Preparing for Defiant Love
Second Sunday of Advent ● December 8, 2024
Rev. Jeff Wells © 2024
You can view the full worship video recording at:
Scripture Readings:
Luke 1:26-38 and 1 John 3:16-19 (Inclusive Bible)
The texts of the readings are in the worship bulletin linked here.
I love the Advent stories, including the fantastic tale we just heard about Mary and the angel. At the time this story was written, it is likely that everyone believed in angels and probably accepted this story as completely factual. But the story was written to back up their firm theological belief that Jesus was the only begotten Son of God, sent to be their messiah, their savior. I do believe that each one of us has the ability and potential to be an angel of mercy or to speak God’s desires or intentions into the world. But, if by the label, “angels,” we mean supernatural messengers from God, then I don’t believe in angels. So, I do not take this story as literally true. And don’t misunderstand me, I am completely confident that God was calling and inspiring Mary, just as God called and inspired Jesus later. And, this may sound like heresy, but either one of them could have said “No.” But they did not. They said, “Yes!” to God’s call.
I want to encourage us to let go of whether this story was literally true, and focus on a crucial lesson, a truth this story conveys about God and about us. And the key to this lesson are the words of the angel to Mary: “Do not be afraid!” Under the circumstances of the story, that seems quite impossible. Of course, Mary would have felt fear! After all, she was a relatively impoverished teenage girl who had just been told she was going to become a pregnant, unwed mother and, on top of that, she would have to carry a very important child in her womb and raise him to be able to take over the throne of King David. Moreover, she was asked to do this in a very precarious time in the history of her people. They were under the brutal rule of an occupying Roman army, with a puppet King Herod, as their local enforcer. They were heavily taxed, their labor and resources exploited, and any resistance was violently suppressed. Yet, while Mary had some questions about how all this was supposed to work, in the end she responded, “I am the servant of God. Let it be done to me as you say.”
That phrase, “Do not be afraid,” is the theme of the book that we are reading and discussing in our Wednesday evening Advent study group. The title is Calling All Angels: An Advent Study of Fearlessness and Strength. I encourage you to join us. We have a terrific group and great conversations. You can find the information in your bulletin and the weekly email newsletter. As the author of our book points out, this phrase, “Do not be afraid,” appears somewhere in the bible readings on every Sunday during Advent.
Well, it may be easy for an angel to say, “Do not be afraid,” but we know there is plenty to fear in our actual lives. I am afraid! I am afraid of what is going to transpire under the new president and congressional majority after January 20. I am afraid of legal and extralegal violence toward people of color, undocumented immigrants, and protesters. I am afraid that the world’s governments and powerful multinational corporations are not doing nearly enough to address climate change and we are running out of time.
But let’s go back to Mary’s response. She may have had some fears, some momentary hesitation, some uneasiness about what the future would bring, but what she expressed was a commitment to live fearlessly, courageously, with determination, and trusting in God’s love. Similarly, while I have fears about many things, with God’s inspiration over many decades, I have learned to largely overcome various fears and live courageously. And that ability is rooted in my response to God’s call to love.
Jesus lived out God’s call to love in ways that were extraordinarily aligned with the desires and purposes of God. He was willing to put everything on the line for love. He risked his life in the cause of love. And because he advocated so powerfully for love and prophetically spoke against the ways those with power and privilege failed to practice love, he was ignominiously and painfully executed. We know Jesus experienced fear because he prayed to God to save him from this cruel fate. But Jesus did not walk away from it. He faced it with courage, determined to show love until the end, even asking God to forgive his executioners.
The passage we heard from the First Letter of John tells us that if we are financially secure, we prove the love of God is living in us by caring for those in need. Sometimes our love is lived out in acts of caring and compassion, sometimes in advocating for positive change, and at other times in acts of defiant resistance and protest. But all of it should be grounded in love.
We are facing a period ahead when there will be much to fear. We don’t know exactly what having the MAGA movement in power will bring, but we know it is going to be hateful, vengeful, and harmful to so many around and even among us. Those taking power seek to undermine democratic government and destroy social security, Medicare, Medicare, and affordable healthcare. They have already explicitly threatened to use state violence to suppress dissent. How do we continue to practice love in the midst of all that?
It may help us to remember there have been many brutal and dangerous periods people of faith have had to live through in the 2000+ years of Christian history. In the time of Mary, Jesus, and his followers, the Jewish people lived through a period of grave danger, oppression, and violence (“the peace of the sword”). Yet, it did not stop them from living out God’s call to love.
In our own time of trial, we will need to be very careful not to fall into substituting hatred and violence for love. When we stop acting out of love, we risk becoming no better than those we oppose. We need to follow the call to show love in action, including for our perceived enemies, even while we oppose their harmful actions.
We have to hold on to love even while practicing “loving resistance.” This is at the heart of the Advent story and the message of Jesus in the Gospels. Sometimes, love requires trying to stop those who are intending or doing harm, yet, without demonizing our opponents. It is a challenging and difficult line to walk. It will be important for us to recognize that many who voted for and will continue to support the new administration do not support all of what MAGA stands for. Many simply – and sometimes rightly – believe the Democrats have failed them and they want to try something else.
You see, it’s all about love. Mary was not called by God merely to have a baby. She was called to love God; to love that baby, child, and the man he became; and to impact the world through these acts of love. Our task is to hold on to that same love, never give up or give in to hatred or retribution, but maintain our faith that God is not only walking with us, but continually beckoning us toward the best possible outcomes, toward beauty, joy, and deep community, even in very dire circumstances. God is always actively inspiring us to put love into action to participate in moving the whole world toward greater goodness and thriving for all. So, friends, let us not be afraid, but with God as our constant companion and strength, live courageously in fierce love.