The Blessed Invisibles
first things. The Good News, the baby is coming. How do the gospels start the story of the good news – the blessed story of Jesus among us?
Matthew begins with a genealogy and an angel convincing Joseph not to divorce Mary.
Mark begins with John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness of one to come and then Jesus’ baptism
John – begins with - In the beginning was the Word and eventually gets to John foretelling one to come after whose sandals he is not worthy to tie.
It’s no wonder so much of our beloved memories of The story come from Luke – we have heard that the elderly couple Zechariah and Elizabeth are expecting a baby and an angel has appeared to Mary. After being told not to be afraid by an angel, we join the story. Listen to the living word from
Luke 1:39-55 (NIV)
39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”
46 And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord 47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, 49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name. 50 His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.
51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. 52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. 53 He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. 54 He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful 55 to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.”
The Blessed Invisibles
This is the story of Fayette – it’s not my story. It comes from Jan Richardson who heard it from Janet Wolf – pastor of a Methodist Church in Nashville. At this church, there were diverse members – those with doctorates and those who hadn’t finished third grade, those with vacation homes and yachts and the houseless living on the streets. Those with power in the community and those without – the unseen, invisible. As Janet described the diverse church welcomed all walks including one person struggling with mental health who framed it as the church for – those of us who are crazy and those who think they are not.
A woman named Fayette found her way to the church and attended the new member classes. When they talked about baptism I like the way Pastor Janet described it, “this holy moment when we are named by God’s grace with such power it won’t come undone.…” Fayette would ask again and again in class – and when I am baptized, I am…?
“The class,” Janet writes, “learned to respond, ‘Beloved, precious child of God, and beautiful to behold.’ ‘Oh, yes!’ she’d say, and then we could go back to our discussion.”
The day of Fayette’s baptism came. This is how Janet describes it:
Fayette went under, came up spluttering, and cried, ‘And now I am…?’ And we all sang, ‘Beloved, precious child of God, and beautiful to behold.’ ‘Oh, yes!’ she shouted as she danced all around the fellowship hall.
Two months later, Pastor Janet received a phone call.
Fayette had been beaten and assaulted was at the county hospital. So Janet went and saw Fayette from a distance, pacing back and forth. When she got to the door, she heard, ‘I am beloved….’ She turned, saw Janet, and said, ‘I am beloved, precious child of God, and….’ Catching sight of herself in the mirror—hair sticking up, blood and tears streaking her face, dress torn, dirty, and rebuttoned askew, she started again, ‘I am beloved, precious child of God, and…’ She looked in the mirror again and declared, ‘…and God is still working on me. If you come back tomorrow, I’ll be so beautiful I’ll take your breath away!’
This story sticks with me resonating with the story of the women from Luke. Mary and Elizabeth would have been like the Fayette’s of our world. There but not really seen – the invisible women of the world. And yet these women proclaim and give birth to the Good News that brings light to the world.
The cast aside old woman who brought nothing of worth and was likely thought of as being punished for something with her barrenness probably led a lonely, isolated life not accepted in society and a pregnant young maiden who has yet to do anything of worth. Hardly the power couple and yet – the babe leaps and Mary sings! Blessed are you Elizabeth thinks but who am I to receive such an exalted visit from the mother of our Lord?
You see Elizabeth, like Fayette – needed to be seen. She had been invisible her whole life, she can scarcely believe that she has been blessed with a child and now this young maiden comes to her. Beloved, precious child – me too? The mother of the Lord honors me? Wants comfort and community from and with me? John leaps in the womb and Elizabeth an invisible, unseen women of little worth blesses Mary. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! Given that welcome and embraced in love, Mary bursts into song.
Another invisible woman whose song carries on the winds and resonates in our bones – Mary’s Song. Not one of peace at all. The song that shouts out for the invisible and the unseen of the world is set to beautiful notes and sung in incredible arrangements. Yet, it is a grungy, powerful demand that the world see.
We often portray Mary in our living manger scenes as a calm demure, quiet maiden – Mother Mary gentle and mild – trusting, obedient (and weirdly enough usually silent)– perhaps this holds if we only listen to the first part of the wondrous Magnificat – “My soul glorifies the Lord 47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, 49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name.”
But this unwed, pregnant, poor teen girl is not done! This is the beginning of the transformation – the upheaval Jesus brings to and demands of the world. See! Behold – what is spoken in this song is the longest quote of a female in the New Testament. And the words are a demand for justice – far from demure, settled unseen on the sidelines but rather a demand.
German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was executed by the Nazis, called the Magnificat “the most passionate, the wildest, one might even say the most revolutionary hymn ever sung. The Washington Post says that Argentina, Guatemala, and India have banned the Magnificat from being recited in liturgy or in public!
(https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2018/12/20/marys-magnificat-bible-is-revolutionary-so-evangelicals-silence-it/)
Far from merely serving as a silent pretty womb, Mary is a radical who is fighting for justice – in a song that is among the 8 oldest of Christianity. Scatter the proud, bring down rulers and lift the humble. 53 He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. Sounds like Mary trusts in the Lord and fears not speaking to power. Blessed indeed. Why is this so at odds with our visions of Mary this Christmas season, so out of synch with our nativities and stories?
We tend to focus on the more comfortable parts of the story. As people who are among the richest of the world, this calls us out. Jesus turned the world upside down with his preference for the outcast, the poor. Mary proclaims the same. From a position of comfort and power in the world, this is revolutionary and challenging to us. We love the gorgeous moving renditions of Bach and choirs the world round but rather struggle with a blessing that demands we see. That blesses the unseen and an invisible person calling us out!
But we love the song – why is that? Because we are part of the song. And that is the only way. A song across the ages is calling to you from an unexpected sideline. Mary is revered by Catholic churches you may say. Who is she to us? Who is she indeed? A poor girl, lonely on the roadside, easy to ignore, an elderly lady living on welfare in a home. Do we listen to these people? What have they to say to us? They are part of our song!
Remember the story, the story of justice where the rich are on a level playing field and the world is one of integrity and beauty for all – none invisible on the sideline. All stories heard, woven together. A blessing that claims you and says – you are mine, you are beloved, you are beautiful and nothing can shake that.
Advent and Christmas songs are among the most powerful and dear to our hearts, a vital part of this season. Songs carry our stories, they bring us joy, they bring us comfort and yes, they call to revolutionary action. Yet, Fayette is right – God is not done with us yet! Mary’s song is of things God has already done – she rejoices in what God promises and trusts in her Lord knowing she is blessed. As we travel through Advent, we too sing. We wait, knowing it is a time of done and yet a time of what is to come too.
Who is Mary calling you to be? At this transition time for the Kirk, remember our journey together began in a parking lot singing through masks, limiting our songs in fear of a virus run astray. Yet we remembered our charge - reaching out to one another sharing the story and seeking to see each other around the masks and the loneliness of isolation. We learned new ways to make sure each person was seen – that none felt invisible or forgotten.
We made use of technology, parking lots, fields and porches reminding each neighbor of the story, the Good News that connects us. Spreading apart pews, we refused to let the shape or configuration of space and how things have “always been done” define us. God’s body reformed and always reforming meets challenges and rises again and again.
A favorite memory for me will always be my first Christmas Eve at The Nor’kirk. All neighbors were welcomed, no fancy attire required – the real you invited and cherished. Benches, blankets and chairs side-by-side on the dusty ground – stranger and friend together. Loaded with all the challenges of an outside service on a cold winter night, we still packed the parking lot passing out candles for our beloved tradition of Silent Night.
We told the story – yes Luke’s story of the birth. The wind howled. The rain held off but barely. Candles would not stay lit. So we raised our phones – yes phones with flash lights on like at a rock concert and let the light shine and the song go on – Silent Night told the story – the precious story. Ironically the church did not stay silent but sang on!
This story welcomed us in, blessed us, connected us at a time we didn’t feel seen, didn’t feel as connected and maybe even wondered where God was in all of this. Rather than cast it all aside, we clung to the foundation of the blessed story – and like Mary we sang. We sang together remembering the story of that blessed night knowing we are a people blessed – knowing who and whose we are. I invite you, wherever you may be to pull out your phone and turn on the light. Remember, we are shining light to the world through real things in OUR stories – the Good News.
As we part ways, I charge you to remember the gritty times – when flashlights from a phone replaced elegant candles, when the grocery shelves and sometimes our pantries were bare, when we desperately used those same phones to stay connected, when we struggled to be seen. When the cold closed in but we reached out to share warmth and food. Calls and visits to make sure nobody was forgotten, alone, unseen. Remember many feel that way all the time – invisible on the sidelines. Reach out to them, share the song, connect – see - so none feel invisible and all know they are blessed. I charge you to go forth living into the song to bring justice, mercy, and love to the world. God is not done with you yet. Mary is calling you to transform the world. The song goes on – live it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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