Advent 4

Luke 1.39-55

Hymns: 752, 24, 274, 27

English poet William Cowper (1731-1800) wrote the hymn (CW 420), God Moves in a Mysterious Way." It is surmised that he perhaps based this hymn on the words of the Prophet Isaiah (55.8,9), For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. You’ve very likely said that a time or two in your life, "God moves in mysterious ways," when you’ve marveled at the ways God does things... ways that you would never done things yourself if God had asked you for your opinion.

For example, you would not plan to have a major catastrophe come in to your life in you had the choice: sickness, death, loss of income, have your house burn down. You wouldn’t even plan to run out of gas or have a flat tire because it’s not a good thing to run out of gas or have a flat tire.

In the Old Testament Joseph, son of Jacob, was hated by his brothers. They sold him into slavery and...you know the story. He became second in command behind the Pharaoh of Egypt. Joseph ended up in prison for something he didn’t do because God wanted him there to interpret the dreams of the Pharaoh’s baker and butler so he could become known to the Pharaoh and interpret his dream and save that part of the world from a seven year famine. When Joseph’s brothers asked him if he was going to kill them because of what they had done to him, Joseph said to them (Gen 50.19-21). God works in mysterious ways his wonders to perform, ways that you and I would never plan for ourselves.

And so it is that in his mysterious ways God saved the world, not be exacting punishment and payment for sin from us. But by sending his own Son to pay for the sins of the world...God’s mysterious ways! And the way Jesus came into the world was also a mystery. Born of a virgin as the human/divine Son of God and Son of Man! GOD WORKS IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS HIS WONDERS TO PERFORM!

Take, for example, what happened when Mary went to the home of her cousin, Elizabeth (v 39-41). Six months earlier Elizabeth found out that her son, John, would be the one to announce to the world that the Messiah had finally arrived; the Savior of the world had come. Even from the time before he was born John was designated by God to have this uncommon role in the hist-ory of the world. Even in his mother’s womb John was filled by the Holy Spirit. So when Mary walked through the door of the house where Elizabeth lived to tell her that she was going to give birth to that Messiah, John, still in the womb, reacted to Mary’s presence by kicking and getting excited. In your mind’s eye can you see Elizabeth grab her stomach and say to Mary, "Wow! Your being here is causing a stir in my tummy!"

Why did John kick in the womb? It wasn’t because Mary slam-med the door so loudly that John "woke up" and reacted to that. It was the Holy Spirit caused that to happen because God works in mysterious ways his wonders to perform.

We are to know that the Holy Spirit is able to work even in the life of an unborn child, John, as he does when he gives faith to a newborn infant through the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. In Bap-tism, it is not a prerequisite for an infant to be able to speak or even to understand the spoken word in order for the Holy Spirit to work faith in that child’s heart. An infant is a sinful human being who needs the forgiveness of sins and the faith to receive that forgiveness. And the Holy Spirit gives that faith to an in-fant through the power and promise of the Word of God itself (Jn 3.5,6; Acts 2.38,39; Titus 3.5).

Is it not wonder that you and I are here? If given the choice you and I would not have chosen to believe in Jesus as the world’s Savior from sin. Given the choice you and I would be of the opinion that as long as we try to be good, try to avoid the really big sins that make headline news, we can expect that God will forgive us and take us to heaven when we die. But that is not how salvation has come to us. It is not something in us that saves but only faith in what Jesus has done for us, paid for our sins and freely forgives. THEME

The Holy Spirit also used Elizabeth to establish they mystery of the virgin birth (v 41-45). As far as we know May had not told Elizabeth that she was the mother of the Messiah. Instead, Eliz-abeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, knew that this was the case. And John’s kicking in her womb was also a sign to Elizabeth that this was the case. Was Elizabeth, perhaps, still amazed that she was going to give birth to the son who would announce to the world that the Messiah had come? The Holy Spirit filled her heart with the assurance, and her prophecy established it, that she was indeed the mother of the Messiah-Proclaimer, and that Mary her cousin was indeed the mother of the one whom John would proclaim to be the world’s Savior. Theme!

Mary also, with a prophecy of her own, reveals how God works in mysterious ways (v 46-55). Mary understood her role in God’s plan of salvation. We still today talk about Mary, the virgin woman of 2000 years ago who gave birth to the world’s Savior from sin and death. We call her blessed, not because she was without sin but in spite of the fact that she who was a sinner was used by God to accomplish his purpose in bringing the Savior from sin into this sinful world.