Sermon for Sunday December 20th, 2009

Luke 1:39-45
Our Hearts Leap With Joy!
I. Jesus is in our midst
II. The Lord has done what he promised!
In the name of Jesus, our Savior and King, dear fellow redeemed children of God;
There is a picture hanging in our living room from the wedding we had in our family last summer. The pictures were taken by a fountain where the photographer encouraged everyone in the wedding party, which included all of our children, to jump up in the air all at once. The photographer did a great jump because she caught everyone right at the top of their leap- some even kicking up their heels. It was a happy day. When we look at that picture, while we might not do any of the “Toyota” leaps in the air, it does make our hearts leap for joy. Leaping for joy - that’s our theme for today as we gather on this Sunday before Christmas. Today in God’s Word we hear about a baby who jumped for joy in his mothers’ womb when Jesus came into the room still in Mary’s womb. Jesus and all he has done for us make our hearts leap for joy I. Because Jesus is in our midst and II. The Lord has done what he promised for us.
In the verses just before our text, the angel Gabriel had given the virgin Mary some very unexpected but happy news. The angel told Mary, “Don’t be afraid, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son and you are to give him the name Jesus.” The angel went on to Mary’s amazement, “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.” Mary was going to have a baby, even though she was a virgin, and the child she would bear would be the Son of God.
The angel assured Mary that nothing is impossible with God. The angel also added the astounding news that Mary’s relative Elizabeth was also pregnant even though she was no past the time when she would normally have children. Elizabeth of course was the mother of John the Baptist.
To all of this spectacular news Mary replies, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.” After the angel left Mary, the Bible tells us, “Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judah, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth.” Mary made the trip from Nazareth to the hill country of Judah to compare notes with Elizabeth who the angel had also said was going to give birth to miracle baby.
Mary wasn’t going to Elizabeth’s house to express doubt or skepticism like, “you know the strangest thing happened to me the other day.” No Mary went to the house of Elizabeth to share her joy and excitement that the Lord was going to fulfill the promises he made in the Old Testament- that he would sent the Messiah, the long awaited Savior. Mary stayed at the home of Elizabeth and Zechariah for about three months. During this time she may have cared for Elizabeth who was in the later stages of her pregnancy.
We’re told that “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting the baby leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed, “Blessed are you among woman and blessed is the child you will bear. But why am I so favored that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” We see the power of the Holy Spirit at work in both Elizabeth and the baby John the Baptist. By a miracle of the Holy Spirit, the unborn person John the Baptist leaps with joy when the God man, the Savior comes into the room still in his mother’s womb.
We can also see the power of the Holy Spirit at work in Elizabeth. God’s word tells us that she was filled with the Holy Spirit and the Bible says, “No one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit enabled her to identify Mary as the mother of her Savior and to confess Jesus as the promised Messiah, even before Mary has a chance to explain what the angel had told her.
God’s word tells us that John the Baptist leaped for joy in the presence of Jesus. Jesus is present with us everywhere that we go. Do we always leap for joy in the presence of the Savior? When we’ve asked Jesus to come and be our guest at the dinner table do we ever sink to saying hurtful things to our family. When we’ve asked Jesus to walk with us have we even gotten down into the gutter of listening to or telling dirty jokes? Do we ask Jesus to ride along with us in the car and then listen casually to songs with lyrics that might peel the paint off the wall? These and all our many sins make us blush with shame and stain our pillows with tears of sorrow. We all must say with Paul, “What a wretched man I am.” We could all say with St. Peter, “Go away from me Lord for I am a sinful man.”
But that’s not what Jesus does. He came into this world as the Savior so that we could be with him in heaven. He became flesh to bless the whole world. Elizabeth tells Mary, “Blessed are you and blessed is the child you will bear.” Mary and the whole world would be blessed through the baby who was laid in Bethlehem’s manger. When Jesus died on the cross, the full and free forgiveness of sins was offered to everyone through faith in Christ Jesus. Jesus brings countless blessings to us through what he did on Christmas, Good Friday and Easter and all the days in between. Now this one who pours down blessings upon us directs our lives for us.
Our hearts can leap for joy because Jesus is with us as we sit down to eat and pray, “Come Lord Jesus be our guest….” Jesus is there with his blessings and shares the happy times with us and our families. Jesus is there as we feel hurt, frustrated and lonely. Yes, we have many reasons to leap for joy because Jesus is in our midst.
Elizabeth asked, “Why am I so favored that the mother of my Lord should come to me? “ Certainly we too when we look at everything the Lord has done for us have to ask, “Why am I so favored?” God’s undeserved love is the only answer to that question. In his grace God promised that he was going to send a Savior. By God’s grace he fulfilled all of these promises. This gives us our second reason to leap for joy. God has done what he promised.
“Blessed are you among women and blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished.” Here the Bible highlights for us the faith God had given to Mary. Here is a young girl, pregnant not by a human father but by the Holy Spirit. I am sure she faced many jeers from unbelieving neighbors and friends, not to mention what her fiancée Joseph might say. Human reason must have screamed in her ear, “This can’t be happening to me.” Still Mary put her faith in the simple words and promises of God. By faith Mary recognized that she would bear the Savior promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. “The mighty one has done great things for me. Holy is his name….He has helped his servant Israel remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers.”
The words of Elizabeth, “Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished” really apply to each one of us. All of us are certainly blessed when by the power of the Holy Spirit we believe the words and promises of God. We are blessed because Jesus has brought us peace with God and we can look forward to an eternity of peace with God. We are blessed when we believe the words of our Old testament lesson for today that out of Bethlehem- that little town- would come one will be ruler over Israel whose origins are from of old from ancient times who will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord.” We are blessed as we put our trust in the Good Shepherd who in all things works for the good of those who love him.
The other day I listened to a talk show about what not to get your spouse for Christmas. They offered some helpful advice like, “Husbands don’t get your wife a power washer or chain saw. Their hearts probably will not leap for joy. How do you think your loved ones will react when they open your gifts? As we look again at the pages of God’s word, how will you react when you open the gift the Savior brought for you? Let’s let our hearts leap for joy as we hear the good news. Let’s hurry like the shepherds to Bethlehem and see these things which the Lord has told us about. Then let us return from our Christmas services glorifying and praising God for all the things we have seen and heard which were just as they had been told.” Amen.