Advent 4

As I was preparing for this sermon the title of the 1968 play, "Promises, Promises" popped into my head. Trusting in the promptings of the Holy Spirit, but also wanting to be thorough in my preparations, I started trying to find a synopsis of the play. After an hour, I still had found no more than a one line description of the play along with various reviews panning the play. But, maybe even this frustrated effort contributes to what I want to highlight in today’s gospel.

I’m sure when Burt Bachrach turned the original play, "The Apartment" into a musical he felt the project held all kinds of promises. Perhaps, he even hoped it would have appeal over the ages.

A tenant repeated late with the rent says, "I promise, I’ll get the check to you this week" Hmmm...

A driver stopped for DUI says, "I promise, officer, I’ll never drink and drive again." Yeah, sure.

A member is stirred by an appeal for help and says, "I promise to use my gifts and resources for this cause." Wellllll...

A couple gaze lovingly into each others’ eyes on their wedding day and say, "I promise to love and honor you till death do us part." Is that one kept till their first anniversary?

Failing to follow through on promises is part of being sinful human beings. In most cases, we mean what we promise at the time we make the promise, but things come up, the spirit/enthusiasm fades, we forget.

It seems to have gotten worse in more recent years though. With the advent of television and later media we’ve been inundated with the empty promises of advertising. With personal ambition replacing a desire to serve the public good, politicians’ promises are almost a joke. With the decline of various social institutions and values, we can no longer rely on the promises of even those closest to us.

No wonder promises made in the church are not kept and people no longer even trust in the promises made by God.

Of course, to some extent, distrust of promises, even those made by God, goes back to the beginning of time. This certainly seems to have been true at the time the Gospel of Luke was written. The theme of God keeping His promises and that faithfulness being contrasted with human fallibility runs throughout the book.

It’s no literary accident that our lesson for today follows the story of the announcement of the coming birth of John the Baptist by the angel to Zechariah, his father. Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth are well past child bearing age, so we shouldn’t be surprised that Zechariah doubts the promise. As a priest though, Zechariah should have known that God always keeps His promises.

God doesn’t withdraw his promise, but He does impress the need for belief and trust on Zechariah (and us) by making him unable to speak until his son is born.

This is contrasted with the response of Mary after the angel tells her she will bear a child who is the Son of God.

Mary doesn’t hesitate. She is so overjoyed that she immediately sets off on the 70 mile journey to see her cousin, Elizabeth, to share the Good News. The story is so familiar that we may miss the extraordinary nature of this trip.

She probably traveled on foot. There would have been no Motel Six to provide a soft bed for whatever nights she was on the road, and no McDonald’s to ease her hunger pangs if, in her haste, she didn’t pack enough food.

But, none of this mattered. Mary was carried on the wings of God’s promise about to be fulfilled in her. And, Mary, an uneducated peasant teenager, believed in God’s promises.

In fact, based on this hymn-poem she recites, Mary believes that God is already accomplishing that which He has promised for so long. God not only honors her by having her carry His Son, but through this event is changing the course of history, undoing the oppression of God’s people, and blessing those in need..

Let us not forget though that this is really a story about God and His promises, and not really about Mary. While, no doubt, Mary was a pious and obedient girl, Scripture gives no indication that she was sinless or perfect. It is God’s action, the fulfillment of His promise in her that makes her "blessed" and memorable.

The whole birth story that we reenact this day and night is a testament to God’s faithfulness in keeping His promises. He may not fulfill a promise when and in the way that we would like, but He fulfills all his promises in ways beyond our imagination and for the longer term good. This, we can trust.

Let us consider then, in these last hours before we celebrate the Advent of our Lord, what promises He has made to us and whether we, like Mary, are truly ready to see God’s promises fulfilled in and through us. Are we ready to receive the Christ child and will we keep our promise to hold Him dear? Amen