NOTICE TO ON-DEMAND WORSHIPPERS
In order to expedite posting the worship services here on our website, we are reducing the transcript to just the scriptures used and the message. Union Grove UMC in partnership with Southland Books & Cafe, began holding Second Sunday Community Church in January 2023. Second Sunday Community Church takes place at 3 p.m. ET the second Sunday of every month, meets in-person at The Bird & The Book, and is also live-streamed on Facebook. Holy Communion is offered at every Second Sunday service. If you are worshipping on Second Sundays online whether during the live-cast or through on-demand viewing, you are encouraged to have bread and juice or wine available as you watch the service and to participate in communion just as if you are present with us.
SCRIPTURE READINGS
God, open us to hear and receive your scriptures today as you would have us hear them, understand them as you would have us understand them, and to act upon them as you would have us act upon them.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
*Scriptures this morning are from the NRSV.
2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16
Now when the king was settled in his house, and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him, the king said to the prophet Nathan, “See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent.”
Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that you have in mind; for the LORD is with you.”
But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan: Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the LORD: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle.
Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”
Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the LORD of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel; and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house.
Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.
Luke 1:26-38
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 words and 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 conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and 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, your 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.”
Then 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.
Luke 1:46b-55
“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness 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.
His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
L: The scriptures of God for the people of God.
A: Thanks be to God.
Message – Love That Transforms Us*
Rev. Val
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock, and my redeemer, and may you see fit to use me as a vessel from which you pour out your Divine Word.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
When you think of love, what do you think of? Is it romantic love? The kind shared between two people who are smitten with one another? Or is it the kind of love those first sparks grow into over time? The kind of love where you can finish each other’s sentences or speak to one another without ever saying a word … just with a look. Is it the kind of love we feel for our favorites? For instance I love pasta and rare steak and liver with onions … stop frowning, it’s good! … and the play of light and shadow in everything … art, clouds, the leaves of a tree. Or make up. Putting it on, wearing it, how it makes me feel. Strong, confident, considerably younger looking. Well, I like to think it makes feel younger.
Today is all about love … all the kinds I mentioned and yet none of them at all … a profound love … an inexplicable love … a love that changes everything about you … a love that transforms. Today is also known as Mary’s Day. And the two have everything in common.
Let’s look at today’s scriptures. Second Samuel 7 tells us that God is going to take charge of making a home. David wants to build God a house, and Nathan … Nathan is the prophet of David’s time … at first says, sure; go ahead. But then God shows up and tells Nathan to tell David to hold up. “I’ll take care of it when it is time,” God says.
I wonder how David felt about that … I know David’s mind once he’d decided to build God a grand temple instead of relegating God to that impermanent tent that had housed God’s ark. I know David’s mind once that seed was planted in it because I share his mind. Sue will confirm for you. If I were David, I would have the finished temple in my head along with the blueprints and a whole list of change orders for each modification I’d already made before I’d even met with the royal architect.
And before I can even order those royal architects to a meeting to discuss all the details I’ve already worked out in my head, God has Nathan tell me, “Hold up.” It’s not my job.
It would be reasonable at this point in the passage to think that it wasn’t David’s task to build the temple, but Solomon’s. But when you lay these words alongside the Annunciation in today’s passage from Luke, we hear something completely different. We hear God wanting to take up residence a little more intimately than in a grand temple on a hill in Jerusalem. God wants to move a little closer than that.
Advent is all about getting ready. No, forget that; Advent is all about being ready. But we’re not. Are we? No, no way. Ready for what? Um, now that’s a poser. What exactly are we supposed to be ready for? Because most of the things that are rolling in my direction this holiday season aren’t things that I would have chosen to be ready for. Frankly, most things that are rolling in most people’s direction aren’t things they would have chosen. Am I right? We’ve all had plans, we’ve all had dreams, and suddenly things take a turn.
You’ve been on those curves, haven’t you? Kind of like the curves on the Dragon. For those of you joining us online and not from this area, the Dragon is a section of highway 129 that has more curves and switchbacks than you can imagine. That kind of road. The kind of road that bends in unexpected directions. Or the kind of road where you meet an unexpected detour, road construction, bridge out. The kind that totally interrupts your otherwise carefully planned journey. A roadblock to your destination?
The kind of unexpected that Mary experienced. Mary, who’s unexpected bend in the road came in the form of a disturbance that came to meet her right where she lived. How about an angel in your living room? Huh? How about that? Right, Mary?
One biblical commentator wondered in how many living rooms did Gabriel have to make an appearance before he found one who said “yes”? Never thought of it that way before. I mean we assume God knew who was going to say “yes.” That it was all worked out, a no-brainer, a slam-dunk, God had it in the bag before Gabriel ever set out. But if that’s true, then Mary’s response is somewhat diminished, isn’t it? If there wasn’t at least the possibility that she would say “no,” then her “yes” doesn’t count for much. And, for centuries, the church has celebrated Mary’s “yes.”
And Mary’s yes is vital to the story, especially today. Mary’s yes was consent … was indicative of a woman’s right to say what happens with her body … a right that, according to the passage in Luke is a God given right. Let me say that again for all the folks working so diligently today to take that right away … Mary was not forced or coerced into carrying the incarnate Christ. Mary was asked if she would.
Understand that Mary becomes the model for what it means to be a follower. She shows us what surrendering to God is all about. She is the quintessential disciple of the one to whom she is about to give birth to. But it wasn’t an easy “yes.” It wasn’t just a “sure, whatever you say” kind of thing. It was startling; it was an angel in the living room, for heaven’s sake!
Luke, in his usual understated style, says that she was “much perplexed.” Not just perplexed, but much perplexed. I’m not all that sure that perplexed would cover it if I had such an annunciation. Perplexed is what happens when you don’t know what your next move in chess ought to be. I’m thinking an angel standing in your living room asking to take over your life goes way beyond merely “just perplexed.” Mary was much perplexed.
She may have wondered at what sort of greeting this might be. Perhaps she looked over her shoulder in case the angel was talking to her mom or something. Surely, this word wasn’t for her. “Greetings, favored one!” She couldn’t be favored. She was just … Mary. A kid. A young woman giddy at her engagement. “The Lord is with you.” Really? With me? The Lord doesn’t have more important things to do? More important places to go? More important people to see? What sort of greeting was it? Was it for her or someone else? Well, yes.
That greeting was for Mary and for someone else. Or, rather, it was for the someone else she was being called to be. See, that’s what sort of greeting this was, a life-changing one. A “nothing will ever be the same again” kind of greeting. This was a love that transforms. She was asked to give birth to the Kingdom through her own flesh and blood, through her own sweat and tears. She was invited to have faith in something beyond her understanding. She wasn’t given a whole lot of information. Oh, she asked, “How can this be? I’m not qualified, I don’t have the credentials, I don’t have the experience, I don’t know what in the world I am doing. How can this be?” And you can’t help but feel that Gabriel was embarrassed by the question. His answer is specific but lacking in detail. It is a declaration of faith and not a gynecological arrangement. He basically says, “God’s got it covered. You can trust that.” Nothing, and when I say nothing, I mean to include such outlandish things as this rather messy incarnation business, but nothing is impossible with God.
Which apparently is enough. Because the next thing that happens is Mary says “yes.” Without any more to go on than that, she says “yes.” Without a blueprint or signed contract, without an escape clause or planned compensation, she says “yes.” To the inconvenience of making God real enough to touch. To the imposition of surrendering her peace of mind; her quiet, cozy, and hard but comfortable life. To the disruption of her plans and preferences, the way she had imagined her life might go. To the transforming love that is so profound to as to be incomprehensible, she said “yes.” Even to the threat to her own life … not just the normal health threats a pregnant woman faces, but of being stoned to death as an unwed pregnant woman, she said yes. And then the angel left.
And she had to wonder, did she imagine it all? Was it really going to happen? So, she ran to her cousin Elizabeth’s house. That’s what happens next. She hightails it out of town. But not to run away from her “yes.” At least not completely. She went to see the other one who had an angel, although Elizabeth’s angel was a secondhand angel. Still, it was unsettling enough. That’s what they do, these angels in the living room. They’re like a force of nature, beautiful and awesome, but they leave a mess behind them.
It’s such a complicated idea, running against every natural impulse within us, that it takes something dramatic to make us grasp the concept. Or maybe not even grasp the concept, not even understand, but to say “yes” to this life of faith that brings hope to a whole world, through ordinary people like Mary, like us. It takes a power that comes from beyond us. It takes a faith given to us like a gift at Christmas. It takes nothing less than an angel in our living room. An angel that leads us to sing, “My soul magnifies the Lord!” Because as Mary’s song suggests, the transformation that this love brings is not just to individual hearts, but to the whole world. The world will be turned upside down – or rather right side up – by the power of this love that is coming, that has come, into the world. With her, we give thanks, and our spirits rejoice in God, our Savior.
So where’s the common threads between the passage from second Samuel and the passage from Luke? It’s that home … that home for God … God had traveled with the Israelites through the wilderness and … like those Israelites … God’s house … home … was a tent. Then came the promised land and, after 40 years of nomadic life, a sense of permanency … of being able to settle down and become rooted comes over the people. David’s idea of building God a permanent “house” here on earth wasn’t abnormal. If anything, it was a conscious way of honoring God and a subconscious way of saying, “God, we will build you a permanent home here … please stay here with us.”
And, remember, God brought David’s plan to that halt. And while that permanent home did eventually get built … it’s remnants are there now on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem … even that wasn’t the home God was referring to when he said, “No, I’ll take care of building myself a home here on earth.”
The “home” God was referring to came first in the form of a tiny, squirmy baby born of that young girl. And through that baby’s birth, life, ministry and especially through what that baby grew up to do on the that fateful weekend of Passover … God built his home in each of us. And we should see God’s home in each face we meet for each face is the image bearer of God.
Every notion we have about power, success,
wealth, and achievement,
God takes and tosses out the window.
More importantly, God comes to us,
to upset our notion that we have to save ourselves.
In Jesus, God comes to us,
removing our failures, our expectations,
so we might have new life.
Let’s pray:
We confess we are not the people you hope us to be, Advent God.
The very ones you favor, we too often ignore or ridicule.
The ones you knock off their pedestals,
we admire and emulate.
We are so focused on having more and more,
we risk being sent away empty.
Forgive us, Mighty God,
and look with grace upon us.
We would live secure in your love;
we would be the ones of peace for our world,
we would seek to do your will,
as did Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior,
in whose name we pray.
Amen.
Even now—yes, even in this very moment,
God comes to us,
bringing hope,
bringing forgiveness,
bringing grace as freely offered gifts to us.
May we open our hearts to the God who is with us,
and receive the gifts which have been offered to us.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
Credits:
- Unless listed below, all works cited within the text above.
- *Adapted in full from “Our Fierce Joy” Preaching Notes, Discipleship Ministries Worship Planning Series, December 17, 2023.
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