all that over, and I said yes to God's plan, and I haven't had a moment's peace since. Oh, no. You'd think saying yes to God would put you in some kind of peaceful, restful state. Don't misunderstand, I do feel like the most blessed of women, and I also believe that I'm part of something so big and so eternal. But peaceful? Just the opposite. Now I have to live up to God's faith in me. Now I have a stake in being a better person, because that baby boy is counting on me and Joseph. I'm a mother now. I'm Jesus' mother.
(Aside) Let me hold him now, Joseph. I think he's hungry.
(For the rest of the monologue, Mary speaks to the baby in her arms) I wish I knew what your life will be like. The savior of all people for all times. Will you be the mighty hero, leading the children of Israel to great power? Or will you save them quietly, ruling their souls instead? Will you have a loving wife at your side, and sons and daughters of your own, and grandchildren one day? Or will you have a few faithful friends to make your life's journey with you? If only I could protect you, my little Jesus, if only I knew what was in store for you, maybe I could keep you safe, surround you with love and happiness and ... But that's not for me to decide, is it? Your life belongs to God. Mine too.
The King of kings. And born in this dark, dirty stable. You don't look like a king. You look like a baby boy. God lifts up the lowly, my son. Believe it.
Isaiah 7:10-14; Luke 1:26-38
They Came Together In Bethlehem:
The Hope Of A Girl -- And The Hope Of The World
Years ago in a small European town a visitor noticed that on one of the streets when the citizens of the town walked by a certain wall they would nod and make the sign of the cross. As he stood there and watched he observed that they all did this. He became curious about the practice and began to ask around. But no one could tell him what it meant. Finally, he obtained permission to investigate the wall. He began to chip away layers of paint and dirt. He discovered underneath them a beautiful mural of Mary and her baby. People had always made the sign of the cross as they passed by that painting even after it was covered over. They had passed on the tradition, though the reason for it had been lost.1
Remove some of the things in which we dress Christmas and there beneath the surface you come to the central meaning of it. And you find there this beautiful story about a young girl and her baby -- the hope of a little girl and the hope of the world.
On these Sundays we are thinking together about the theme, "They Came Together In Bethlehem." And today we turn to this: "The Hope Of A Girl -- And The Hope Of The World."
Long ago the prophet Isaiah saw a time when God would send a Messiah to set his people free. We read earlier that passage in which God speaks to King Ahaz, telling him to ask for a sign. But Ahaz responds by saying, "I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test." Isaiah answers for God, saying, "Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a young woman shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." That name means "God with us." That would be a sign that God would save his people.
Centuries pass by and finally the hope of the world comes through the hope of a girl. Saint Luke tells us about it. The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a little out-of-the-way town up in the Galilee district. He spoke a simple message to a simple peasant girl. Her name was Mary. She was just a teenage girl, whose future had already been planned for her by her family and the family of a man named Joseph, a carpenter by trade. But God had other plans for Mary. He chose her to be the mother of the Messiah.
God chose her because she was only engaged, and there would be no doubt this virgin was having God's Son and the son of no other. But we know people, don't we? And we know what they said about her. However, she and Joseph held onto what the angel Gabriel had said about him: "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus."
It is here in this event that we see coming together in Bethlehem the hope of a girl and the hope of the world.
Young Mary, approaching marriage, had wonderful hopes about her own little family and the birth of her own little children. Her hopes came together with God's plan about his Son who would be born to become the hope of the world.
The hope of this girl has become the hope of the world -- and he is our only hope. This is what the Advent season says to us. Prepare to receive the hope of the world.
The commentary on this passage in Luke in the New Interpreter's Bible was written by Alan Culpepper, Dean of the Theology School at Mercer University in Atlanta, Georgia. He said, "The glory of Christmas came about by the willingness of ordinary people to obey God's claim on their lives."2
I wonder if you are willing to do that, to obey God's claim on your life? If you are you will experience the glory of Christmas, and you will find hope in your life, the hope of the world.
I want to tell you why this child became the hope of the world.
I
He is the hope of the world because he is God coming to us.
Gabriel said to Mary, "He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High." He is God coming to us. He is bringing God into our world and our experience.
We have him as a part of our lives today and will forever. That is what this Advent time of preparation is all about. We are getting ready to celebrate the fact that he is God coming to us.
There is a story I love to tell at Christmas. A pastor traveled from his church in a small town to a large city. While there he was to purchase a sign to go on the lawn of his church during the Advent season. He had both the words and the dimensions written down on a piece of paper, but when he arrived he realized he had forgotten to bring it with him. He sent a telegram to his wife, "Send motto and dimensions." It was during the lunch break and a different clerk was on duty when the reply came back. She fainted and fell on the floor when she read it, for the message said, "Unto us a child is born, six feet long and two feet wide."
A child has come to us. I wonder if you really believe this for yourself. Is it really true for you?
A professor went through an hour-long lecture on the existence of God. Finally, he turned to one of his students and said, "Now have I proved to you that there is a God?" The young man replied, "You didn't have to prove it to me. I knew it all along."3
I wonder if you really believe this for yourself. I wonder if you not only believe this intellectually, but if you would also be willing to receive it. Would you believe it and receive it?
A woman had a sick child and was unable to get her any help. She read in the paper about a famous doctor being in town. She prayed he would come to her house. Out for a walk that afternoon, the doctor was caught in the rain. He knocked on her door, but she refused to open her door and let him come inside. She refused to believe God was answering her prayer.4
God sent his Messiah to his people. They had been asking for and looking for him for a long time. But when he arrived the vast majority of them refused to open their doors to him.
Sometimes we say, "Oh God, come help me!" But I wonder.
In this Advent season I hope you will remember he is the hope of the world and your only hope, because he is God coming to us.
II
He is the hope of the world because he is God ruling over us.
Gabriel said to Mary, "The Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David." He not only comes to us, he is God ruling over us. We have him taking part in our lives today and will forever.
That is what this Advent time of preparation is all about. We are getting ready to celebrate the fact that the one who has come will rule over us.
Do you really believe this for yourself? Is it really true for you?
One time in Peanuts Lucy said to Charlie Brown, "Merry Christmas! Since it is Christmas, I think we ought to bury the hatchet and put our past differences behind us and try to be kind!" Charlie Brown thinks it's a great idea, and says, "Why does it have to be limited to Christmas? Why can't it be all year long?" She looks at him and says, "What are you, some kind of fanatic?"5
How far are you willing to go with all this Jesus stuff? Are you willing not only to believe Jesus is God ruling over us, but also to receive his rule in your life, and over your life?
When Josef Stalin came to power in Russia he destroyed the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. In its place he was having built the monument to the Soviet Union, with a great statue of himself on top. But as it was being built it began sinking into the ground. The weight of it was too great to hold up. The city of Stalingrad no longer bears his name. Jesus Christ remains, but where is Stalin now?
With what are you filling your life? What kind of monument are you building? Monuments we build to ourselves are always too heavy to hold up. They sink in the ground. Those which show God is ruling over us always remain firm.
Some tourists in Brazil came to a place where they could see that great statue of the Christ of the Andes. But the clouds moved in and suddenly they could no longer see it. Their guide said to them, "It's all right. He'll be there when the clouds move away."6
In this Advent season I hope you will remember he is the hope of the world and your only hope because he is God ruling over us. And I hope you will let him always be there, ruling over you.
III
Finally, he is the hope of the world because he is God including us.
Gabriel said to Mary, "He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there will be no end." He not only comes to us and rules over us, he is also God including us. We are a part of that kingdom today and will be forever. We are included and always will be.
That is what this Advent time of preparation is all about. We are getting ready to celebrate the fact that the one who has come has included us forever.
Do you really believe this for yourself? Is it really true for you? Are you willing not only to believe Jesus is God including us, but to be included and to accept your inclusion in his kingdom, of which there will be no end?
Edgar Dewit Jones was a well-known preacher in earlier years. One night at the end of a service a man came down the aisle and took the hand of Reverend Jones. He said, "Preacher, you said God could save anybody, no matter who they were or what they had done. I want to believe that. I want him to save me." Then he told all the things he had done and said, "I'm a Swedish blacksmith by trade ... I don't know whether God can help me or not." Edgar Dewit Jones said, "You are in luck. God is specializing in Swedish blacksmiths tonight!"7
Whoever you are, God has included you. You are his specialty.
I hope you will remember in this Advent season Jesus is the hope of the world and your only hope, because he has included you. Sometimes he is the only one who does. I hope you will always be included.
In her book Kneeling in Bethlehem, Ann Weems says: "You see what concerns me, what lies on my heart, is this: that we in the church papered and programmed, articulated and agendaed, are telling the faith story all wrong, are telling it as though it happened 2,000 years ago or is going to happen as soon as the budget is raised. We seem to forget that Christ's name is Emmanuel, God with us, not just when he sat among us but now, when we cannot feel the nailprints in his hand."8
He is with us now -- God is coming to us, God ruling over us, God including us.
He is not just the hope of a girl. He is the hope of the world. Our only hope.
Thanks be to God!
____________
1. James W. Moore, Standing On The Promises Or Sitting On The Premises (Nashville, Tennessee: Dimensions For Living, 1995), p. 32.
2. R. Alan Culpepper, "The Gospel Of Luke," The New Interpreter's Bible, Volume IX (Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press, 1995), p. 53.
3. John Killinger, The Greatest Teachings Of Jesus (Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press, 1993), p. 26.
4. Earl G. Hunt, A Bishop Speaks His Mind (Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press, 1987), p. 177.
5. William J. Carl III, Waiting For The Lord (Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press, 1988), p. 60.
6. Emphasis (Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing Company, issue unknown), p. 17.
7. Moore, op. cit., p. 80.
8. Ann Weems, Kneeling In Bethlehem (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Westminster Press, 1980), p. 75.
Advent 2
Candlelighting And Prayer
Lighting Of The Second Advent Candle
Leader: Scripture Reading -- Isaiah 7:10-14
Leader: This candle we light today reminds us of the light of Salvation the prophets had in their expectation of a Messiah who would redeem God's people.
People: Thanks be to God.
Prayer
Eternal God, Father of all humankind, who has sent thy well-beloved Son to be the Hope of the world, so prepare our hearts in this season of Advent that we would be able to receive him and have our lives filled with hope.
We thank thee, O God, for all thy blessings upon us, for we know thou art the source of every good gift. We thank thee for all the ways thou hast blessed us, for the gift of life, for strength and faith and courage, for work to do, for people who care about us.
We are thankful for this Advent season, and for him whose birth we celebrate. May he find a rebirth in us so that in our lives we would reflect the meaning of who he is.
Fill our hearts with love, and put a new song on our lips. Enable us to give, to share, to rejoice, to dream. Fill our thoughts and motives and deeds with peace and joy and good will.
Continue to bless us, O God, with the knowledge of thy presence. Continue to lead us as a church, and work thy good work in us and through us that thy Kingdom may know no boundaries.
Bless the sick of our church family and those who are troubled, and we will give to thee all honor, praise, and glory, for we pray in the name of the Prince of Peace. Amen.
Advent 2
Children's Message
Looking At Our Chrismons: A Cross
Good morning, boys and girls. Who knows what today is? That's right. It's the Second Sunday in the season of Advent. Remember, this is the time of preparing for the celebration of the birth of Jesus.
On these Sundays we are talking about our Chrismons. A Chrismon is a Christ-monogram.
Today I want to talk with you about this one. We have several of these on our tree. Why do you think we have crosses on our tree here at Christmas? That's right, because Jesus was born so that he could live in this world and then finally die on a cross and be resurrected. He overcame the cross and death and the tomb.
This was a part of God's plan for his life all along.
When Mary was told she was going to have a baby she was also told to name him Jesus, for he would save his people from their sins. He would be great and would be the Son of God.
Jesus came into the world to save his people -- to save the world. He is still today the hope of the world.
That is why the cross is a symbol of hope for us. We not only have it on our tree, we also have it other places here in our church. It is on our altar table. Many of us wear crosses around our necks.
The cross at one time was a symbol of suffering and death. Now it stands for victory and life and hope. This is true because Jesus is the hope of the world.
Let us bow our heads for our prayer. O God, our Father, we thank you for your Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ. We pray in his name. Amen.
Advent 2
The Beholders
Mary, The Mother
(Aside, to Joseph) Wrap the cloth a little tighter, dear, the baby might be cold.
(To audience) No woman is ever ready for motherhood, I suppose. But I was just getting used to being betrothed. With marriage staring me in the face, I thought I was as terrified as I could get. Then one night the angel came and told me what was to happen to me. I thought, "No, no, you've made a mistake. I'm much too young to bear the Messiah. Please, God, choose someone older, someone stronger, better, someone ... else."
(Aside) Joseph, please cover his face. It's dusty in here.
(To audience) But I saw the beauty of God's plan -- God's son, coming to share life with all of us, life as we live it, dirt, tears, and all. The Son would be born of an ordinary woman, like any other baby. And I'm certainly ordinary. Well, maybe God sees something sacred in being ordinary. Maybe from now on, all the ordinary people will feel especially blessed by God.
I thought all that over, and I said yes to God's plan, and I haven't had a moment's peace since. Oh, no. You'd think saying yes to God would put you in some kind of peaceful, restful state. Don't misunderstand, I do feel like the most blessed of women, and I also believe that I'm part of something so big and so eternal. But peaceful? Just the opposite. Now I have to live up to God's faith in me. Now I have a stake in being a better person, because that baby boy is counting on me and Joseph. I'm a mother now. I'm Jesus' mother.
(Aside) Let me hold him now, Joseph. I think he's hungry.
(For the rest of the monologue, Mary speaks to the baby in her arms) I wish I knew what your life will be like. The savior of all people for all times. Will you be the mighty hero, leading the children of Israel to great power? Or will you save them quietly, ruling their souls instead? Will you have a loving wife at your side, and sons and daughters of your own, and grandchildren one day? Or will you have a few faithful friends to make your life's journey with you? If only I could protect you, my little Jesus, if only I knew what was in store for you, maybe I could keep you safe, surround you with love and happiness and ... But that's not for me to decide, is it? Your life belongs to God. Mine too.
The King of kings. And born in this dark, dirty stable. You don't look like a king. You look like a baby boy. God lifts up the lowly, my son. Believe it.
