What's in a Miracle

First Presbyterian Church of Metuchen 

December 4, 2022 

Written and delivered by Rev. Ashley Bair 
 

Title: What’s in a Miracle 

Scripture: Luke 1: 26-38 The Birth of Jesus Foretold  

Prayer - God of wisdom, God of peace, be with us now as your word reaches us. Amen. 

It’s that time of year again: the time where we watch and share the Christmas movies that are our family’s favorites. We got into a rousing discussion about this at Youth Group this week. Some families are Christmas Carol families, some are Home Alone families, and some are Polar Express families. Some, like mine if you have someone like my dad in your sphere, have multiple family Christmas movie viewings that are tradition.  

Every year I’m home we have to watch National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. And anytime my Dad fixes something in the house he acts like Clark Griswald and shouts, “Fixed the newel post!”  

We also have to watch The Grinch, the Jim Carrey version. And for days we hear quotes of the Grinch's nighttime schedule that he recites to himself to get out of the Who-ville event: “4:30, stare into the abyss; 5:00, solve world hunger, tell no one; 5:30, jazzercize; 6:30, dinner with me—I can't cancel that again; 7:00, wrestle with my self-loathing... I'm booked.” 

Of course, there are the other classics: Elf, Last Holiday, A Christmas Story, White Christmas, The Miracle on 34th Street, It’s a Wonderful Life...  

Though only one carries this word in its title, all these Christmas movies, including whichever one you or your family watches the most, have the same climactic point: a Christmas miracle. The transformation that occurs is miraculous.  

In the Christmas Carol it’s Mr. Scrooge, who eliminates the financial debts of his neighbors after confronting his own greed and mortality, in Home Alone it’s Kevin realizing he misses and loves his family just as they overcome all odds to get home to him in time for Christmas, and in The Grinch it’s his hard heart growing three sizes from the kindness and generosity of a young girl… and so on. You can picture what happens in yours. Just like the music, the tree, the lights, and decorations that we wait for every year, we wait to watch these miracles unfold in our favorite stories.  

It makes sense for us to look toward these things at this time of year. It resonates with us as we finish up the year and reflect on all that has happened; counting the moments, taking stock of our fears and our losses, and wanting to head into a new season with joy.  

And that is the heart of these Christmas miracles - watching someone move from fear into joy.  

As we enter into the story of Jesus’ birth, miracle is certainly the word used for his mother Mary’s situation. There are many miracles happening here in this passage: the angel descending to Mary. Mary, that she, an unwed teenager from Galilee, be the one chosen. For Mary to conceive and carry a son as a virgin. That Jesus himself comes as the son of God to earth.  

Within these is a Christmas miracle that mirrors the heart of our favorite stories - when Mary moves from fear into joy.  

After all is presented to her, Mary says to the angel, “But how can this be?” The angel responds, “Do not be afraid, the Holy Spirit will fall upon you. And now your relative Elizabeth, has also conceived a son.” For Mary the miracle of moving from fear into joy comes in knowing she is not alone, even though her experience is unique. God is with her; her cousin is experiencing this alongside her. And after she hears this, she says, “Here I am, let it be.” 

For it is its own miracle when we know we walk through difficult moments with each other and with God; moments when we aren’t sure what’s next, when we aren’t sure what to believe, moments of suffering, grief, pain, moments of fear. When we walk alongside each other in those moments, we walk each other from fear into joy.  

In all our favorite Christmas movies the miracle occurs when the joy of friendship, family, togetherness takes over the fear. We seek it in these stories, we seek it in our own lives, too. 

In 2020, a time when for so many joy seemed distant, the magazine Christianity Today reported that the YouVersion bible app had seen an 80% increase in use. The most searched, read, and bookmarked passage of Scripture was from Isaiah 41:10 - “Do not fear, for I am with you.” “Through every hardship, people continue to seek … strength, peace, and hope,” said the app’s founder Bobby Gruenewald.  

What do we count as miracles in our lives? When have we leaned on each other and on God to move us from fear into joy?  

Sometimes that joy may seem near our grasp, sometimes it may feel impossible.  

Anderson Cooper’s podcast All That There Is has an episode titled “You Are Not Alone” and in that episode people call in to talk about times of grief and how, in the midst of hardship, they have found connection and love.  

One caller named Rose shared this: “I'm an 85-year-old Catholic [nun]. I buried a friend today, and something that I've learned over the years that I believe from experience is once you've really deeply grieved a loss of a loved one, you have the possibility of being much more compassionate to yourself and to many others. And that opens up a tremendous gift in life. It's the gift of vulnerability. And I truly treasure it. David White, the poet, says "Your vulnerability, your [hardship] is the place where you are open to the world whether you want to be or not. But if we choose to be, there's a great depth that rewards us in some mysterious way. " 

Another caller said, “The opportunities that I've had because of my [experience], are the opportunities to connect on a profoundly deeper level with humans than I ever was able to before. I'm not afraid of [what other people are going through]. And there's this common thread that runs between all of us who've ever really lost [or feared]. So I feel connected to you… and the folks that have shared their stories and the people that I know are out there that I haven't met yet. We have such an opportunity to deepen our connection because of [what we share]. And I know it might not seem like it. [Especially if] it's fresh. But eventually you will find things to be grateful for.”  

You will find joy.  

Mary’s vulnerability in the face of the hardship that she was sure to endure opened her up to the world and the mysterious rewards of faith. And her incredible task, to carry the Christ child, comes within the call to be open to God’s presence with her. That call is for us, as well. God’s call upon us, does not mean all our fears are just going to disappear.  

Instead, the call to not be afraid, is a reminder that joy is arriving, not in the absence of fear, but in encountering it alongside each other and with a God that is with us! With God, we are empowered to face the fear in our world with love. With God, we can face the scarcity in our world with our witness to the flourishing of life that is possible.  

In today’s passage, we hear the impossible being proclaimed, a virgin Mary is to give birth to a son. And she is told this will be done by the power of the Holy Spirit that will overshadow her, that we are assured will overshadow us. Even though Mary faced the impossible, even though her cousin Elizabeth faced the impossible, we hear that God was working in them, and that assures me that God is working in us, too. For the faith from generation to generation has proved that with God no miracle is impossible.  

Mary, who is told she will now need to anticipate this daunting situation, who will need to embrace the invitation to be transformed, leans in. She has trust in this word, saying “Here am I; let it be.” She steps into the long tradition of this refrain. Isaiah, who we leaned on in 2020, similarly, when in the presence of God, is told to not be afraid, later we hear God say, “Whom shall I send, and who will go out for us?” And Isaiah says, “Here am I Lord, send me!” 

Mary’s trust isn’t going to change Mary’s circumstances, for if what is proclaimed comes to be, she will be further marginalized. What she now anticipates, probably won’t fully erase any feelings of fear she may have, but through faith, she is willing to encounter the fear, knowing that she does not do it alone. And that is enough to carry her forward. 

There are many paths ahead that Mary will have to walk on, unknown paths she will have to travel, but she leans into her trust in God who is with her. Her story, what she brings forth to our faith, is one worth emulating. As we take stock of the year and ready ourselves for a new season, we realize, we too, have unknown paths before us. We, too, are anticipating what God will bring forth in such unexpected places. 

In this season of anticipation, and waiting, and wondering, God is bringing forth life in unexpected places. It was God’s call to Mary to accept the Holy Spirit and fulfill her purpose, it is God’s call to us. An Advent question for us is are we willing to do that? Do we say yes to Gods' invitations? Do we say yes to new horizons, new possibilities, and new lives? Will we move alongside each other and be the midwives to something birthing among us?  

For if nothing is impossible with God, are we ready to say, “Here am I, let it be”? 

Watch your family’s favorite Christmas movie - find the Christmas miracle. Notice those around you for whom your presence alone could bring about such a similar thing. May we move from our fears into joy in the same way, the way that Mary did - recognizing we are not alone.  

A life of faith with Jesus Christ is a path of life that moves us continually from fear into joy. It’s a life full of these kinds of miracles. And do not be afraid, for we are here, and Jesus the Christ is coming to be with you. Amen.  

REFERENCES: 

1. “2020’s Most-Read Bible Verse: Do Not Fear” by Kate Shellnut for Christianity Today, published on December 3, 2020 

1. “You Are Not Alone” episode 9 of All There Is with Anderson Cooper podcast dated November 2, 2022.