The Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year C

My Soul Magnifies the Lord

Readings: Micah 5:2-5a; The Magnificat; Hebrews 10:5-10; Luke 1:39-45

The Gospel for today tells the story of two women. Truth to tell, they are women of whom we know little. The story really begins before today’s reading. God sends an angel to speak to a young peasant woman named Mary. God has chosen Mary to become the 'God Bearer'. The angel delivers the message to her that she has been chosen. She willingly accepts the unexpected demand of God, but her encounter with the angel for good reason leaves her confused. She knows what lies ahead for her in the community. A young, unmarried woman having a child is not in for an easy time. No angelic message can help her deal with her confusion or fear. She turns to an older woman, her cousin, Elizabeth. She knows that Elizabeth will understand. She needs to share not only her fears and struggles, but also her joy, her good news. She knows that her cousin Elizabeth, also pregnant, will understand.

And so Elizabeth comes into the story. Elizabeth 'consecrated to God'! That is the meaning of her name. However, Elizabeth 'the cursed one' is how she is no doubt known in the village in which she lives. Women who could not have children are scorned. They are considered cursed by God. For years she has been pleading with God asking what she has done to deserve God's wrath. God hears her plea. And now, the aged one, the one all the women in the village felt sorry for, is going to have a baby. She can hardly believe it. She had given up all hope of ever becoming a mother.

And so the stories of the two women come together. Two women caught somewhere between despair and optimism! Elizabeth was in her sixth month when Mary arrived from Nazareth. She had not been expecting the visit because it was about four days journey from Nazareth where Mary lived to Elizabeth's home in Hebron. But she knew instinctively before Mary had a chance to say anything that something even more wonderful than her miracle had happened in Mary’s life. Her response to Mary was better than any angelic message could possibly have been. It is instinctive. It comes from the heart. God has blessed her; because of her yearning she understands Mary's situation.

She is overwhelmed with a sense of unspeakable joy. “And why has this happened to me?” she says. More often than not when those words are spoken it is from a dark place, a place of blaming. There is a very different sense to those words as Elizabeth speaks that day. Usually such words are spoken out of the tragedies of our lives, yet Elizabeth is responding with a real sense of joy and love. She understands more than anyone could imagine that Mary in spite of any sign to the contrary is truly blessed to be the God Bearer. She also understands that Mary is blessed to have listened to the voice of the angel and responded to God's amazing call. She affirms Mary's call. And once again Elizabeth says exactly the right thing. She says that Mary has been blessed with this child because she daccepted that the message of the angel would come true.

The Elizabeth's of our lives are real blessings. They are quiet people who often remain unnoticed. Yet when God wants them to do something important they do not hesitate. They humbly trust God who is able to take our barrenness and turn it into a wonderful gift, a real blessing. They trust that God's word will be fulfilled. They know themselves well enough; they are secure enough in themselves, to enable others to share their own gifts and talents. They don't have to be in the limelight.

The Elizabeth's of our world give wholehearted encouragement to bring about God's purposes. They prepare the way for the Saviour to be born in us. They are models of good ministry. You see, ministry is not about something that you have hired a priest to do on your behalf. It is something to which each of us is called in our own way. The best ministry is done by people like Elizabeth who open up their hearts to those in need. They are the listening ears of the church who always know who is hurting. They are the ones who go about their work quietly in the background. They are the wounded healers of the community who reach out to the abused, to the neglected, to the needy. They bring healing wherever they go

The Elizabeth's of our world teach us about real ministry. They quietly and effectively go about doing what God has called them to do. They know that God can take our barrenness and turn it into a wonderful gift.

So it is with Mary. She responds with the song that has been growing in her heart. This is not Mary, meek and mild, pictured on a Christmas card. This is not some plaster saint. This is Mary emboldened, liberated, given permission by the acceptance she receives from Elizabeth, to sing. Her spirit can rejoice. She can see the situation, frightening as it may be, as a means of fulfillment. Her words are words of joy, but listen closely for they are also words of resistance. Mary declares both her trust in God’s decision to honour her with this calling and her own sense of God’s vision for the future. God is going to do something powerful, and she is part of God’s plan.

God will turn the world upside down. The rich and powerful will be brought low. Those living on the margins in poverty will be raised up. It is a challenging vision to say the least. Even as we celebrate it, it is an uncomfortable message, or at least it should be to those of us who lead such privileged lives.

But it is also a message of great hope. Mary and Elizabeth remind us of another way, the way of hope. In our darkest times we can look beyond ourselves for relief knowing that God will hear our plea, knowing that we too are blessed by God.

Keep yourself in God's hands. Be prepared for whatever miraculous way God's message comes to you. Open yourself to hearing God's call. God may be preparing your life for greater purposes than you can see right now. Let Christ be born in you again and again and again. Amen.

Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year A

God is With Us, Emmanuel!

Readings: Isaiah 7:10-16; Psalm 24; Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-25

On Friday morning I was watching the CBC news. They had a discussion about what was memorable to them about Christmas, about their traditions around the season. They talked about food, family get-togethers, gifts and all the warm fuzzy feelings that are associated with the season. They spoke about snow sports and tobogganing. Sadly, but understandably in our post Christian era there was no mention of going to church or of any religious significance to the day.

As Christians we know that Christmas is about more than turkey and Santa Claus and presents under the tree. Yet the story is so familiar to us that we forget how momentous an occasion it is. We forget its deeper meaning and relevance. That is why Advent is an important season of the Church year. Advent helps us to prepare by reminding us about the signs that God is present with us, that God has visited us in a special way. Signs that God will come again!

The signs that God is with us are all around us. Yet very often we ignore them. Even when we recognize them as signs from God we can easily dismiss them as irrelevant. We become preoccupied with distractions – TV, outside activities, negative thoughts. Even the cares of life can become distractions.

And don't you find in everyday living that there are simply so many signs that you easily miss them? There are some that really attract my attention, for example the signs along the Gardiner Expressway. With their flashing neon and constant movement they are almost too distracting. I have come close to having an accident as I watched for the next phase of some of the most interesting ones along the route. The colourful lights and changing images are real attention grabbers.

Then there are signs that somehow I would rather ignore. They cause uncertainty in my mind. My computer is a case in point. It will ask me, "Do you really want to replace that file?" And I think, "Is there some reason I shouldn't? What is going to happen if I replace it? Should I or shouldn't I?"

Some signs are simply confusing. On the country lanes in England when I wanted to know where I was heading, they kept telling me where I had been – twenty miles from York they would remind me. Now although I found that to be fascinating, since I was heading to Oxford where I had never been, I found them less than helpful.

Walking the Camino in May of last year we had to follow signs very closely. The trails are certainly the road less travelled. There are markers to show pilgrims which path to follow. The marker is a shell, which points you in the direction you should take. However, sometimes they are difficult to spot. As you come to a fork in the road, you look for the right path. The sign may be hidden behind brush, or back off the road. Many times they are spaced far apart. If you miss one, you could walk many miles without knowing that you are going in the wrong direction. Fortunately people watch out for you. You will be standing in the middle of small village trying desperately to find the next sign, and a head will pop out of a window. “Peregrine! Camino! They will point you in the right direction. One of the most unhelpful signs was at a fork in the road where there were two markers pointing in opposite directions. Fortunately I knew we were heading for the Atlantic Ocean, and I could see it beyond the fork on the left. It was crucial to read the signs correctly.

That is true in our Christian life as well. The readings today point out our need to follow the signs carefully. They also point out how easily they may be missed, ignored, or misinterpretted. The word in Scripture, which is translated from the Greek as sign is very close in meaning to the word for miracle. And that is no mistake! A sign is a miraculous gift of God's grace that assists us in our faith journey, which allows us clear access to God if we allow it to seep into our consciousness.

The Old Testament reading takes place at a time in Judah's history when the kings of Syria and Israel had formed an alliance in order to depose the King Ahaz. The prophet Isaiah told him to trust God. "Ask a sign of the Lord your God," Isaiah tells him. But Ahaz declines. He says that he does not need a sign. In reality he is afraid of what might be in the future for him in somewhat the same way that a politician might fear the outcome of a poll.

A sign comes to him anyway through the prophet. “The young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel.” Because we filter everything through our knowledge of the New Testament, we immediately recognize the Christmas story echoed in this passage. In terms of the situation of Ahaz, there is no certainty about the child to whom Isaiah is referring. Old Testament scholars think it is a prophecy about Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz, who became a great king in Israel's history. No matter how we view the prophecy, whether from the Jewish point of view, or from our Christian perspective, the underlying message for him is exactly what it is for us. The future is made possible by the miracle of human birth. Every birth brings God among us. God is in each of us. We are bearers of God in the world. The answer for Ahaz and the people of Judah lies in the political and social ambiguities of human life. For us as Christians it is lived out in our life in Christ.

In the Gospel, God offers a sign to Joseph. It is a sign he would have liked to ignore. For the drama he sees unfolding before him makes him look like a fool. Mary, the woman to whom he is engaged is pregnant. It is not his child. How angry he must have felt when he heard the news! How betrayed! There was one way out for him. He could dismiss her quietly and end the relationship. Everyone would understand. Eventually it would blow over for him and he could get on with his life. But as he slept, he had a dream and resolution came.

Isn't that true to life? So often it is as we sleep and dream that we find the answer to the deepest problems of life, for we free up our minds to interpret the signs around us. Freed from the distractions of our lives, we work out our innermost thoughts and worries. So it is with Joseph. He finds his fears transformed. He begins a new journey in faith. His dismay turns to trust of God.

Sometimes we feel burdened by the decisions we have to make. We want to give it more time. Sleep on it. Joseph did this. He wrestled with his thoughts and feelings. There was no easy solution. He slept on it, but then he acted on it. In trust he carried out what God had asked of him. He accepted Mary. He accepted responsibility for the child. He named the child – Jesus, Emmanuel, God-with-us.

And then there is Mary. What an astounding woman she is! Not only does she understand the sign that God gives her; she willingly becomes the sign bearer. With her the future is made possible by the miracle of human birth.

Emil Brunner, a Swiss theologian, one of the great teachers of our century, says of the Christmas story, "Faith in Jesus Christ is not an interpretation of the world, but it is participation in an event, in something which has happened, and which is going to happen." Christmas is our opportunity to participate in the central miracle of our faith. Every other true miracle prepares for this, exhibits this, and results from this. These happenings are more significant than anything else in life.

We like things to be simple and clear. Sure signs! What we lack is an Advent attitude, the capacity to wait for the fullness, for it will come when the time is right. The Spirit of God continues to birth human life. We can trust time. God did!

God is with us even when our world seems to be falling apart. Because God is with us, we can be assured that God understands our situation. We can know that God still acts in our world today. We can have the courage to answer God’s call as Mary and Joseph did.

What are the signs of incarnation that God is offering to us today? How will we bear those signs in the world? Will we try to ignore the signs, or will we be active participants in the event? God is with us, Emmanuel.

The Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year C

Better Than Angels!

Readings: Micah 5:2-5a; The Magnificat; Hebrews 10:5-10; Luke 1:39-45

There are many signs around that Christmas is coming. People shopping, strings of lights, trees carefully decorated, the aroma of baking fills our houses. Yet Christmas is about more than turkey and Santa Claus and presents under the tree. As Christians we know that, however, the story is so familiar to us that we forget how momentous an occasion it is. That is why Advent is an important season of the Church year. It helps to prepare us spiritually by reminding us to look for the signs that God is present with us, that God has visited us in a special way. Signs that God will come again!

So why is it that signs of God coming again fill us with fear and apprehension? This past week the Mayan Calendar came to an end. Of course, there was great speculation all over the globe about the imminence of an apocalyptic end to the world. There were rumours about floods and collisions with planets. And let’s be honest! For just a moment we may have wondered whether the predictions were true. There are signs all around us that things are going wrong on our planet. We cannot ignore global warming. We cannot help but notice that this has been a year of storms of epic proportion. And no matter how much we would wish otherwise, an event like the Newtown tragedy affects us all and gives rise to an uneasy sense that perhaps these are not the best of times after all.

Signs of tragedy are all around us, but so too are signs that God is with us in the midst of it all. Those are signs that, even when we recognize them, we easily dismiss as irrelevant. We become preoccupied; there is the busyness the season, activities, family, the cares of life, all can distract us from seeing how God is at work in our lives

Angels are one of the signs of the season. Or at least they are a part of the folklore of Christmas. They adorn our Christmas trees. We see them on cards and wrapping paper. They are an important part of every Christmas pageant. They are part and parcel of the Christmas story.

There are many references to angels in Scripture. The Old Testament belief about angels was that they were messengers sent from God to speak or do wonders in God's name. Angels were usually seen as intermediaries who preserved God from too intimate a contact with earthly creatures. In the New Testament they continued to communicate with humankind, bringing messages of comfort and hope from God. They were part of the heavenly retinue, as we see in the nativity story as the angel hosts appear to the shepherds.

In our modern world angels are part of the phenomenon of the unexpected and unexplained. They are viewed as miracle workers, magical in their powers, helping to unleash our creativity. There is a worldview amongst many that our destiny is to become angels. How many times was that echoed this past week as people spoke about the children who died at Sandy Hook School now being angels in their lives?

In Christian circles, they are still seen as messengers. In an anecdote in Chicken Soup for the Soul it says, “Angels never say “Hello!” They come knocking at the door of our hearts, trying to deliver a message to us.” That is certainly the sense that I have of angels. Most of the decorations on my Christmas tree are angels. I find it to be a comforting symbol of how God communicates to us. Even though I have no physical proof of angelic beings, I have certainly been aware on more than one occasion of an aura of holiness that comforted me in a way that I have put down to angelic.

Today’s Gospel tells of how God sends an angel to speak to a young peasant woman named Mary. God chooses her to become the 'God Bearer'. The angel delivers the message to Mary that she has been chosen. She willingly accepts the unexpected demand of God, but her encounter with the angel leaves her confused. She knows what lies ahead for her in the community. No angelic message can help her deal with her confusion or fear. She turns to her cousin, Elizabeth. She needs to share not only her fears and struggles, but also her joy, her good news. She knows that her cousin Elizabeth, also pregnant, will understand.

Elizabeth 'consecrated to God'! That is the meaning of her name. However, Elizabeth 'the cursed one' is how she is no doubt known in the village in which she lives. Women who could not have children are scorned. They are considered cursed by God. For years she has been pleading with God asking what she has done to deserve God's wrath. God hears her plea. And now, the aged one, the one all the women in the village felt sorry for, is going to have a baby. She can hardly believe it. She had given up all hope of ever becoming a mother.

Elizabeth was in her sixth month when Mary arrived from Nazareth. She had not been expecting the visit because it was about four days journey from Nazareth where Mary lived to Elizabeth's home in Hebron. So she knew instinctively before Mary had a chance to say anything that something even more wonderful than her miracle had happened in Mary’s life. Her response to Mary was better than any angelic message could possibly have been. It was instinctive. It came from the heart. God has blessed her; because of her yearning she understands Mary's situation.

In her joy she says, “And why has this happened to me?” If you think about it, such words are usually spoken out of the tragedies of our lives, yet here Elizabeth is responding from a real sense of joy and love. She understands that Mary is truly blessed to be the God Bearer. She also understands that Mary is blessed to have listened to the voice of the angel and responded to God's amazing call. She affirms Mary's call to be the God bearer.

The Elizabeth's of our lives are real blessings, signs of God’s presence. They are quiet people who often remain unnoticed. Yet when God wants them to do something important they do not hesitate. They understand how God is breaking through into their lives. They humbly trust God who is able to take our barrenness and turn it into a wonderful gift, a real blessing. They trust that God's word will be fulfilled. They know themselves well enough; they are secure enough in themselves, to enable others to share their own gifts and talents. They don't have to be in the limelight.

The Elizabeth's of our world give wholehearted encouragement to bring about God's purposes. They prepare the way for the Saviour to be born in us. They are models of good ministry. You see, ministry is not about something that you have hired a priest to do on your behalf. It is something to which each of us is called in our own way. The best ministry is done by people like Elizabeth, who open up their hearts to those in need. They are the listening ears of the church who always know who is hurting. They are the wounded healers of the community who reach out to the abused, to the neglected, to the needy. They bring healing wherever they go. They know that God can take our barrenness and turn it into a wonderful gift.

This is a season to heed the signs of God’s presence. It is a time to be prepared for whatever miraculous way God’s message comes to us. What are the signs of incarnation that God is offering to us today? How will we bear those signs in the world? Will we try to ignore them, or will we be active participants in the event? The Spirit of God continues to birth human life. For God is with us, Emmanuel. May Christ be born in us today and always. Amen

The Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year C

Better Than Angels!

Readings: Micah 5:2-5a; The Magnificat; Hebrews 10:5-10; Luke 1:39-45

At this time of year angels come to the forefront. They are part of the folklore of Christmas. They adorn our Christmas trees. We see them on cards and wrapping paper. They are an important part of every Christmas pageant. They are part and parcel of the Christmas story.

There are many references to angels in Scripture. The Old Testament belief about angels was that they were messengers sent from God to speak or do wonders in God's name. Angels were usually seen as intermediaries who preserved God from too intimate a contact with earthly creatures. In the New Testament they continued to communicate with humankind, bringing messages of comfort and hope from God. They were part of the heavenly retinue, as we see in the nativity story as the angel hosts appear to the shepherds.

In modern folklore angels are part of the phenomenon of the unexpected and unexplained that is so common in current television series and movies. They are viewed as miracle workers, magical in their powers, helping to unleash our creative powers. There is a worldview that our destiny is to become angels.

In Christian circles, they are still seen as messengers. In an anecdote in Chicken Soup for the Soul it says that “Angels never say “Hello!” They come knocking at the door of our hearts, trying to deliver a message to us.” That is certainly the sense that I have of angels. Most of the decorations on my Christmas tree are angels. I find it to be a comforting symbol of how God communicates to us. Even though I have no physical proof of angelic beings, I have certainly been aware on more than one occasion of an aura of holiness that comforted me in a way that I have put down to angelic.

The Gospel for today tells of how God sends an angel to speak to a young peasant woman named Mary. God chooses Mary to become the 'God Bearer'. The angel delivers the message to Mary that she has been chosen. She willingly accepts the unexpected demand of God, but her encounter with the angel leaves her confused. She knows what lies ahead for her in the community. No angelic message can help her deal with her confusion or fear. She turns to her cousin, Elizabeth. She knows too that Elizabeth will understand. She needs to share not only her fears and struggles, but also her joy, her good news. She knows that her cousin Elizabeth, also pregnant, will understand.

Elizabeth, "Consecrated to God"! That is the meaning of her name. However, Elizabeth, "The cursed one" is how she is no doubt known in the village in which she lives. Women who could not have children are scorned. They are considered cursed by God. For years she has been pleading with God asking what she has done to deserve God's wrath. God hears her plea. And now, the aged one, the one all the women in the village felt sorry for, is going to have a baby.  She can hardly believe it.  She had given up all hope of ever becoming a mother. 
 
Elizabeth was in her sixth month when Mary arrived from Nazareth.  She had not been expecting the visit because it was about four days journey from Nazareth where Mary lived to Elizabeth's home in Hebron.  But she knew instinctively before Mary had a chance to say anything that something even more wonderful than her miracle had happened in Mary’s life.  Her response to Mary was better than any angelic message could possibly have been. It is instinctive. It came from the heart. God has blessed her; because of her yearning she understands Mary's situation.

In her joy she says, “And why has this happened to me?” There is a very different sense to those words as Elizabeth speaks them. Usually they are spoken out of the tragedies of our lives, yet Elizabeth is responding with a real sense of joy and love. She understands that Mary is truly blessed to be the God Bearer. She also understands that Mary is blessed to have listened to the voice of the angel and responded to God's amazing call. She affirms Mary's call to be the God bearer.
 
The Elizabeth's of our lives are real blessings.  They are quiet people who often remain unnoticed.  Yet when God wants them to do something important they do not hesitate.  They humbly trust God who is able to take our barrenness and turn it into a wonderful gift, a real blessing.  They trust that God's word will be fulfilled.   They know themselves well enough; they are secure enough in themselves, to enable others to share their own gifts and talents. They don't have to be in the limelight.
 
The Elizabeth's of our world give wholehearted encouragement to bring about God's purposes.  They prepare the way for the Saviour to be born in us. They are models of good ministry. You see, ministry is not about something that you have hired a priest to do on your behalf. It is something to which each of us is called in our own way. The best ministry is done by people like Elizabeth who open up their hearts to those in need. They are the listening ears of the church who always know who is hurting. They are the wounded healers of the community who reach out to the abused, to the neglected, to the needy. They bring healing wherever they go.
 
The Elizabeth's of our world teach us about real ministry.  They quietly and effectively go about doing what God has called them to do.   They know that God can take our barrenness and turn it into a wonderful gift. 

Keep yourself in God's hands.  Be prepared for whatever miraculous way God's message comes to you. Open yourself to hearing God's call. God may be preparing your life for greater purposes than you can see right now.  Let Christ be born in you again and again and again. Amen.
 

The Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year B

Angels Unaware

Readings: 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16; Magnificat; Romans 16:25-27; Luke 1:26-38

It is a bright sunny day in Nazareth. Mary is just returning from the well, her water skin bursting with beautiful clear water. There is always lots of water in their town, a real gift in this arid land. She looks out over the valley far below. Then she climbs the last few steps and enters the courtyard to the small home she shares with her family. Setting the water down for a moment, she begins to reflect on her life. A smile crosses her face as she thinks of Joseph, her husband to be. A kind person with a fine reputation in the community! Yes! Hers is an uncomplicated life. She has a calm and predictable future.

Then suddenly, a great surprise! Even in the brilliant sunlight the courtyard is filled with radiance. A messenger from God! She can scarcely take it all in. Indeed, she can scarcely even look at this stranger. Such an awesome sight he is! She recognizes in this messenger, one who stands in the very presence of God. What is it he is saying to her? “Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.”
“Who am I,” she thinks to herself, “that God should favour me? How can I be chosen by God? Why is God choosing me, a poor, insignificant young woman? What is God choosing me to do?”

The angel reassures her. “Do not be afraid for you have found favour with God.” There is that word again. “Favour! Me!” She looks at him tentatively at first, then more boldly. “You will conceive in your womb,” the angel continues. “And bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.”

She can’t quite take it in. Her child, the baby she bears, will be the son of the most high. Then she gets a dose of reality. “How can this be?” she asks, blushing a little at her bluntness with a stranger. “How can this happen when I have never known a man?”

“With God all things are possible.” The angel speaks of this uncommon thing in common language to a woman whose concerns are totally realistic. All sorts of things are going through her mind. “What will people think? What will Joseph say? This is craziness. Is this really a message from God?” And in obedience to God, through God’s grace, she answers, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then as quickly as it began, the encounter is over. Mary is left with her pondering, but at the same time with a sense of incredible joy and peace, for she has been chosen by God to be the God Bearer.

“Well!” you may be thinking. “That’s very nice for Mary. God sent her a very clear and distinct message. If only God spoke that clearly to me! God, I wish I could see your messengers, those who stand in your very presence. I have never witnessed an angel. Nothing in my life is like that. Not anything!”

As incredible as it seems, God sent a messenger to a young Jewish girl, very poor, who held no position or prominence among her peers with the earthshaking announcement that she was chosen by God to be the mother of the Messiah. It is God’s act through Mary, God’s coming to us through the birth of Jesus, that makes her, that young Jewish woman, and every one of us, significant as God’s children.
“Here am I,” she said, “I am the Lord’s servant. As you have spoken, so be it.” Her response is untouchable, incomprehensible. For it is a response full of confidence in God’s promise to accomplish God’s purpose. And how many of us would answer so quickly and without reservation? How many of us would even know that God was calling us to servant hood?

God continues to communicate with ordinary, everyday people. The problem is, we are not always attuned to God’s presence. God communicates with those who listen and respond. God turns the ordinary into the extraordinary. If we do not hear, then perhaps we are not tuned in. Perhaps we are looking in the wrong place. Or maybe we are looking for the wrong thing.

As incredible as it seems, God still sends messengers. Are there not moments in our lives when God is communicating with us? Have we not all experienced moments of closeness to God, times of insight, of enlightenment.
It is astounding the number of stories there are of peoples’ encounters with angelic beings. This is one of them.

On Sunday afternoon, June 1st 1975, Darrel Dore was on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Suddenly it wobbled, tipped to one side, and crashed into the sea. Darrell was trapped inside a room on the rig. As the rig sank deeper and deeper into the sea the lights went out and the room began to fill with water.

Thrashing about in the darkness, Darrel accidentally found a huge air bubble that was forming in the corner of the room. He thrust his head inside it. Then a horrifying thought sent a shiver down his spine. "I'm buried alive". Darrell began to pray and as he did, something remarkable happened.

Later on he recounted it in his own words. "I found myself actually talking to someone. Jesus was there with me. There was no illumination, nothing physical, but I sensed him, a comforting presence. He was real, he was there." For the next 22 hours that Presence continued to comfort Darrel. But now the oxygen supply inside the bubble was giving out. Death was inevitable. It was just a matter of time. Then a remarkable thing happened. Darrel saw a tiny star of light shimmering in the pitch-black water. Was it real or was he hallucinating? Then the light seemed to grow brighter. He squinted again. It was real. In fact, it was coming from a diver's helmet. The nightmare was over. He was rescued.

Such stories abound. Annunciations happen in any number of ways, through prayer, through worship, through the grace of other people. We ourselves are often messengers of God’s grace, although we may not ever become aware of how or when. In an amazing way, God is born in us and through the Spirit reaches out through us to accomplish God’s purpose in our world. May Christ be born in us this day! Amen.

Fourth Sunday of Advent

This week I plan to tell Mary's story as the angel announces God's plan to her. It is an almost low key conversation that she has with the angel. "This is what God plans to do?" the angel says to her. In her blunt way she asks, "How is it possible?" The angel reminds her that with God all things are possible. She accepts. Most of us would be ranting and raging and saying "Not me! Anyone but me!" She simply accepts that God is calling her to be the God bearer. I wonder, am I able to affirm as Mary did the wonderful news that Christ is with us?