Advent 4 – Rorate Coeli December 20, 2020
Philippians 4:4-7; Luke 1:39-56
Believing the Word from Heaven
v.45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.
v.7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Dear friends in Christ, what a turbulent year this has been. It seems the world has exploded with violence and distress and turmoil: from riots and political unrest to the multitude of problems associated with the ever-present COVID pandemic. So now, this time of year may be described as many things, but “peaceful” certainly doesn’t seem to be one of them.
In the wake of such events—and we could list many, many more—what are we to think? What are we to say? What are we to do? How are to carry on in the midst of such difficult trials?
The blessed Virgin Mary knew something about hard times. She was probably only in her mid-teens, maybe 15 or 16 when the angel Gabriel came to her with the news that she would conceive by the Holy Spirit and give birth to the long-awaited Messiah. She was an unmarried young woman who was about to become pregnant—in a time and place where she would have to endure intense public ridicule and shame—she had no idea if Joseph would even still want to marry her. And yet, moved by the Holy Spirit, Mary responds simply, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your Word.”
And in our text for this morning, when Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth (also pregnant, even though she was beyond the age of child bearing), Elizabeth announces with joy, “blessed is the fruit of your womb!” She cries that at the voice of Mary, the baby in her own womb—John the Baptizer—leaped for joy. “And blessed is she who believed that there would be fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” And then Mary responds with her beautiful hymn of praise—the Magnificat.
In her song, Mary praises the Lord God as her Saviour because of the wondrous things He has done—His name is holy—His mercy is for those who believe in Him—His strength has scattered the proud and lifted up the lowly—He fills up the hungry with goodness, while sending the rich away empty-handed. He has devoted Himself to His child, Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, just as He spoke His Word of promise to Abraham and his seed (singular) forever.
So where does that leave us, dear friends? Where do we look in our own times of trial and tribulation, uncertainty and doubt? Do we look with hope and expectation of a vaccine to bring us peace? Do we seek ultimately for assurance in having good political leaders to guide us? No, as Christians we look to the One to whom Elizabeth and Mary looked—the Saviour—the fruit of Mary’s own womb—our Lord Jesus Christ—He who came down from heaven.
Jesus' mercy is upon sinners for sinners. He has spoken to us through His Word concerning all that He has done for us. And it is His Word of promise to us that can give us peace at this time. He has come to us veiled in His flesh to work salvation for all people. He is the Righteous One from heaven—the very Lamb of God who has come to take away the sins of the world by His own shed blood on the cross. It is in Him—in Jesus—that we are delivered from all fear and anxiety. In Him alone we find the peace of God which surpasses all understanding.
For the peace we have through faith in Jesus is not the kind of peace that the world seeks or gives—a mere cessation of riots or a new vaccine—nor even the warm and fuzzies, curled up before a beautiful fire on a cold winter’s night. It is a peace that has been firmly established between God and man by the Lord Jesus who gave Himself into death to pay the penalty for your sin and mine. It is a peace that transcends time and space—for it is a peace that is rooted in the death and resurrection of Jesus.
For the fruit of Mary’s womb—the babe born in Bethlehem whose birth we will joyously celebrate later this week—is the same Jesus born to die—born to sacrifice His body into suffering and death—born to be mocked, ridiculed, cruelly slain—all for you and me. He alone is the truly Innocent One who took all our guilt upon Himself and carried it to His cross so that He could bury it in His tomb—rising in victory over it all just three days later.
These are the things that the Mighty One has done not just for Mary, but for you and me as well. His strength was shown in His weakness—in His suffering and humiliation. By His death He destroyed the power of death. By His enduring the curse of sin, so He has broken sin’s power over me and you. He has cast down the proud, the arrogant, those who would seek His glory on their own merit. For it is only by faith in the crucified and risen One that we receive the crown of heaven—the gift of life and joy and peace.
All this He gives because of His mercy. His mercy that has been fully realized in the promised seed of Abraham—the seed planted so long ago by the Word of promise given to Adam and Eve in the Garden after the Fall into sin. This seed came to fruition at long last—planted in the blessed Virgin’s womb—from which would come forth One who would Himself be planted in the earth—watered with His own blood—and then burst forth in abundant life and glory three days later, like a flower emerging from the earth. He is the firstfruits of all those who believe. He is the resurrection and the life—and all those who live and believe in Him will never die.
This is the Word that He has spoken to me and to you and all people. This is the Word that we cling to and believe. For this Word of Christ gives us forgiveness, life, and salvation. When we have these gifts—then we also receive the peace of God—so that no matter what trials come our way—we can face them boldly and with great courage, trusting not in ourselves or any strength or power of mankind, but in God our Saviour. Rejoicing in all that He has done to save us from our sin—to conquer our death. That is the power of the crucified Christ—the babe born of Mary—about whom she sang so beautifully.
By God’s grace we, too, believe His Word that has been spoken to us. We trust it. We hold Him to it. In remembrance of His mercy. When all the world is darkly overwhelming. We look to the Light of Christ our Saviour—and His peace—the eternal peace with God—gives joy and light to our battered and bruised souls. We approach Him with tears in our eyes, hearts breaking in sadness and despair—and He holds us in nail-pierced hands—whispering words of love and peace to us as He gives us His own dear body and blood to eat and to drink. “Take eat...my body...given for you...take drink...my blood...shed for you.”
And we find that in God's Word to us there is peace—for by His Word He forgives, He heals, He lifts up, He restores, He fills us with all good things. For by His Word He gives us the only Good we will ever truly need—the Lord Jesus Himself. And where Jesus is given, no longer do fear, anger, or hatred rule, but rather the blessed peace of God, which has been given by the blood of Him who died--for me--for you. Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Philippians 4:4-7; Luke 1:39-56
Believing the Word from Heaven
v.45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.
v.7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Dear friends in Christ, what a turbulent year this has been. It seems the world has exploded with violence and distress and turmoil: from riots and political unrest to the multitude of problems associated with the ever-present COVID pandemic. So now, this time of year may be described as many things, but “peaceful” certainly doesn’t seem to be one of them.
In the wake of such events—and we could list many, many more—what are we to think? What are we to say? What are we to do? How are to carry on in the midst of such difficult trials?
The blessed Virgin Mary knew something about hard times. She was probably only in her mid-teens, maybe 15 or 16 when the angel Gabriel came to her with the news that she would conceive by the Holy Spirit and give birth to the long-awaited Messiah. She was an unmarried young woman who was about to become pregnant—in a time and place where she would have to endure intense public ridicule and shame—she had no idea if Joseph would even still want to marry her. And yet, moved by the Holy Spirit, Mary responds simply, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your Word.”
And in our text for this morning, when Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth (also pregnant, even though she was beyond the age of child bearing), Elizabeth announces with joy, “blessed is the fruit of your womb!” She cries that at the voice of Mary, the baby in her own womb—John the Baptizer—leaped for joy. “And blessed is she who believed that there would be fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” And then Mary responds with her beautiful hymn of praise—the Magnificat.
In her song, Mary praises the Lord God as her Saviour because of the wondrous things He has done—His name is holy—His mercy is for those who believe in Him—His strength has scattered the proud and lifted up the lowly—He fills up the hungry with goodness, while sending the rich away empty-handed. He has devoted Himself to His child, Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, just as He spoke His Word of promise to Abraham and his seed (singular) forever.
So where does that leave us, dear friends? Where do we look in our own times of trial and tribulation, uncertainty and doubt? Do we look with hope and expectation of a vaccine to bring us peace? Do we seek ultimately for assurance in having good political leaders to guide us? No, as Christians we look to the One to whom Elizabeth and Mary looked—the Saviour—the fruit of Mary’s own womb—our Lord Jesus Christ—He who came down from heaven.
Jesus' mercy is upon sinners for sinners. He has spoken to us through His Word concerning all that He has done for us. And it is His Word of promise to us that can give us peace at this time. He has come to us veiled in His flesh to work salvation for all people. He is the Righteous One from heaven—the very Lamb of God who has come to take away the sins of the world by His own shed blood on the cross. It is in Him—in Jesus—that we are delivered from all fear and anxiety. In Him alone we find the peace of God which surpasses all understanding.
For the peace we have through faith in Jesus is not the kind of peace that the world seeks or gives—a mere cessation of riots or a new vaccine—nor even the warm and fuzzies, curled up before a beautiful fire on a cold winter’s night. It is a peace that has been firmly established between God and man by the Lord Jesus who gave Himself into death to pay the penalty for your sin and mine. It is a peace that transcends time and space—for it is a peace that is rooted in the death and resurrection of Jesus.
For the fruit of Mary’s womb—the babe born in Bethlehem whose birth we will joyously celebrate later this week—is the same Jesus born to die—born to sacrifice His body into suffering and death—born to be mocked, ridiculed, cruelly slain—all for you and me. He alone is the truly Innocent One who took all our guilt upon Himself and carried it to His cross so that He could bury it in His tomb—rising in victory over it all just three days later.
These are the things that the Mighty One has done not just for Mary, but for you and me as well. His strength was shown in His weakness—in His suffering and humiliation. By His death He destroyed the power of death. By His enduring the curse of sin, so He has broken sin’s power over me and you. He has cast down the proud, the arrogant, those who would seek His glory on their own merit. For it is only by faith in the crucified and risen One that we receive the crown of heaven—the gift of life and joy and peace.
All this He gives because of His mercy. His mercy that has been fully realized in the promised seed of Abraham—the seed planted so long ago by the Word of promise given to Adam and Eve in the Garden after the Fall into sin. This seed came to fruition at long last—planted in the blessed Virgin’s womb—from which would come forth One who would Himself be planted in the earth—watered with His own blood—and then burst forth in abundant life and glory three days later, like a flower emerging from the earth. He is the firstfruits of all those who believe. He is the resurrection and the life—and all those who live and believe in Him will never die.
This is the Word that He has spoken to me and to you and all people. This is the Word that we cling to and believe. For this Word of Christ gives us forgiveness, life, and salvation. When we have these gifts—then we also receive the peace of God—so that no matter what trials come our way—we can face them boldly and with great courage, trusting not in ourselves or any strength or power of mankind, but in God our Saviour. Rejoicing in all that He has done to save us from our sin—to conquer our death. That is the power of the crucified Christ—the babe born of Mary—about whom she sang so beautifully.
By God’s grace we, too, believe His Word that has been spoken to us. We trust it. We hold Him to it. In remembrance of His mercy. When all the world is darkly overwhelming. We look to the Light of Christ our Saviour—and His peace—the eternal peace with God—gives joy and light to our battered and bruised souls. We approach Him with tears in our eyes, hearts breaking in sadness and despair—and He holds us in nail-pierced hands—whispering words of love and peace to us as He gives us His own dear body and blood to eat and to drink. “Take eat...my body...given for you...take drink...my blood...shed for you.”
And we find that in God's Word to us there is peace—for by His Word He forgives, He heals, He lifts up, He restores, He fills us with all good things. For by His Word He gives us the only Good we will ever truly need—the Lord Jesus Himself. And where Jesus is given, no longer do fear, anger, or hatred rule, but rather the blessed peace of God, which has been given by the blood of Him who died--for me--for you. Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus. Amen.