Loving God, you come to dwell among us in Jesus through Mary your servant.  Open our hearts in faith and in love by the power of your Spirit, empowering us to be faithful witnesses, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

            Today we get to hear a part of the story that is included in pretty much every Christmas pageant – the announcement by the angel Gabriel to Mary.  We also heard a reading from 2 Samuel – mostly because of God’s covenant with David that eventually is fulfilled through Jesus.  However, there is something else in that reading that seems worth lifting up today.

         I have always liked the ongoing conversation in this text between God and David (with Nathan sometimes serving as intermediary).  Essentially, it goes something like this:  David proposes building a house for God (in other words, a temple), and God says that he doesn’t need a house.  God has always moved from here to there in a tent and a tabernacle, and has never asked for a house of cedar.  Moreover, God declares to David that “the Lord will make you a house” (2 Sam. 7:11), and thus begins the covenant that God makes with David.

         Eventually, of course, a Temple is built in Jerusalem, but it does not have a statue in it like all of the other temples.  Instead, it has the Ark of the Covenant (sometimes called the God Box), which represents the presence of God in the Holy Place.  For many years, the Temple serves as God’s dwelling place – at least, until the angel Gabriel’s announcement to Mary.

         God, it seems, is going to take up residence in a new way and in a new place, in the womb of the virgin Mary.  “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you” (Lk. 1:35) – just like the cloud at the Transfiguration of Jesus.  In a sense, Mary becomes the new Ark of the Covenant, carrying God’s living Word within her.  And then, in Jesus, it seems that we are back to dwelling in a tent again, as the Word became flesh and tented among us (Jn. 1:14).

         For any who may be confused, the human body is compared to a tent later in the New Testament.  As Paul is writing to the Corinthians, he refers to our bodies as “the earthly tent we live in,” as compared to the heavenly dwelling that awaits us (2 Cor. 5:1-2).  It is an image that reminds us that our life on this earth is temporary, whereas our life in God is eternal.  At the same time, God was able to move from place to place in Jesus, just as the tent and the Ark of the Covenant moved from place to place in the wilderness.  However, it is unlikely that Mary was thinking about all of this in her encounter with Gabriel.

         When Martin Luther writes about today’s gospel, he identifies three miracles that are taking place.  One miracle is God and humankind being joined together in this holy child.  Another miracle is the mother who gives birth and yet remains a virgin.  And, a third miracle is Mary’s faith.  In Luther’s opinion, the first two miracles are child’s play as far as God is concerned – no problem.  The greatest miracle, however, is the faith that Mary exhibits in her response – something that had to come from Mary and was essential in proceeding with God’s plan (sundaysandseasons.com).

         After all, when God’s dwelling place is within a human being, both faith and consent are needed.  This was true for Mary, and was true for Jesus, and is also true for any one of us. Unlike evil or demonic forces, being possessed by the Holy Spirit is not really a thing.  God does not enter our lives and direct our minds and our hearts without our consent.  At the same time, though, we are not asked to do anything nearly as big as Mary was.

         Back in 2012, when I was with a group from St. George’s College in Jerusalem, we stopped at Kiriath Jearim on our way back to Jerusalem.  For those who don’t recognize this name, it is the place where the ark of the covenant stayed until King David brought it in procession to Jerusalem.  There is a church there now that is called Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant.  Mary is lifted up as the theotokos, or God-bearer – the one who carried God’s living Word in her womb.  One of the reflections that was shared with us there encouraged all of us to carry God’s Word within us as we returned to our homes.

         Once again, we are not asked to do anything as big as Mary was – but all of us are asked to remain open to the Holy Spirit, and to be aware that God continues to dwell in us and with us and among us because of Jesus Christ.  We are not alone, and we are God’s house of living stones.  “For nothing will be impossible with God” (Lk. 1:37).  Amen.

Advent 4(B)                                       Luke 1:26-38

December 24, 2023                        2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16

St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church

Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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