What to Expect When You Are Expecting--Jesus Edition

LUKE 1:39-45 (46-55)

39In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, 40where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42and exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? 44For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. 45And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord."

46And Mary said,

"My soul magnifies the LORD,

47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

48for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.

Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

49for the Mighty One has done great things for me,

and holy is his name.

50His mercy is for those who fear him

from generation to generation.

51He has shown strength with his arm;

he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.

52He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,

and lifted up the lowly;

53he has filled the hungry with good things,

and sent the rich away empty.

54He has helped his servant Israel,

in remembrance of his mercy,

55according to the promise he made to our ancestors,

to Abraham and to his descendants forever."

When I got pregnant with my oldest child, I felt very alone. None of my friends or family members were pregnant or had children. I was having the first grandchild on either side of the family. Social media and mommy blogs didn’t exist. So, there I was, a bewildered twenty-something experiencing all kinds of weird symptoms and wondering if they were normal. I felt like an alien had taken over my body and, some days, my personality.

Along the way somebody recommended the book What to Expect When You are Expecting. It offers a month-by-month description of what a woman goes through during her 9 or 10-months of pregnancy. Suddenly, I knew I knew I wasn’t the only woman who wanted bacon, eggs and a milkshake for three meals a day, even though the doctor said all I needed was a regular diet with an added an apple and yogurt. (really?)  It was comforting to know I wasn’t the only one weeping during cheesy country music songs. My husband read the book, too. I think to see if I was, indeed, normal.

The book was helpful, for sure, but when it came time for the delivery, words on a page could not do the experience justice. What I experienced in real life was far more painful, powerful and beautiful than any book could describe. There were definitely some moments that I was NOT expecting.

This week’s Bible reading focuses on two women who are expecting—Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist and Mary the mother of Jesus. And it’s a beautiful, intimate portrayal of expectation. Elizabeth is old and any hope of having children has worn thin. Mary is young, unmarried and not ready to have a child since she’s not even married. Really, neither one of them should be pregnant. But surprise! They are. And we all can learn a few things from their experiences. 

First, when we are expecting Jesus, we trust that God is with us. We read that Mary when greets Elizabeth, Elizabeth knows without being told that Mary is carrying her savior. John, the child in her womb leaps for joy when he hears Mary’s greeting and Elizabeth responds by saying:

Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.

Mary agreed to take the difficult road of explaining her mysterious pregnancy to her fiancé and her parents. Mary believes that God will see her through her pregnancy.

When we are waiting for Jesus in Advent, we often profess that whatever life brings, God is with us. We remember that God promises something deeper, richer and more meaningful than what we see. Sometimes this feeling is based more in our intuition than the facts. We trust that intuition, sometimes in the face of evidence to the contrary. It’s this deep trust that allows us to face unplanned pregnancies like Mary or risky pregnancies like Elizabeth. It’s this belief that helps us through times of illness or divorce or job loss.

When we are expecting Jesus we realize that sometimes things are reversed. In the story of the visitation between Mary and Elizabeth we see examples God’s reversals. Elizabeth is the older woman and therefore to be honored, but it is she who defers to Mary, the younger. This plays out later when John tells his followers that the one who comes after him will be greater than he is. It plays out in the manger when the God of the Universe comes not as a powerful leader but a helpless baby.

As we await Jesus today, we remember Jesus’ teaching about reversals— reminding us that the last shall be first and the first shall be last and that the meek and poor are blessed. We remember that prostitutes and tax collectors get into the kingdom ahead of priests. We know that Jesus wants us to serve others and not wait around to be served. We know that death leads to life. As we go through Advent, we can try some of our own reversals like letting someone with an armful of packages or whining children go first in the checkout line or serving Christmas dinner to a homeless person.

When we are expecting Jesus, we feel compelled to sing and shout. When Mary visits Elizabeth she exclaims blessings upon Mary in a loud voice. Some translations say Elizabeth cries out (a la the prophet in the wilderness) others say she sings exuberantly. Whichever translation you pick, the woman is making some noise.

Elizabeth and Mary aren’t two refined ladies speaking in quiet voices in a back room. The Holy Spirit is upon Elizabeth and she’s letting loose with her baby bump and graying hair, heaping blessing after blessing upon Mary. I’ll bet in later years the neighbors looked at her child, John the Baptist and said, “You know, John gets that wild streak is from his mother.”

After Elizabeth’s ruckus, Mary replies with a song that describes her joy and blessing:

My soul glorifies the Lord

 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

 for he has been mindful

 of the humble state of his servant.

From now on all generations will call me blessed,

  for the Mighty One has done great things for me—

  holy is his name.

When we are expecting Jesus, we remember the good things God has done for us with joy. We name the times when God works powerfully in our lives and we want to share our experiences with others.

When we are expecting Jesus, we begin to see and speak prophetically. Mary’s song begins by rejoicing in God, but make no doubt, her song is one that the prophets of Israel had been singing since God brought them out of slavery in Israel.

The prophets of the Old Testament reminded Israel that God took a rag tag group of slaves out from under the thumb of the powerful Pharaoh. God took them when they were the least and made them mighty. God took them when they were last and made them first. God took them when they were poor, powerless and hungry and made them into a nation.

Mary sings a song that is repeated over and over again in the Bible. It’s a song that is both about herself and the nation of Israel. She is bold to claim that God is for her--a peasant, a woman, a young person with no title:

He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.

He has brought down rulers from their thrones

   but has lifted up the humble.

He has filled the hungry with good things

    but has sent the rich away empty.

He has helped his servant Israel,

    remembering to be merciful

    to Abraham and his descendants forever,

    just as he promised our ancestors.”

I'm guessing Jesus probably heard his mother say these things when he was a boy. Maybe she sang this song every night while she did the dishes. It’s no wonder Jesus grew up to think the poor are blessed and the meek will inherit the earth.

Those of who are expecting Jesus during Advent remember Mary’s song and the ministry of Jesus. We see the injustices in our society and do what we can to help lift up the humble, feed the hungry and practice acts of mercy. We long for the day when this will happen.

Finally, when we are expecting Jesus, we should expect to be surprised.

Neither Mary nor Elizabeth are expecting to bear a child at this point in their lives. Old Elizabeth will be chasing a toddler who grows up to baptize people in the Jordan. Young Mary will be a chased out of the country, a refugee intent on saving her child. The Son of God.

When we are expecting Jesus, we don’t want to be caught looking in the direction. We need to be open to the way that the sovereign God works in the world, even if it’s not what we are expecting in our own minds. Remember, the nation of Israel was expecting a messiah who would conquer and rule. But they got the reverse, a helpless baby who grew up to be iterant preacher that died on a cross.

This Advent as we remember Christ’s birth and await Christ’s coming again, I encourage you to think about how you are expecting Jesus to come again and whether or not you are open to being surprised by God. Will Jesus literally come down on a cloud like the Bible says? Are you expecting Jesus to be good-looking and have flowing hair and long robes? Are you prepared to consider that Jesus may come again to a tiny African village or the sprawling metropolis of Lagos or Mumbai or even the wilds of Canada, of all places?

The Bible tells us that we can expect a faithful God, full of mercy and abounding in steadfast love to redeem our world. The Bible tells us that God so loves the world that he gave his only son so that we won’t perish but have eternal life. But the Bible is full of surprises, too.

Think you are too old to have a baby? 

Surprise! Ask Elizabeth about that.

Think women can’t speak the word of God or give flesh to the promises of God?  

Surprise! Mary does it. 

Think you are holy and first in the Kingdom of God? 

Surprise! You’re last.

Think you are going to get a messiah to lead you to political victory? 

Surprise! Your messiah is crucified.

Think death has the final word? 

Surprise! Christ is resurrected and is coming again.

Read the Bible carefully and thoroughly. It can tell you where to look and what to expect. But keep your heart and eyes and mind open to the Spirit so that you, too, may experience a God-given surprise that you are not expecting.