Slideshow image

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his wordsand pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceivein your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be greatand will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him
the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, you relative Elizabeth, in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.


In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to be, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believes that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”
And Mary said,

My soul magnifies the Lord,and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant. Surely from now on all generations will call me blessed,for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name; indeed, his mercy is for those who fear himfrom generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thronesand lifted up the lowly;he has filled the hungry with good thingsand sent the rich away empty. He has come to the aid of his child Israel,in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors,to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”And Mary remained with her about three monthsand then returned to her home. Luke 1:26-56

A week and a half ago, several of us from Riverside CC and many from congregations around the city showed up early at City Hall to pray for our city’s homeless and mentally challenged individuals—that if the 1% tax increase was approved, that this population would receive some of the monies for health and wellness in our community.

Multiple people spoke and then many among the gathered prayed.I was struck by one prayer in particular. With no introduction or explanation, a younger person in the crowd simply spoke words straight from the Biblical text as her prayer. “My soul proclaims your greatness, O God...for you have looked with favor upon your lowly servant… you have raised the lowly to high places… you have filled the hungry with good things.”

As a preacher of some 40+ Advents, I immediately knew Mary’s Magnificat when I heard her start and I looked around to see who it was praying. My friend, Rev. Catherine Neely Burton, a Presbyterian minister, was the one praying. She added no additional words and simply used this text from Luke 1, purportedly from Mary’s lips.

Later, when I thanked her for this eloquent use of the Magnificat, she said she though it fit perfectly and that Mary could speak for us all. While Jesus was supposed to be born in Bethlehem, he was said to be from Nazareth, where Mary was from. Some call Nazareth “The Arab capital of Israel” because more of its residents are Arab citizens. Nazareth is a place of migrants, or occupying forces, and of constant motion. This is where Jesus was incarnated and grew up.

When you go to the church there-- a place dedicated to Mary, the mother of Jesus, you see a courtyard displaying artistic renderings of Mary from countries around the world (most are the classic Madonna and child motif) from:

Guatemala,
Ethiopia,
Korea,
Germany,
Thailand (see Mary with a headdress and golden bangles),
Scotland (note Mary is fair-skinned and the child has family crests),
Spain (note Mary is a queen in ornate robes with a jewel-studded crown),
Chile,
Philippines,
Greece (see mothers practicing resistance and teaching their children to huger for justice).

It is important to note that the story of God’s incarnation is not filled with exemplary or notable people! Zechariah, Elizabeth, and Mary and Joseph were ordinary people—a village priest and his wife; a girl from Galilee and her betrothed. And God chose them to converse with angels. Hard places were the places of the first advent: occupied Judea, feral Galilee, an insignificant village like Nazareth. Where people hurt most, where hope was on the run, where peace seemed unfeasible, this is where God chose to bring joy.May God’s Advent in 2026 be the same – in a place where people hurt, where hope is absent, where peace seems unfeasible, may God bring joy. Even if it is in Palestine or Israel or in our hearts.