• Joy to the World Luke 1:39-55      (see below)
   by Rev. Randy Quinn  
   

• Christmas is about Bearing Jesus, Luke 1:26-38, by Rev. Delmar Wright

• Peace Incarnate,  Micah 5:2-5a, by Rev. Randy L. Quinn

• No Christmas Without Mary, Luke 1:39-55, by Rev. Frank Schaefer

• God Will Make A Way, Luke 1:39-55, T. Hall

• One of Peace, Micah 5:2-5a, Roy E. Fowler

• Fifteen and Willing to Serve, by John Nadasi

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Joy to the World
based on Luke 1:39-55
 by Rev. Randy Quinn

I've seen the plot played out in a variety of settings.  I'm sure you have too.  We see it in Movies.  We see it in Books.  We see it in Television Shows.  What we see is a simple storyline that includes a sense of longing that is fulfilled.

·         There have been parents longing to be reunited with children.  Sometimes the children have run away; sometimes they have been taken away.

·         There have been spouses longing for the return of their loved ones.  Sometimes their spouse has been captured physically; sometimes their emotional attention has been captured.

·         There have been towns and communities and businesses longing for a sense of vibrancy and vitality.  Sometimes there had been vitality in the past; sometimes it had only been dreamed about and never existed before.

·         There have also been children longing for a white Christmas and there have been adults longing for peace at Christmas.

You can probably name as many or more examples than I can.  The human story is filled with longing and yearning and artists have been capturing that yearning in a variety of media for generations.

On the way home from San Francisco last night, I sat with two different people, each of whom was yearning for something, proving to me once again that yearnings are a part of the human experience.

One was a college student on her way home for Christmas.  She was longing for the warmth and love of home.

The other was a retired physicist who was on his way to a committee meeting of a national association.  His yearning was more subtle the young woman's.  His was a yearning and a thirst of knowledge that was a part of his work.  He was yearning for the fulfillment of his dreams that his work as a physicist would be used in helpful and meaningful ways.

When our longings are fulfilled, there is a sense of joy that cannot be described in words.  It's overwhelming.

Mary and Elizabeth both experience that kind of joy.  Elizabeth, as you probably remember, had been longing for a child.

·         In a society where children were signs of God's blessing, Elizabeth was barren.

·         In a society where children were the best form of security in old age, Elizabeth was anything but young and had no children to whom she could turn for support.

She may not have doubted God's blessing in her life, but her friends and neighbors had often whispered about it and she knew it.  She longed to have a child, to know God's blessings, and for her neighbors to know she had been blest.

Now, finally, in her old age, her longing was fulfilled.  And she is exuberant.

Mary, on the other hand, seems to be longing for God to address society's ills.  She is looking for God to deliver her people from poverty and oppression.  She is longing for God to overcome the evil of the world.  She is longing for God to fulfill the promises of old.

Elizabeth seems to be concerned with her personal joy; Mary is looking toward a joy that fills the whole world.

Certainly, each has some sense of both.  Elizabeth is also concerned about the joy that her son will bring by preparing the way for Christ and Mary has experienced joy in knowing that she has been chosen to be the mother of Jesus.  But the primary source of joy for Elizabeth comes from the fulfillment of personal longings while the primary source of joy for Mary comes from the fulfillment of corporate longings.

That becomes clear when Elizabeth meets Mary.  Elizabeth realizes that something wonderful is happening.  Even the baby in her womb leaps for joy.  But she seems to misunderstand the source of joy for Mary.

She looks at Mary and pronounces her blessed as if it was a personal celebration.

Mary knows the truth.  [continue]