It was wonderful to visit my sending church over the Christmas break. Particularly as the church is absolutely thriving! Here is the text of the sermon I gave on the 23rd December.
Mary Poppins. The Sound of Music. Sleeping Beauty. Gone with the Wind. Monty Python’s the Life of Brian. The Wizard of Oz. Frozen. What do these classic films have in common? As well as being excellent movies, all of these classic films pass what is called the Bechdel Test. The Bechdel test, invented by Alison Bechdel in 1985, has the following criteria. It’s any film where there are two or more female characters, who talk about something other than a man. About fifty percent of films currently pass this test. 2018 films which do not pass this test include Fantastic Beasts 2, Jonny English Strikes Again, Solo: A Star Wars story, Deadpool 2 and Mission Impossible Fallout.
Our Gospel reading today does indeed pass the Bechdel test. In it, we find two women: the older Elizabeth and the younger Mary, who are both pregnant with miraculous babies. They are talking about a man, obviously, Jesus (and Abraham gets mentioned too) but I’m going to say that the reading passes the test for two reasons. Firstly, as Christians we believe that Jesus is more than a man: we affirm that he is God incarnate, the second person of the Trinity, the zero point which all history led up to, whose presence with us on earth changes everything, for ever. And secondly, Mary’s powerful prophetic song, which we call the Magnificat, is a paradigm-shifting, radical poetic vision. It has been described as a political manifesto (so radical, it was banned by the military Junta of Argentina in the 1970s, the military dictatorship of Guatemala in the 1980s and during British rule of India). The Magnificat is profoundly theological: it’s the moment when Mary connects her crazy, incredible pregnancy to Israelite salvation history and realizes how her story is part of the bigger picture described in the Old Testament. It’s a poetic praise anthem which gives God glory, which we still sing every time we do Evensong. Its richness and depth is basically the opposite of one of those insipid, brainless worship songs that declares “Jesus is my boyfriend”. They would not pass the Bechdel Test I put that bit in for Robin- where’s Robin?).
Anyway, so this reading ends with the mind-blowing splendor of the Magnificat. But it doesn’t begin there- and that’s the key thing I would like to draw your attention to from our gospel reading today. Yes, Mary is a confident, poetic, prophetic voice in the New Testament, overflowing with contagious, attractive faith. But this reading highlights the fact that it takes her a little while to get to that place of faithfulness, and she doesn’t get there alone. It’s a journey, a physical journey but also I imagine an emotional and spiritual journey as well. And for those of us who don’t always feel one hundred percent confident in our faith, who have never had a miraculous pregnancy, or a personal angel visitation, those of us who grapple with fear and darkness and doubt sometimes, I think we can draw a lot of comfort from the beginning of this reading today.
Luke tells us that Mary set out with haste to the hill country of Judea. With haste. Why did she disappear with haste to the hill country? Is it because she is excited and wants to share the good news with her cousin? Or possibly, actually, is it because she is still feeling afraid? Does she need the advice and support of her older cousin? Does she need to lay low somewhere, away from Nazareth, where she isn’t going to be judged? Maybe she needs a bit of space to get her head clear. I wonder, what did she tell Joseph before she went? How did they leave things?
Everything about our culture encourages us to rush to Christmas. Let’s make it Christmas in November already! And especially this year, when the fourth Sunday of advent is the day before Christmas Eve, Christmas feels very close. Can’t we just skip to the joy of the miraculous birth already? No. Today we need to stay in Advent a little longer. We need to take a moment to ponder the pregnancy, before we skip to the birth. Because, my goodness, what a pregnancy!
The Old Testament has a pattern of similar stories about older women who become miraculously pregnant because of God’s grace. Sarah, wife of Abraham who we hear about today in the Magnificat was the first. And Hannah, mother of the great prophet Samuel, is another one. Mary’s Magnificat is closely modelled on Hannah’s joyful song in the temple. And Elizabeth absolutely follows that pattern. I imagine she was just bursting with joy! (And probably enjoying some peace and quiet whilst her husband was temporarily dumb-struck by his own angel visitation, who knows).
Mary’s pregnancy is a whole other story. She is not old: she is young. She is not married yet. And the bible tells us she was a virgin. As with many stories in the New Testament, it’s kind of like something patterned in the Old Testament, but way bigger, way more miraculous and also in some ways more troubling. It’s easy, I think, to think about this unmarried mother in terms of 1960s Britain. Who here will admit to remembering 1960s Britain? Thank you. Unmarried mothers in the 1960s faced a lot of judgement and stigma, even from the Church (thankfully I hope the church has changed today and we would now be very welcoming to women facing pregnancy crisis). But this isn’t 1960s Britain. This is first century Palestine. Unmarried Jewish women who fell pregnant were literally faced with the prospect of being stoned to death. If Mary was afraid, I don’t blame her. Because the prospect was terrifying! Even aside from the fact that pregnancy was, and still is, massively dangerous. Mary is literally in fear of her life.
So, she hurries off to find Elizabeth. Good decision. Because with the comfort and safety and support of her older cousin, she realizes that everything is going to be all right. Actually, things are going to be more than all right. Things are going to be amazing! Imagine if Elizabeth had been a different personality. Imagine if she was the kind of person who liked to stir things up, “Ooo, look at you! Ooo what on earth are your parents going to say? Just wait until the rest of the village hears about this!” Luckily, Elizabeth must have been a positive, supportive, prayerful person whose worldview was completely rooted in the scriptures. Who was open to the presence of the Holy Spirit. And together, they realise that God is powerfully at work in both of their pregnancies. They realise it is all part of a plan that is much bigger than they are.
So what can we draw from this wonderful, iconic, Bechdel-test passing story. Firstly, faith in God isn’t a wishy washy feeling. It’s a decision. Mary said yes to the angel, she said yes to being part of God’s plan, even before she was fully confident. Even before she knew what it all meant. We don’t wake up every day of our lives feeling fulling confident in what God is doing. Well, I don’t anyway. There are days when we feel anxious and confused, when we don’t see how things are going to work out. But this story shows us, we say yes to God anyway. We turn to Christ anyway, even when we don’t feel like it. And God meets us where we are and we work things out from there.
Secondly, who are the Elizabeth’s in your life? Who are the people who support you, the people who make you feel safe? Who are the wise ones who know the bible, who are sensitive to the holy spirit, who can help lead you in your faith? We need those people. I know, and have known, many such women in this church and I thank God for each one of them. Or, perhaps if you are a bit older and have been walking in faith for a long time now: are you an Elizabeth? What can we do to be more positive, more faithful, more supportive like Elizabeth?
Thirdly, our Gospel reading today is rooted in the Old Testament. Mary and Elizabeth both know the scriptures; it helps them make sense of the world around them, it helps them see they are part of a much bigger story. Knowing the bible is so important, I know in the Church of England we are often kind of embarrassed about the bible. There’s almost a joke at theological college where people boast about who knows the bible the least! And when we’re busy, at Advent, reading scripture is often one of the first things to go from our lives. But it’s important! If you don’t have a New Year’s resolution yet, let me give you one: develop your confidence at reading the bible. It will change your life.
So, to conclude. Thank you so much for welcoming me back here this morning and for listening: like Elizabeth, my soul leaps for joy when I see how much St Matthew’s is thriving and all the wonderful things you are doing here. If, like Magnificat Mary, you are feeling overflowing with faith and joy this Christmas, then wonderful! I thank God that is the case. If like pre-Magnificant Mary, you are in a more anxious place, a bit doubtful, a bit confused, then know that God loves you so much, and you are part of his plan, and He is here to meet with you today. I can’t promise a miraculous virgin birth. I can promise there are very wise women and men here who would love to pray with you and make you some coffee. Amen.
stars in the world 