Luke 1:39-45

            {Prayer}

            Being that my daughter is ten and going on 17, it has been a while since I’ve been to a baby shower. And being that she is only ten, it better be a while before I attend another one. Last year seeing her as a pregnant Mary in the Christmas Program … that made me to sink down in the pew as I thought, “Oh man! I’m definitely not ready for this!”

            And that same thought crossed my mind while Jessica was pregnant with Faith. When we found out she was expecting, we were both overjoyed. It was more than being happy, there was this indescribable joy, this excitement within us.

            Part way into the pregnancy, we went to the store for something. The lady checking out in front of us had a couple of cases of diapers and a case of formula and I saw the prices as they were scanned. I saw the final total of her bill … I looked at Jess and was like, “What are we doing? We can’t afford to do this!” She laughed at me, rubbed her stomach and was like, “Well, there’s no turning back now.” She was right, but that doesn’t mean that fear sank into my mind.

            I want to go back to that word “expecting”. We say it all the time in regards to a woman who is pregnant. “She’s expecting!” What does that mean? What exactly are they expecting?

            The obvious answer is that they’re expecting a baby. But there is so much more to it than just having a baby. They’re expecting this new and unique soul which will soon enter the world. They’re expecting the years ahead and all that they will bring. First steps, first words, and a whole host of other special moments. They’re also expecting new duties like changing diapers, watching them in Christmas programs, playdates, birthday parties, carpooling them and their friends around to different events. They’re expecting a change in the balance of the whole family dynamics. They’re expecting joys and delights, and with them, sorrows. In short, they’re expecting their whole world to change.

            This morning in our gospel reading we encounter cousins, Elizabeth and Mary. Two expectant mothers-to-be. But for all their expectancy, there is much in this story that is unexpected. To begin with, both of their pregnancies were a surprise.

            A couple of weeks ago we looked at Zechariah. If you don’t remember, let me refresh your memory a little or get you caught up to speed. Zechariah is a priest and he was in the temple burning incense and offering up prayers on behalf of the people. While he is doing his priestly duty, alone inside the temple, an angel of the Lord appeared and told Zechariah that his wife Elizabeth would be expecting a son who would prepare the way for the coming Messiah. Zechariah questioned this. “How can this be?” He asked this simply because him and his wife were well seasoned in their age, they were well past their child bearing years. And on top of that, there were infertility issues. Elizabeth was barren, she wasn’t able to have children.

            And while we have people today who are not able to have children, there is a totally different attitude than what there was back in the first century. Back in those times, throughout all the Biblical times, the chief purpose of a woman and a wife was to bear offspring. If a woman was not able to bear children, some would think that she was cursed. It was considered a disgrace if she couldn’t provide her spouse with offspring. To not be able to have children brought with it insult, shame, and scandal upon a woman.

            In Zechariah and Elizabeth’s day, the inability to have a baby was a valid justification for a man to divorce his wife and find himself another wife who could provide him with an heir, provide him with one who could carry on the family name and responsibilities. Zechariah could have divorced Elizabeth, but he didn’t. That speaks something about the relationship that these two shared.

            Society, however, they looked with scorn on a woman who couldn’t have children. Elizabeth had endured the whispers in public settings, she endured the ridicule and the looks of pity from others in town and those who were said to be kind-hearted.

            But now, after all these years, Elizabeth was expecting! She hid the news by remaining in isolation for the first five months. But after it was physically obvious that she was pregnant, she came out of seclusion. Word then spread throughout her community and throughout her family. Now, with her emerging baby bump, Elizabeth stood vindicated. She was having a baby! She walked a little taller and her heart was filled with joy. She was at peace with what God had in store for her.

            Her cousin Mary also had an unexpected pregnancy. Where Elizabeth’s pregnancy lifted her up in social standing, Mary’s pregnancy had the exact opposite effect. Mary was pregnant when she shouldn’t be.

            Mary’s unexpected pregnancy left her very vulnerable. First off, how would her betrothed, her fiancé Joseph respond? He could publicly condemn her and call for to be stoned to death for infidelity, for betrayal and unfaithfulness. Instead, Joseph, being a righteous man, decided he was going to divorce her, break off the engagement quietly, which speaks highly to his good character.

            But Joseph was also surprised by the unexpected. An encounter with an angel convinced him to go ahead with his marriage to Mary. So as Mary’s belly and baby grew, her safety and place in society were protected by her marriage.

            We heard in our gospel reading, “at that time”, at that time when Mary was told by the angel that she would conceive and bear a son, “Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth” (Luke 1:39). This was obviously before the days of trains, planes, and automobiles, so it would have taken Mary some time to get from Nazareth to where Zechariah and Elizabeth lived. It was the time before phones and text messaging, so it’s quite likely that Elizabeth had no knowledge of her visitor until she heard the sound of Mary’s greeting at her door. And at that sound of Mary’s voice, the baby in Elizabeth’s womb leaps with joy. At the moment, Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit.

            An unexpected visitor and a surprising joy! Elizabeth channels little John’s joy. Their joy grows as the gracious promises of God are coming to fulfillment. The long promised Messiah is finally coming. Through His birth, His life, His death and resurrection, He will usher in a new type kingdom. A kingdom of forgiveness and spiritual peace.  A kingdom which we are patiently waiting to come when Jesus makes His grand entrance. It’s a kingdom that we know is coming someday. It’s a kingdom where there will be no surprises, no more unexpected news of medical diagnosis, and no more death of a loved ones or anyone. No more unexpected hunger or pain. With expectant joy, we patiently wait for Christ to make His Second Advent, His second coming.

            Filled with joy, Elizabeth questions why she should be so honored to be visited by her Lord, by the One who her child will prepare the way for, by the One who will earn for her and all who believe forgiveness and eternal life.

            And this is us. Who are we that we should be so fortunate to be blessed by the presence of our Savior who is here on this altar and who lives in our hearts? Who are we that we should be so blessed by the presence of the One who earned for us forgiveness and eternal life? The writer of Psalm 8 says, “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?” (8:3-4). The workings of God in our life is a gift. A gift that doesn’t just bring this external happiness but a gift that brings an internal joy and peace. This joy of God within us … it is what helps us get through the extremely hard times of life. This joy of God within us, it is what gives us hope and peace in knowing that Jesus is coming and that there is something better than this life waiting for me. There is eternal life with the ones we love and with our Savior in a creation, in a world that is perfect, that is very good.

            This internal joy … this is what caused the baby John to leap within his mother’s womb, this is what filled Elizabeth’s heart when she heard Mary’s greeting. May this internal joy from God fill your hearts and minds as you continue to prepare for Christ’s second coming and as you live your life for Him and others, all to God’s glory and honor. Amen.

            The peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord, now and forever. Amen.