The Fourth Sunday of Advent - December 21

Santa Claus Blessings and Gabriel Blessings
Magnificat (Canticle 15)
Luke 1:26-38

Today, of course, is the Fourth Sunday, the last Sunday of the Advent season… this time of preparation and anticipation for the celebration of our Lord’s birth. The two primary figures of Advent are John the Baptist and Mary. Both, obviously, play roles in preparing for Jesus’ birth. For the last two Sundays, the focus of our readings has been on John. Today is Mary’s day.

The Gospel story we hear today is usually called the Annunciation. Gabriel’s announcement to Mary of her special calling and Mary’s acceptance of that vocation.

Considering this story of Gabriel coming to the young woman Mary led me to think about what I’ll call two different paths to blessing. Two different roads that lead to blessing.

As a sort of shorthand, I’ll call them the Santa Claus path to blessing and the Gabriel path.

Why do we call Mary blessed? Mary, in particular? Why is she always referred to as the Blessed Virgin Mary? I think most of us would respond that it’s because of her special role… because she bore Jesus. That’s why she is blessed… because of what she did.

This perspective is the Santa Claus path to blessing. She wasn’t naughty; she was nice. She earned blessing. I may be calling this the Santa Claus path to receiving blessing, but this perspective is in Scripture, too. We didn’t hear it this morning, but a little later in Luke’s Gospel when the pregnant Mary visits her relative Elizabeth, Elizabeth says: “Blessed art thou among women.” You are special, set apart, particularly blessed because: “Blessed is the fruit of thy womb.” And even Mary herself in her great hymn of praise says: From this time forth all generations will call me blessed… From this time. Now that I have taken on this special calling, I will be called blessed.

The Santa Claus path to blessing. Blessing comes as a result of particular faithful or righteous acts.

And it works, sort of, especially if you want to make sure your cousin or history call you blessed.

And in the midst of my sounding critical of this approach, it’s hard to argue with anything that might motivate us to do things that are pleasing to God. So if seeking blessing motivates you to faithfulness, go for it.

But, especially in this Advent season, I want to highlight the Gabriel path to blessing.

Gabriel comes to Mary, as far as we know, totally unexpected and says to her: Greetings, Favored one. The Lord is with you. The Lord is with you. You are blessed. That’s what blessing is. To be blessed is to be touched by God. The Lord is with you, Gabriel says. You are favored and noticed by God. You are blessed.

This is before Gabriel says anything else about her special calling and certainly before she accepts the Lord’s will for her. Greetings. The Lord is with you.

Her story really takes off when she comes to see that she is blessed, when the door of awareness opens for her that the Lord is already with her. The Gabriel path to blessing isn’t really a path so much as a coming to awareness, a recognition that God’s blessing has already been given.

David Lose, whom I often quote says: “And this, I think, leads us to a central dynamic not only in the Gospel but also the Christian life itself: the first, and in some ways the most important, thing we are called to believe is that God similarly notices, favors, and blesses us. And once we believe that, we can do incredible things.” The first, and most important, thing we are called to believe is that God notices, favors and blesses us… just as he did Mary.

The first thing Gabriel announces to Mary is that she is blessed. Period. Before she says "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Before she does anything that might suggest she earned her blessed status by her actions.

The Gabriel path to blessing: Believing that God notices, favors, blesses us. Period.

Lose continues: “We live in a world that seems geared toward rewards and punishments. Whether at work or school or even home, we have been conditioned to expect people to give us only what we deserve. But blessing operates on a different logic. Blessing is never deserved, but always a gift….unmerited and undeserved regard and favor.”

So the work of Advent is not to add one more task, to work at somehow earning God’s blessing. The word of advent is to work at believing that we are already blessed. Noticed. Favored by God. To hear Gabriel say to each of us: The Lord is with you.

Listen for Gabriel. In the midst of whatever is overwhelming you, whatever is going on. Find a place, a space, to listen for Gabriel. Announcing blessing. Greetings. The Lord is with you. Period. You are blessed. Can you hear Gabriel speaking to you? The Lord is with you.