Howdy. Well, today is the fourth Sunday in Advent. We've had hope, peace, joy, and today
we are looking at the theme of love. And so with that, I decided that it was important
to do some research into love. And so of course to do that, I needed to make sure I found
out the top 10 love songs from the 20th and 21st centuries. With this is discovering
some interesting ones that I've had it seen or heard in a while. There was Edith James,
at last my love has come along. And then there was Unchained Melody, you know, the one where
you're like, what in the world is that till you start hearing it, it's like, oh my love,
my darling, you know that I've hungered for your touch, aka the theme song to ghost. So
and then of course there is and I will always love you. And I would like how in the world
I think she had extra lungs installed at that point. And there was, you know, Endless Love
and Your Song by Elton John, My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion, which is how it felt
when we kept hearing that song over and over. A song by Boys to Men that I cannot name in
the middle of church. There is Make You Feel My Love by Adele, who stole it from Garth Brooks,
who stole it from Billy Joel, who stole it from Bob Dylan. And Something by the Beatles,
I know, little known band you may have heard of at some point in there. And Just the Way
You Are by Billy Joel, not Bruno Mars. You know what was not on the list of top 10 love
songs was Baby by Justin Bieber. The lyrics being baby, baby, baby, ooh, baby, baby, baby,
no, baby, baby, baby, ooh, I thought you'd always be mine. It took me a while to learn
that song. I know the lyrics were really complicated, but. And I tease, he's come to faith in Christ
and everything. So I'm really grateful for that. But when you've got hair like that,
you got to make fun of the guy a little bit. The thing is, is that oftentimes what we think
of in discussing love doesn't end up coming across as very deep. It can oftentimes just
be about this feeling or this impression or just thinking that somebody's cute or just
hoping that someone notices you. But isn't love supposed to be something deeper than
that? Isn't love supposed to be something that ends up being something of the nature
of God? And that's something I want to talk a little bit today as we look at the Magnificat,
a different type of song, if you will. This is the song of Mary, the one where she is
expressing what God has done and the Magnificat, Magnificat in Latin being for my soul magnifies
the Lord. So what we see in this example is that Mary has come to visit Elizabeth and
both of them are pregnant. And as we end up seeing this, is that we may wonder how in
the world all of a sudden you come up with some poetic, you know, a song type of structure
that for whatever reason, how is it that people speak this way in conversation with each other?
Well, the reality is that it wasn't just coming out of nowhere. It's sort of like how in our
pop culture, we may think of those catchphrases from different songs that really struck us,
you know, is that, you know, this is your song or make you feel my love. Oh, I've hungered
for your touch. Well, it turns out that this particular passage was based on something
that they had heard for many generations. The song of Hannah. The thing is, is that Samuel,
the prophet, his mother had it had a child before. And when she finally had that opportunity
and she was given Samuel, she starts proclaiming how God has blessed her and has brought her
this hope of a child. And not only that, but so many Old Testament passages that are incorporated
into the song. It's like coming in and singing a medley of all your favorite old songs and
being able to bring that together to be able to see what it was that Mary was expressing.
By the way, I do have to let you know is that there were a few people who think that this
was supposed to be Elizabeth song. That's because some of the Latin manuscripts had
put Elizabeth there instead of Mary. But all the original manuscripts speak of it in the
original Greek as being from Mary. The thing is, though, that this song really could have
expressed what both of them were feeling at that point. But there are some things about
this story that end up teaching a bit about God's mercy, his goodness, but especially
God's love. And there's something about this that always stood out to me was about the
love of Elizabeth and Zechariah. See, the thing is, is that they talk about the Elizabeth
and Zechariah having a child in their old age. But notice that saying that they have
a child in their old age, it's not saying that all of a sudden the Virgin is with child.
This is from the marriage of Elizabeth and Zechariah. This was a normal human child.
See, the thing about normal human children is that they come from the love of two people
with one another. Now, of course, sometimes children are born in various circumstances,
but that being the standard is the point being is that this was from their relationship.
There was still an affection, a love, an intimacy with these two people after all of this time.
Even though they had wanted a child and hadn't been able to have one, there was still a love
and an affection and a closeness between them that they were able to have a child when the
time finally came. How often is it that we allow circumstances in life to determine whether
we share love with one another? How many times is it that things might distract us, whether
it be whether or not we've had the right experience at home or whatever may be happening with
the kids or whatever issues may be coming up with the pets? I know that there was one
family I knew where apparently they went to Disney World and one of them forgot to buy
some tickets in advance and they were stuck outside the gate not sure that they could
get in and had to wait two hours for the next cohort to go in. Things like that where you
realize that tension, that struggle can end up putting so much weight on there, on that
relationship. But can we as people be able to love one another beyond circumstances?
Is it something where we're looking that we have to be impressed in order to feel that
affection or even more than that is beyond the circumstances around us, even the things
that are happening within us? The times whenever things are stuck in our hearts, stuck in our
heads, things that we cannot get past and then we end up discovering that it affects
and changes everything that we share with one another. And even the single guy knows
that that's how things need to be able to be is to still show love even when life around
you and life within you may be in turmoil. But see turmoil within a person it may be
difficult to tackle, especially because of uncertainty. The thing is, is that we find
uncertainty around us can also end up making it difficult to love one another. And that's
something that we end up seeing when we look at love being more than just convenience.
You see, when Mary goes to visit Elizabeth, there's something that we're not sure about
in the store. It doesn't tell us whether she and Joseph had already made up yet. We actually
don't know for sure that Joseph hadn't yet welcomed her back into his home and continued
with the betrothal, the engagement. The thing is, is that Mary may have been going to see
Elizabeth when she was the most uncertain of what was going to happen in her own life.
Was she about to find herself as an unwed single mother in a world that frowned down
very sharply upon that at a time whenever if someone who was female was not married,
that she might end up being subjected to jobs and vocations that would never be something
we would be hopeful for. The thing is, though, even in the midst of her uncertainty, what
is it that she is going to do? She is going to spend her time loving and encouraging her
cousin Elizabeth. And more than that, even in the midst of this time is what is it that
she is expressing with God at that moment is that it's not spending the time saying like
some of the Psalms of my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Or why is it that the
nations rage, but rather coming forth and speaking that my soul magnifies the Lord?
Because the thing is, is that if we only end up showing love at times when it's easy and
convenient, then is it truly love? Love is something that is oftentimes going to have
to deal with the struggles and the suffering of life. And what we end up end up seeing
with Joseph as well is that even though Joseph couldn't prove to the world, my wife is having
a child by God is that the love that he ends up having for Mary is something to still suffer
the opinions of others around. But even in addition to loving Mary is also loving God.
Because that's the thing with this is that loving one another, it's more than just convenience.
It's our calling. It is what it is that we are pulled to not just because God has given
it to us, but he has called us to share that with one another as well. Because the thing
is, is that the love of God, the love of God can oftentimes be a struggle, even in the midst
of life. But it's not in spite of the life that we are experiencing. It's in the midst
of the life that we are experiencing. See, the thing is, is that Mary is not here, discussing
her pregnancy as something to be dreaded. It is not something that she is spending her
time focusing on the inconvenience and the suffering, but rather the joy of what is being
brought into the world of who is being brought into the world. That's the thing about love
is that when that love is continuing to be shared is that it is looking at the joy, the
hope to bring peace into the world. That is the thing that we end up sharing because it's
something that comes from God. I can honestly say there have been so many times whenever
I would see the things that my own mother had had to go through and knowing that my
mother has had to see both of her children go through cancer and to realize that she's
been there for the hospital visits at two different times in her life, three decades
apart and that not once was there ever a question that she was grateful to be there for us.
The thing with it is that realizing that love is not there in spite of the life that we're
going through. Love is there because of the life that we are experiencing. The thing for
Mary is that she was believing the promise not just of the child himself, but that God
loved her. That's a thing that we end up struggling with so many times is the idea that whatever
circumstance we find ourselves in is God just forgetting us, but the belief that God could
actually be loving us in that situation that we may see. We end up seeing it referenced
in 1 Timothy 2 when they're discussing that women would be saved through childbirth and
we wonder what kind of a comment is that. That's the way in which it's supposed to happen
and to realize no, the point is whatever circumstance you are in, whether you are male or female,
Jew or Greek, whatever it may be that you see slave or free is that you are saved even
in the circumstance you are in. That doesn't mean that we accept every single thing that
ever happens to us, but it means that we take the time to consider what may God be doing
at this moment in this situation. And more than that is to realize that Mary recognizes
that God is doing something for all of Israel because it is so easy that in our world we
become such narcissists, we become such inwardly focused people that whatever box we have seen
for ourselves is all that we look at. Instead of pausing to see what it is that God may
be doing in and through us or through the people around us, for the world around us,
for our family, for our friends, for our community, because God is changing the situation of his
people. At that point, Mary realizes that in a world where the people are oppressed day
after day is now to bring someone into the world who is going to change all of that.
You know, it's no longer allowing for power to be in power or wealth to be in power, but
rather to provide for those who are in need is more than just to be able to take that
time to say, okay, we just want the Roman government to change, but rather not just looking at
wishing government would change, but rather is saying what's changing in our hearts. Because
the thing that Jesus ends up coming and doing in his ministry is to love. That's the thing
that time and time again keeps coming out, because that's the thing that's actually going
to change that world in which they live. It's not to end up looking at the world around
them and continuing to just get angry that why haven't things changed and why, when are
we going to finally get what it is that we're looking for and how to make sure that all
the circumstances are what you're looking for and waiting that there's no more struggle
ever again. But rather is to realize that love is something that happens within us, not
because of the things that are surrounding us, but rather because God has first loved
us and to realize that we have been given everything. Because what is it that truly
changes whether those who are in power truly keep their power whenever we no longer spend
our time looking to them for our worth, for our hope, or for our direction? Because it
was more than just the subjection to the Roman authorities. It was that God's love went beyond
herself, beyond Mary, to save us from sin, death, and hell. Because that's the thing
about love is that love ends up creating sacrifice. Is that God is looking at us and seeing all
the things that we are doing all the ways in which we have made so many mistakes and
ruined things around us and yet still loving us. And isn't that the thing that we end up
seeing about love is to look at something and be able to say that was terrible. And
how can I still love them? That's the hard part about love is that love is not just for
the ones who are worthy. Because the problem is is that none of us are. Love is free. Love
is given and love is to sacrifice, not because we're the ones who create that worth, but
because God has given it to us. And that's the thing about love is that it looks at the
things that we have done wrong and takes them to make something beautiful. Because in the
midst of the sacrifice that this child has come to bring is then we end up seeing light
and life and salvation. And that's the same thing for you as well. I don't know what it
is that right now makes love as difficult as it may be. What it is that drags you down,
whether it be the things around you or the things within. But what I know is that the
love of God is still for you. It's still forgiving you and loving you. And that's somewhere in
the midst of this that we can find the hope, the peace, the joy, the love that comes from
God to share it with others around us. So that rather than wishing that the right song
would play on the radio to brighten up our day, or hoping that we'll finally receive
what we were looking for under the tree is that instead we will bring the best gift that
there is to bring the love of God to a world that truly needs it. So whether it be loving
people in spite of our circumstances, finding opportunities to continue to deal with the
turmoil in our hearts by recognizing the love of God for us, or seeing that God is loving
us in the midst of these things, rather in spite of them. May we this season see that
God's love is truly ours to share with one another and to bring light and life into a
world that desperately needs it. Thanks be to God.