Gospel text for Sunday 14 August 2022

Luke 1:26- 38 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town of Galilee, Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the name of the virgin was Mary. And the angel came to Mary and said, “Rejoice, favored one! The Most High God is with you.” Now, she was troubled by the angel’s words and pondered what sort of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, “Fear not Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Sovereign God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his sovereignty there will be no end.” Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have not known a man intimately?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit, She will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the one born will be holy. He will be called Son of God. And now, Elizabeth your kinswoman has even conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for she who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” Then Mary said, “Here am I, the woman-slave of God; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel left her.

Reflection        The big, hairy, audacious idea of conceiving and giving birth to Divine Presence does not end with Mary!

How many young, virginal women did the Angel Gabriel approach who failed to “see, hear, or recognize” Divine Presence with them? How many thought they heard or saw something and decided they must have had too much wine or not enough sleep and promptly dismissed Divine Possibility? How many heard “the call” and dug deep down to the bottom of them selves and choked, “No way. This will never happen to me?” How many young women missed the opportunity to put their body, their very life on the line for the big, hairy, audacious idea of conceiving and giving birth to Divine Presence before the Angel Gabriel found Mary of Judea who, after pondering these things and questioning the angel, wholeheartedly consents? 

What would it take for you to consent to conceive and give birth to Divine Presence today?

I personally fall into the category of a not so young woman who heard “the call” and promptly reacted, “No way!”  Mine was a call to the priesthood, a position that would bend my body and stretch my mind completely out of shape. After all, I am an introvert. I would rather be invisible than in front of a crowd. Daring to preach the Word of God, well, that is for holy people, which I clearly am not. There is nothing about being a priest that sits comfortably with me. 

But that darn angel would not give up; for more than ten years, disturbing my peace, unsettling my life, twisting my gut, sending me to classes and even a convent, hoping to avoid “the call.” Until physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually spent I gave my consent. But, not without declaring, “Oh God you know I cannot do this. I cannot be this. I cannot speak in front of people. I cannot be with dying people. I cannot even say I believe all that the Church claims about you. The truth of the matter is, right now  I am utterly barren. I have nothing to give. If I go down this road, you better show up because I am going to put my faith in the angel’s promise to Mary, “Nothing will be impossible with God.”

I consented. God has been faithful, been “with me” every time I ask. The only times I have faltered or failed are when I put my faith in my self rather than pausing to consent to God’s presence and action with me. I am living, breathing proof that “nothing is impossible with God” because countless things are done through me that I cannot possibly do. 

What I have learned is this. When the writer of John’s gospel declares, “The Word became flesh,” he was not only speaking about Jesus. His proclamation is intended for all of us.  The big, hairy, audacious idea of conceiving and giving birth to Divine Presence does not end with Jesus. Rather, it depends on every human being’s consent to be the fertile womb through which Divine Presence lives and breaths and makes us new as “the home of God among the woman-born…” (Rev. 21.3)

What would it take for you to consent to conceive and give birth to Divine Presence today?

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Hebrew Testament Text for Trinity Sunday 27 May 2018

Isaiah 6:1-8        In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; 

the whole earth is full of his glory.”

The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!”

Reflection     “The whole earth is full of God’s glory” in spite of the shameful state of affairs erupting throughout the nation twenty-six hundred years ago and today.  And, God needs someone to speak to the people and remind them that God is present and active no matter how terrible things appear. No doubt caught by a knot twisting in his belly, Isaiah pleads that he is not fit for the task of speaking on behalf of God, “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips…” Whereupon a seraph, a Spirit of God,”holds a live coal that had been taken from the altar” to Isaiah’s lips, a ritual act to illustrate the inner cleansing of Isaiah’s heart and mind. Herewith Isaiah experiences God’s invitation, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” He responds, “Here am I; send me!” and proceeds through the course of his life to preach and counsel three different kings and die a martyr’s death.

Isaiah puts his faith in his experience of Divine Presence that invites his incarnate response inspired by the Spirit. Benevolent Father calls to faithful Son through the effectual action of the Spirit.  God is made known in the relationships of the transcendent, incarnate and demonstrative.

Leaping forward six hundred years, might Jesus have heard rumors of the prophet John the Baptizer shouting in the wilderness? “People, listen up. Your world is in a shameful state. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. If you keep doing the same thing you can expect the same response. So repent, turn around, change your minds your hearts and the way you live. Now, as an outward and visible sign of your intention to do just that, come down to the river and I will baptize you with water.”

And did Jesus go to the river, saying “Here I am,” and allow John to immerse him in the cool river waters? Was it in that act of faithful acquiescence that Jesus consciously experienced the Spirit of God with him and came to claim his identity with God? Of course, this is all speculation, but when it comes to God what else can we do? 

For me the Trinity is nothing if not the community of God. Putting our faith in the benevolence of Divine Presence,  responding by imitating Jesus’ life and ministry, empowered by the effectual Holy Spirit, we live and breath and find the courage to say, “Here I am, Lord. Send me.”

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