Advent IV: God’s Grace Embodied – David Brubacher – Dec. 21/08

Somewhere within most of us there is a young child that likes to have its own way. That child can become so focused on the matter at hand that it insists on having its way. We might even throw a tantrum. Rage grips us as we perceive the injustice that keeps us from our desired objective. Of course as mature adults we have developed more sophisticated ways to insist on getting our way.

            As a child I loved going with my father to do the Saturday afternoon grocery shopping. It was an adventure off the farm filled with curiosity. The counters filled with food items and other new things for my eyes all seemed so big. I was intrigued by the big roll of string sitting high on a shelf. The string was threaded through loops in the ceiling and dropped down within easy reach for the grocer. I was amazed at the skill with which he tore the paper, wrapped the item and then tied it with the string. And the packaging was all biodegradable. A huge bunch of bananas hung behind the counter. I watched enviously as the grocer took the large knife to cut off the bananas order by other customers. It was a different world.

            Then there were the candies on display. I particularly liked those little packets with two Chiclets. There was a bucket within easy reach for a child. I don’t recall if I had already helped myself or if I was making a scene in insisting I should have some. I recall being in a fit of rage at the injustice of not having it my way. In frustration my dad marched me out to the car and told me to stay there until he was finished. My self-serving insistence meant that I missed the larger experience – my much loved grocery shopping adventure.  

            When my dad came back to the car I fully expected the learning experience to continue. But there was no further reprimand. It almost seemed like my dad felt sorry for me. Mind you, there were no Chiclets. The drive home was quiet. In the measure of grace I experienced, I was also confused.

Life is like that. Gifts of grace can also be confusing. We encounter something of that in the scripture texts on this, the fourth Sunday of Advent. Our Advent theme, Let Your Face Shine, invites us to reflect on the various faces of God we encounter in the Advent readings. The banner as it has grown over the weeks gives an artistic expression of this development.

            Each of the faces we have encountered has touched on a different set of emotions. In the hidden face of God we anguished in feeling abandoned by God. The comforting face of God helped us to see God’s comfort in the middle of distress. In the restoring face of God we saw God’s liberation in the middle of our ruins. Today the indwelling face of God points to manifestations of God’s power and grace made known to the lowly. Like Mary we are being invited to open ourselves to God’s face being born within us.

            While Advent typically starts with the darker side of waiting, by the third and fourth Sundays joyful celebration and praise for what God is doing in Jesus sets the tone. II Samuel 7 narrates the making of God’s covenant with King David. While the prophets and the Psalms often lament the breaking of this covenant, the Luke reading reminds us that God has not forgotten. In Gabriel’s annunciation to Mary the promise of old is made new. These stories are about an embodiment of God’s grace and power that are in themselves a gift of grace but also confusing.

In II Samuel 7 King David desires to build a temple for God. David is at the pinnacle of his career. Beginning as a lowly shepherd, his rise to power was a sign of God’s grace. Battling obscurity and conflict in the court of King Saul, David emerged as God’s choice over Saul. With a winsome personality and gifted as a military strategist David united the internal powers of the kingdom and overcame the external threats to his power. In one of the last acts to consolidate his power as king of Israel, David brought the Ark of the Covenant, the symbol of God’s presence into the city of Jerusalem, newly established as David’s capitol ci
ty. After a life of struggle, David was finally at rest, a result of God’s grace and power.

            In a combination of genuine piety and personal desire for legitimacy David informed the prophet Nathan of his wish to build a temple for God. Why should he live in a cedar palace while the Ark of the Covenant remained in a tent? In the ancient world it was customary for a king to legitimate his power by building a temple after receiving the blessing of the deity. At first Nathan affirmed David’s plan.

            After hearing God’s voice Nathan withdrew his permission. Building a temple as a permanent residence for God, God argued, would violate God’s freedom. God would not be controlled or domesticated by any religious arrangement. Being embodied in a building or religious institution was not God’s intention.

            Had David misunderstood God’s grace in his rise to power? He was confused. Was God not available or willing to legitimate David as king? As if that was not enough God told David, “You will not build a house for me; I will build a house for you.” God’s covenant promise to David culminates in verse 11 with a play on the word house, “You will not build a “house” – “temple” for me, I will build a “house” – “dynasty” for you.”  God promised to make David’s name great and that one of his offspring would always be king of Israel. God’s rule on earth would be embodied in a people not in physical and institutional structure.

            By God’s grace the covenant with David continued through David’s murderous adultery with Bathsheba. Later a long succession of kings walked away from God and worshiped the gods of the neighbouring people. In the voice of the prophets we hear the growing expectation that God’s promise to David will be restored in a future messiah who would restore the throne of David.

In our reading from Luke 1 we hear a fulfillment of that hope expressed. For the second time in the matter of months the angel Gabriel is sent to earth to announce the birth of a baby boy. First he came to Zechariah the priest while he was serving in the temple to announce that he and his wife Elizabeth would have a baby. They were old and had not been able to have children. Their son would become known as John the Baptist and would prepare a way for Jesus.

            In our text today Gabriel comes to inform a young girl named Mary that God had chosen her to be the mother of Jesus. Her son would inherit the throne of his ancestor David.  Both in the way the announcement is structured and the language that is used, Luke is saying that Jesus is the Messiah – the Christ, the one the people had been waiting for all those years. The time of oppression was over. Hope and celebration would follow.

            While the two annunciations of Gabriel differed, there were also parallels. An older couple earlier unable to have children and a young unmarried girl having a child are both are stories of God’s initiative of grace and power: grace in that what is to happen expresses God’s favour to the world; power in that God can work through what seems humanly impossible.

            Luke tells the story in a way that roots God’s activity in human history. The characters are introduced; the events are dated and geographically located. Through Joseph, the man to whom Mary is engaged but not yet married, Jesus will have a legal connection to the throne of David. In the text and throughout the history of the church, Mary is portrayed as an ideal follower of God. But that is not why God chose her, that reason will forever remain hidden in God’s purpose.

It is interesting to note how Mary’s response to God differed from King David’s. In noting the difference we are also invited to consider how we will respond to God’s coming to us in this Advent 2008.

In one of the images you saw this morning Mary is receiving the news from Gabriel that she is to become the mother of Jesus the Messiah-Christ. This statue stands in the courtyard of the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth. The Basilica was built over what is believed to be the childhood home of Mary. When I saw the statue I was gripped by the way the artist captures Mary’s emotions of fear and bewilderment. There was an authenticity that is absent from many portrayals of Mary.

            Mary was a frightened and confused thirteen-year-old girl. Yet somehow she embraced what was being made know to her as a sign of God’s grace. Later in Luke 1, in what we have come to know as the Magnificat – Mary’s song of Praise – Mary sings of her praise for God in favouring her in her lowly estate. Mary goes on to declare that what God has done for her is a model for what God will do for the poor, the powerless and the oppressed of the world. Mary’s song praises God’s triumph for all people everywhere. 

            More than simply being a meek and passive bystander Mary’s response represents a choice to embody the grace of God made known to her. By God’s grace she was ready to face the scandal of being a young unmarried woman about to have a child. In Mary’s embrace of God’s grace her pregnancy was twofold. The child growing within her represented a growth beyond of her control. In the same way when we open ourselves to receive God’
s grace the growth within us and around us also moves beyond our control.

In biblical literature and in the history of God’s people, both David and Mary are heralded for their personal piety and dedication as God’s servants. As a person of power David sought to institutionalize God’s presence among the people. There can be no doubt about the purity of David’s motive in his desire to provide a place of worship and honour to God.

            Mary on the other hand was a person with no power or place in society.  In her encounter with God she did not consider what she could do for God, but what God was doing for her. In God’s gracious gift of lifting her to a place of honour she saw what God can do for all people.

What might this mean for us in Advent 2008? I wonder first about the ways we seek to institutionalize God’s presence. You have heard me express my love and appreciation for the traditions around Advent and Christmas. Many of these traditions evoke rich and powerful memories filled with joy and celebration. In the scriptures we read, the songs we sing and in the fellowship of God’s people gathered we hear again the wonderful news of what God is doing for all people. Will we be content with the warm feelings, genuine and life-giving as they are – and institutionalize them in our memory only to be strung out again next year? Or like Mary, will we open ourselves to embody God’s grace and embark upon a journey of growth and change beyond our control? 

Sometimes I worry that the young child within us will struggle to maintain control. We might even demand that things go our way. And so we institutionalize God’s grace in the structures of our confessions of faith and in the institutions that we hold to embody justice. We want to build our temple for God. What does it mean for us to hear God say, “No, you will not build a house for me; I will build a house for you.” Clearly God wants to do for us far more than all we can ask or imagine.

Could it be that God wants to impregnate us with grace? God’s grace growing within us and around us enables us to give up control over the outcomes. As God was doing a new thing in Zechariah and Elizabeth and Mary, God wants to do a new thing in us. In that way God’s face is born within us. How will we receive what God is doing? Will we? AMEN.