Advent Day 5- A grandfather's favor

Mary's song continues:

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. (Luke 1:46-48)

Do you know that safe feeling when there is someone in our lives that "looks with favor" upon us? 

I remember my grandfather, Charles Dickerson.  What I know about him is that he grew up on a farm in Delaware and eventually made his way to Norfolk where he proudly sold Pontiac cars.  I know he kept his own car polished and gleaming in the driveway.  I know he raised beautiful flowers in the small, immaculately groomed yard of my grandparents' city home.  The colorful gladiolas he grew garnered a lot of attention.

I also know without a doubt that he looked with favor upon his three grandchildren---and I was the first, therefore the oldest, and the only granddaughter, so, unless the Ed Sullivan show was on,  I managed to garner a lot of his attention too.  I am positive that he never spoke a cross word to me (or my brothers) and that his heart burst with pride whenever he got to show us off.  This wasn't often, because we drove the 300 miles to visit only twice a year.  If our visit was over a Sunday, my grandfather absolutely glowed.  He was the superintendent (I think, remember these are childhood memories) of a crowded men's Sunday School class.  As a nine and ten year old,  I was learning to play piano at the time.  He took special delight in having me play something for their opening exercises.  I must have played whatever music I was working on for a recital and am almost certain it had nothing to do with church and was quite ordinary. But for my grandfather, it didn't matter.  It wasn't what I did; it was simply who I was, and for that he looked on me with favor.  Looking back on it, my grandfather's church friends must have been quite gracious as well.

Mary knows that although she is quite ordinary and she has done nothing special, God has looked on her with favor, enough favor to choose her as the one to give birth to and raise the Messiah. It is for her, quite amazing that God would take notice and turn God's caring attention upon her in such a way.

But then, that's the way God is for all of us.  Listen to what the apostle Paul says in Ephesians about God:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as chose us in Christ before the foundations of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love.  He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

Doesn't that sound like we are looked upon with favor?  And before we've even done anything to earn it!  So with all of that favor of God being bestowed on us perhaps, on this fifth day of advent, while we wait for Christ to come, we can also be bestowers of God's favor upon the ordinary people around us.  There are so many people who need to know about this, including our own incredulous hearts.

Advent Day 4-One requirement for a Savior

My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior (Luke 1:46-47)

People spend a lot of effort on do-it-yourself stuff, sometimes for the satisfaction of it, sometimes to save money.  Right now I am waiting for a do-it-yourself Christmas present that my husband is giving me.  It is a kit to make a camping quilt and sleeping pad.  The materials are supposed be awesomely light for those who don't want to carry heavy packs on the trail.   I will receive the basic materials and directions, but then I will have to cut and sew it myself.

Ever since most of us were little kids we have wanted to do things ourselves whether it is to walk or tie our shoes or ride a bike.  We want to be independent and not need anyone to help us.  It's part of growing up.  When as adults we relax and depend on others to do some things-like fill our coffee cups, clean our office, build our houses---our independence comes out in other ways.  In whatever areas we are supposed to be qualified and expert, we really do not want to ask for help.  We want to solve our own problems, get ourselves out of jams, be in control of difficult situations, not admit to any weaknesses, surround ourselves with success, pretend we'll stay young forever. Some of us work hard not to need help. 

But here's the dilemma.   In order to rejoice "in God my Savior" there is a requirement.  Yes, I know we talk about grace, but there is  no getting around this requirement.  By definition the requirement is that we have to have a need.   By definition, a savior rescues/heals/saves from a desperate need.  If you have no needs, then there is no necessity for a savior, is there?  On the other hand, anyone who has a great need which that person cannot do for themselves needs a savior.

"...my spirit rejoices in God my Savior."

We can only guess at Mary's personal needs.  Safety through her first childbirth.  A husband who wouldn't reject a child not his own.  Food on the table.  Freedom from Rome's oppresion on town's streets.

In our "can do" and "do-it-yourself" world,  it would be wise to pause and name our needs--ours personally and ours globally.  The thunderous explosion of a school being bombed.  A tsunami crashing into a village.  An eviction notice.  The divorce papers.  The words of the doctor, "There is no more we can do."  If we refuse to acknowledge our needs, we might not recognize the Savior saving.

 

Advent Day 3: Rejoice? Really?

"My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior," sings Mary. (Luke 1:46-47)


In spite of all I wrote yesterday (or in addition to all I wrote yesterday),  I must ask:  Rejoice?  Really?


I would have said that "My spirit trusts in God"  might be a more appropriate wording for Mary here.  It seems a bit premature, doesn't it, to talk about rejoicing?  For the moment the mighty are still on their thrones and the proud haven't been scattered anywhere. (You have to keep reading after verse 47) Nor have the lowly had any change in life circumstance.  Rome, ever the conquering tyrant, is still in control about to demand a new round of taxes.  And besides, childbirth in Mary's time, brought all sorts of risks.  Of course she would have to trust God.  But rejoice about it?

And if one peeks into Matthew's gospel, it gets worse.  Joseph is questioning whether to marry Mary after all.  The birth of her baby followed by a visit by eastern sages will send the governing authorities searching to kill her child along with a village of toddlers.  There will be plenty of opportunities to trust God through dangerous circumstances on her flight into Egypt, but rejoice?  Really?

Yes.   Mary trusts God so much, trusts that God will bring good and keep promises so much,  that she rejoices in what is yet to be accomplished.  She can sing and rejoice with such gusto because there is an underlying trust that God is going to keep the promises.

So it is not only rejoicing going on here. Nor is it a simple question of is-your-cup-half-full-or-half-empty optimism. In fact Mary's belly-laugh rejoicing is a testimony to gut-wrenching trust in the face of danger and misunderstanding.  Woman made brave by a Holy Spirit turned loose! Radical trust bursts like flame into an exquisite rejoicing over what is yet to be!

Is it really only for Mary?  Will God help us to trust God's promises like that?

Advent Day 2: Rejoice!

"My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior," sings Mary. (Luke 1:46-47)

Now when I think of rejoicing in God, I think of it in more formal terms.  You know---like a large choir and trumpets.  Or the quiet, profound rejoicing of communion.  Or maybe an occasional celebratory standing ovation.  "Rejoicing in God" seems like such a serious, beautiful, orchestrated kind of joy with heavenly hosts and all...

...until last week when I received a video from my son and daughter-in-law.  My granddaughter is laughing at her daddy making funny noises.

So what if our rejoicing in God was more like her earthly belly laugh?  What if we were so absolutely enthralled and delighted by what God is doing to save us and the world that, with inhibitions gone, we just can't hold still or be quiet, but have to roar with laughter? We even have to gasp for air!

Mary and Elizabeth's rejoicing the day when they first saw each other pregnant and told stories of what crazy thing God was doing---well, honestly, I suspect it was more of the belly-laugh kind.

So can we rejoice, yes, rejoice, in what we see God is doing?!
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(Posted by Elaine with the help of Jon...)

Advent Day1: Magnificat, magnificat, magnificat

So, as I was driving from Virginia to Pennsylvania yesterday, I listened to a recording of the Magnificat by Rutter.  I thought it would be a good break from memorizing Mary's song in Luke 1.  It was being sung in Latin, and my Latin is tenuous since, after all, it has been a very long time since high school.  But it was still fun listening carefully, figuring out where the choir was in relation to the English translation I was trying to memorize, and delighting in how the music painted the text.  So the music starts:  "Magnificat, magnificat...." which in English is "Magnify, magnify."  In the music the drums beat louder and each "magnify" rises higher. It is exhilarating.

Mary's song, the Englsih version, begins:  My soul magnifies the Lord.  If you are reading this blog, then you surely have used Google Maps or Mapquest.  You know, for example,  how we can start from a large area map and step by step zoom in closer and closer.  When my son was hiking the Appalachian Trail, he posted a link on his blog to a map of the trail up the east coast.  One could see how the trail went from Georgia to Maine.  But then one could click the "+" button and zoom in closer;  go click "+" again and zoom in still closer.  Pretty soon one could see the elevation contours, the shelters, the parking areas of the vicinity he was in. One could even zoom in and magnify what the challenges might be for the day, or where roads or rivers  need to be crossed, or the locations of towns where supplies could be gotten. 

My soul magnifies the Lord,  said Mary.

I wonder if Mary's life was like a map, where one could locate the "+" button, zoom in and see more clearly what God had done for her.  She actually seems delighted in letting people know what God was doing.  Her focus seems to be not about herself at all; it was about what God was doing.

So what about our lives?  Are we willing to get out of the way?  To hit the + button of our lives so that others can see more closely what God is doing?  Do we want to magnify and feature God or ourselves?  Who do we want magnified?

May soul magnifies the Lord, said Mary.

Important words.  Can I say the same?


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Twas the night before advent...

Twas the night before advent and today through the long drive of 300 hundred miles home, I worked on memorizing the "Magnificat" or Mary's song from Luke, chapter 1.  It is a beautiful hymn that has been sung by the Church through the centuries. As Luke tells it, Mary is  pregnant with Jesus and rushes to her kinswoman Elizabeth's house (you can surmise why the haste to get away) where she stays for three months.  Elizabeth greets her with warmth, joy and a surprising blessing---saying that she knows Mary is the mother of the Lord.  Mary's words of relief and response to Elizabeth go like this:

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 as 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 his descendants forever.

A confession:  I had to make several corrections in the above typing which I attempted to do for memory and failed.  Obviously I don't quite know it by heart yet.  But I will continue working on it throughout the 23 days of advent.  Why?  It seems to be a good counterpoint to the typical frenzy of the season. It shifts one's gaze in a different direction---to noticing what God is doing rather than being consumed by checking my long personal lists. My goal for this blog is to post something each day as I reflect on the Magnificat's meaning for me in this time and place.

See you tomorrow.

We were never really lost

It never fails:  on a sunny afternoon with time on our hands, the GPS leads us off the beaten path where we see things and go places we have never been before.

Like today.  How many of you know where Ridge Rd. comes into Mt. Holly Springs?   You probably don't want to know unless you 1) have a pick-up truck or jeep that navigates stony dirt roads pretty well and 2) you wouldn't mind backing all the way back down this stony road if you meet a vehicle on its way into town. As Ridge Rd. comes off the ridge (or as you go up the ridge) there is only one lane and no place to pull over.   (For the record, the only vehicles we passed were on top of the ridge where there was enough passing room.)

But once at the top with the trees leafless and bare, you can see out over Mt. Holly Springs, across the  Cumberland Valley, the distant I-81 and the mountains beyond.  And if you are lucky, you might see a posse (we looked it up) of turkey crossing the road.  No, they didn't wait around to get their photo taken; it is hunting season after all and they were on the move.

There were some rocks marked on the map that looked like a promising outcropping to overlook the other direction towards Pine Grove Furnace.  So we parked the truck and walked down an overgrown forest road in the direction of where we thought these rocks would be.  The dry oak leaves made a huge racket as the two of us and our two dogs tramped through.  Maybe the noise was a good thing; we had forgotten to wear orange for hunting season.  We walked maybe a half hour and there were no rocks, no cliff, until finally the forest road petered out into an overgrown path.  Since that path seemed to be heading back up to the ridge, and the GPS thought we were not so far from the road at the top,  we decided not to turn around  but to try this new path.  So we weren't lost exactly.

The path led us to a place that had just been clear cut of most trees.  I suppose we had a great view.  But have you ever tried walking over broken limbs and left over trunks and gouged earth?  That wouldn't have been too bad except that we had the dogs on leash to keep them from running off into a hunter's territory.  A dog likes to jump when I need to be a little more cautious in where I put my feet in order not to twist an ankle.  You get the picture.

We picked our way uphill and hoped that on the opposite end of the clear-cut we would find a road where the heavy equipment had come in and which would make our walking easier.  Forget the rocks we had been hunting; there was no sign of them and no sign of a service road leading out of the clear-cut.  So we checked our position on the GPS, determined the best direction of Ridge Rd. and decided to bushwhack.  The first ten minutes weren't too bad since we were no longer scrambling over broken trees but through the taller trees with scattered bushes.  But then we abruptly came upon a clear-cut from several years ago.   The small second growth trees---some pines, some thin leafless trunks---were thick and very close.  Rotten logs littered the ground.  Branches scraped faces.  Leashes got tangled.  We stooped and ducked, stopped and sidetracked.  The sun was making more progress getting lower in the sky than we were through that jungle.

Finally we literally stumbled into mature growth again, a forgotten campsite and another forest road.  It is hard to describe how wonderful it is to be able to walk upright and unimpeded again.  The grassy forest track we found was not marked on the GPS, but it seemed to be heading for something called Cold Spring Rd which would eventually take us back uphill to Ridge Rd---we hoped. Unfortunately, the forest road took us downhill.  (The more downhill, the more climbing back up).  But anything, even a longer, round-about path, was better than bushwhacking, and there was no way were we turning around now!

There was nothing left to do except to start enjoying the walk again on this crisp afternoon with a bright sun lowering behind the trees.  Sure enough, in twenty minutes or so we hit a genuine dirt Cold Spring Rd., climbed back up the mountain and turned right onto Ridge Rd.  We passed a parked car (hunting?).  A bicyclist and a couple of faster horses and riders passed us by.  And just as we were wondering how much farther to the truck,  we saw them---

The rocks we had been looking for all along! They were massively piled up where the road took a turn.  Huge boulders jutting upward, making nooks and crannies and caves and ledges.  All sorts of graffiti was painted in bright colors.   Lots of broken glass bits indicated that this has definitely been a party place.  Standing on the stones, we could see farmland way down to the left, we knew that the Appalachian Trail was nestled on the opposite ridge, and we couldn't quite spy Pine Grove Furnace in the direction where the sun was now getting close to setting. 

By now you do realize, of course, as we did standing on the rocks, that if we had just kept driving down Ridge Rd for another mile instead of stopping to walk, we would have found Hammond's Rocks so much sooner and easier. We were never really lost, but we sure did do things the hard way today.  And before it was all over, we still had another estimated mile or so of walking to the truck...and another chance to spot a turkey posse.