Rev. Debbie Cato
Luke 1:46-55;
67-80
Fairfield Community Church
December 24, 2023 – 4th Sunday of Advent
Loving
God, Scripture tells us that the grass withers and the flowers fade, but your
Word stands forever. So today we pray— help us to truly hear it. Allow your
words to sink deep into the marrow of our bones. Allow your words to lift our
hearts in hope, that we might feel one day closer to your promised day. With
hopeful and grateful hearts we pray, amen.
We Sing Stories of Hope
Today is
the fourth Sunday of Advent. We’ve
waited four long weeks and tonight, at last, we will sing Christmas carols and
celebrate the long-awaited birth of the Messiah.
This Advent our over-arching sermon theme has been “How does a weary world rejoice”. We have acknowledged that we are living in a time of weariness. There is much conflict in the world. A long, drawn-out war in Ukraine and renewed conflict in Israel and Gaza. There are tensions between the United States and other countries. There are tensions within the United States. Listening to our prayer concerns each week there are many people we care about fighting cancer right now and others with equally serious health concerns. People are struggling. Yes, we are weary.
We discovered that in the midst of weariness, we can find joy in connection; joy in our relationships with one another. Joy right here when we gather together to worship. We need one another. Through one another, we can find joy in the midst of our weariness.
We talked about how awe and amazement are all around us if we just pay attention; if we just look. Awe and amazement can break up our weariness and bring joy into our lives. It’s the small moments – a sunrise or sunset, the laughter of children, an unexpected phone call from a friend that can fill us with awe and a sense of joy. We can feel joy while still being weary.
Connection and awe and amazement have something in common. They give us hope. In an age when weariness surrounds us, when weariness can swallow us up, we need hope more than ever. Hope gets us through the darkness. Without hope, there is only despair. Hope reminds us that things will get better. So today, on this last Sunday of Advent, we look at “singing stories of hope.” This idea that when we are swallowed up with weariness, we must grab a hold of hope and remind each other of stories of hope becoming reality. Times when our hopes came to fruition and the weariness gave way to better times.
After Elizabeth proclaims blessings upon Mary when she arrives at her house pregnant with the Son of God, Mary sings: “My soul magnifies God; my spirit rejoices in God.” Mary sings about a God of liberation who pulls the powerful from their thrones and lifts up the lowly. Mary sings a story of hope, one in which justice and joy are interwoven. As we prepare to celebrate Christ’s birth, we can also sing stories of hope, justice, and joy.[1]
Mary sings of a new world order based on past experiences with God. Her joy is found in remembering what the world has the potential to be based on the presence of God in all things. God has shown strength. God has scattered the proud. God has brought down the powerful. God has lifted the lowly. God has filled the hungry. God has helped those who have served Him according to the promise made to Abraham. God has already done things that should allow a weary world to rejoice. Mary proclaims this in her song of hope and in the story of justice, joy, and a righteous peace.[2]
As soon as Zechariah’s voice returns, his first words are gratitude and blessing. He sings a story of praise for God’s protection and promise, and then he showers a blessing on his newborn son. He sings a story of hope.[3]
Zechariah’s song is a song of hope for the future. His song ignites the thrill of hope that awaits us after a long silence. He bursts into thanksgiving for God’s favor. He acknowledges that God has something better for those who await the future. Zechariah speaks over the life of the one who will be the prophet of the Most High. Zechariah tells of the blessings for John and speaks into John’s task for the future. It is a song and story of hope.
Consider how the act of singing was important—perhaps even necessary—for Mary and for Zechariah. Imagine how it changed them, how it transformed their experience, how it prepared them for a new chapter. Many preachers will admit that their own sermons are directed at themselves just as much as anyone else. Likewise, were Mary and Zechariah singing the words they needed to hear? Were the words sung by Mary and Zechariah giving them hope as much as those that heard them?
We know that many of the psalms were meant to be sung. The Israelites knew how to praise God through music. They knew that song inspired hope. There are 19 psalms of thanksgiving – thanksgiving and gratitude and inspire hope. They remind us of what God has done for us in the past. They are assurances of what he will do for us in the future. There are also 10 psalms of hope. Psalm 63:7-8 says: “We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you.”
Are there songs that inspire hope in you? Are there songs we sing in church that fill your heart with joy and hope when we sing them? Perhaps there are songs on the radio that naturally fill you with joy. Give you energy. Songs that you just have to sing along with. Songs that even if you are in the depths of weariness, they lift up your soul. If only for the length of the song, you are brought to another level outside your weariness, outside your darkness. The music lifts you up.
Have you ever considered the possibility that you can be a song of hope in someone’s life? The importance of that connection; that relationship that can turn weariness into joy can bring hope where there is only despair. Whether it’s a phone call, a visit, words of encouragement, reminders that they are loved, by you and by God … many ways without much effort that we can be a song of hope for someone. Hope changes everything. It’s what keeps us going.
The Sound of Hope
Rev. Sara
Speed
We’ve been singing a sad song
for quite some time,
the melody syncing with our
heartbeats,
the lyrics stamped to the front
of our minds.
You say, sad songs are honest.
It’s hard to disagree,
for sad songs tap us on the shoulder.
Sad songs remind us
of the 100 different corners
heartbreak could be behind.
But I don’t have it in me
to sing a sad song forever.
So despite the news,
despite the aches in my body,
despite the phone call last night
that says she’s waiting for the
test results,
despite yesterday’s shooting,
despite the unknown and
unchanged,
I am going to sing a song of
hope.
Like a canary in a snowstorm,
I don’t need another song of what
is;
I need a song of what could be.
So sing with me.
Our voices may get drowned out by
the wind,
but surely someone will ask:
Was that a flash of yellow in the
snow? A Canary.
Was that the sound of hope?
How do we combat the weariness the world brings our way? Through connection with one another. By recognizing the awe and amazement all around us. And by singing stories of hope to remind ourselves, and one another, that what God has done in the past, He will do again. Amen.
