FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, ATLANTA, GEORGIA

Sermon by Dr. George Bryant Wirth

The Third Sunday in Advent

December 14, 2008

CHRIST AT THE CENTER: THE FAMILY OF FAITH

BABY TALK

Scripture: Luke 1:39-56

INTRODUCTION

After the baptism of a baby girl in worship one Sunday morning, during the brunch while everybody was celebrating, an observant uncle sitting next to the five year old brother started up a brief conversation and asked him the question “What’s happening with your little sister?” The boy thought for a moment and replied “Well, she’s starting to get some teeth, but her words haven’t come in yet.”

On this third Sunday in the Advent Season, we have gathered here to worship God and to affirm that “The Word” has already come into this world, The Word made flesh who dwells among us, full of grace and truth (John 1), and His name is Jesus.

According to church tradition, we call this event “The Incarnation” as we celebrate the birth of the Christ Child who has blessed us with the gift of salvation. Eugene Sterner describes it in a profound and yet simple way that captures our attention: “Christmas is when God came down the stairs from heaven with a Baby in His arms.” (R. Eugene Sterner, “Vital Christianity,” December 14, 1975)

And so, I’d like to engage in some “Baby Talk” with you today.

I

That’s exactly what Mary and Elizabeth were doing long ago in the hill country of Judah nearby to Bethlehem. The Gospel of Luke tells us that they were relatives – the Greek word “suggenis” suggests a close relationship. And although Mary was very young, betrothed to Joseph, while Elizabeth was older, married to Zechariah, these two women found out through the announcement of an angel that they were each going to have a baby (Luke 1:11-25, 26-35). What a surprise!

Elizabeth had long been barren and Mary was not yet fully married, but both would soon be mothers, so they had more than enough baby talk to share with one another and this is the way Luke tells the story about their conversation:

When Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed…”Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy (Luke 1:41-44).

You see, Elizabeth and Mary and the two children inside of them were connected together that day. And anyone here who is a parent or grandparent or family member knows that when the baby talk begins, an amazing process unfolds which leads to discovering whether it’s going to be a girl or a boy…and then comes the name.

Last June, when our son Matthew and daughter-in-law Katherine headed for Northside Hospital after nine months of expectation, all four grandparents kept the vigil in the waiting room through the night using our Blackberries to communicate. I have here the printed copies of our electronic conversation, back and forth, back and forth during the hours of labor as Matthew kept us informed. I’ll spare you all the details…

And then, at 1:29 on the morning of June 13, the message came from the delivery room: “He’s here!” Well, the grandparents celebrated with the parents, and as we waited a while longer, an e-mail was sent in with the question: “And his name shall be called?” – which was finally answered “George Barron Wirth.” What a surprise!

Now, I tell you that personal story because many of us have waited for babies to be born and the names to be given, and when it happens, most of the time, there is joyful celebration as the long anticipated moment finally comes. The gift of life is the greatest gift that we can receive – John Claypool, rest his soul, used to say that “birth was a windfall and life was a gift.” And all of us here have been given that gift to unwrap and to enjoy as long as we live.

But there was one Child born long ago in Bethlehem who was different than any other who has ever come into this world. His mother Mary was told by the angel Gabriel that “You will conceive in your womb and bear a Son and you will name Him Jesus…The Holy Spirit will come upon you … therefore the child to be born will be holy; He will be called the Son of God. And now your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” Then Mary said “Here am I, the servant of the Lord. Let it be with me according to your word.” (Luke 1:31-38)

What a surprise! And that was the announcement which led Mary to visit Elizabeth during the first Advent Season, as the baby talk began.

II

My friends, all these years later, we believe as Christians that the holy conversation between God and His Family of Faith still continues today, if we are willing to listen.

You say “Well, I haven’t heard from any angels recently, but yesterday afternoon, our daughter came home from the Christmas Pageant rehearsal with a costume in her hands and Christmas in her eyes. She said “Mommy, Daddy, look! I’m going to be an angel.” And a young boy at choir rehearsal told the director that his favorite Christmas carol is “Way Down Yonder in the Manger.” Then he said so that everybody could hear “You know, I’m not going to get a lot of presents this year. My dad lost his job and he says that the best gift we can give to each other is just being together.” Shhh…are you listening?

You say, “Well, I’m not that religious. I don’t read the Bible every day and my prayer life isn’t what it ought to be. But just last week my wife asked me if we could get some candles for the dinner table. She found an Advent booklet on the church pew and wants us to read and talk about it on through Christmas.” Shhh…are you listening?

You say “I’m awfully busy right now, what with gifts to buy and rooms to prepare for the relatives, and a check list that looks like a computer print-out. But our son called from college last night – long distance and collect, mind you – but he phoned to say that he’s looking forward to coming home for Christmas and that he loves us – he said he loves us!” Shhh…are you listening?

And just yesterday, I heard a church member say that as she visited with her husband who is struggling with Alzheimer’s disease, he said to her “Where is Jesus?” She thought for a moment and replied “Wherever we need Him to be – wherever we need Him to be.” Shhh…are you listening?

It seems to me that this holy conversation between God and all of us who celebrate the birth of His Son, our Savior Jesus – this conversation is in the same vein as the baby talk which Elizabeth and Mary shared together as they prepared their hearts and minds and bodies for that first Christmas. And what they did is exactly what we need to do now – to listen to the voice that still whispers to us “I love you, and I have come to be with you in person, in the person of My Son whose name is Jesus.” Are you listening?

CONCLUSION

That’s what the children’s Christmas Pageant was about this morning - all of those children, more than 200 of them, here in the church. It’s probably my favorite event because all I do is show up, and every year it’s “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.”

The book by that title written by Barbara Robinson concludes this way, and some of you know the story better than I do. A family named the Herdmans, all of these wild children, had somehow invaded the Christmas pageant and taken a number of the roles, but they were just contrary to the tradition of what the pageant had always been. They upset the applecart in a wonderful way, and these words, written by the daughter of the mother who ran the pageant, conclude the story:

“…For years I’d thought about the wonder of Christmas and the mystery of Jesus’ birth, and never really understood it. But now, because of the Herdmans, it didn’t seem so mysterious after all.

When Imogene Herdman had asked me what the pageant was about, I told her it was about Jesus, but that was just part of it. It was about a new baby, and his mother and father who were in a lot of trouble – no money, no place to go, no doctor, nobody they knew in town. And then, arriving from the East (like my uncle from New Jersey) some rich friends.

But Imogene, I guess, didn’t see it that way. Christmas just came over her all at once, like a case of chills and fever. And so she was crying, and walking into the furniture…

Afterward there were candy canes and little tiny Testaments for everyone, and a poinsettia plant for my mother from the whole Sunday School. We put the costumes away and folded up the collapsible manger, and just before we left, my father snuffed out the last of the tall white candles.

‘I guess that’s everything,’ he said as we stood at the back of the church. ‘All over now. It was quite a pageant.’ Then he looked at my mother.

‘What’s that you’ve got?’

‘It’s the ham that the Herdman children brought forward instead of the gold and frankincense and myrrh’ she said. ‘They wouldn’t take it back. They wouldn’t take any candy either, or any of the little Bibles. But Imogene did ask me for a set of the Bible-story pictures, and she took out the Mary picture and said it was exactly right, whatever that means.’

I think it meant that no matter how she herself was, Imogene liked the idea of the Mary in the picture – pure-looking, as if she never washed the dishes or cooked supper or did anything at all except have Jesus on Christmas Eve.

But as far as I’m concerned, Mary is always going to look a lot like Imogene Herdman – sort of nervous and bewildered, but ready to clobber anyone who laid a hand on her baby. And the Wise Men are always going to be Leroy and his brothers, bringing a ham down the aisle.

When we came out of the church that night it was cold and clear, with crunchy snow underfoot and bright, bright stars overhead. And I thought about the Angel of the Lord – Gladys Herdman, with her skinny legs and her dirty sneakers sticking out from under her robe, yelling at all of us, everywhere:

‘Hey! Unto you a child is born!’”

(“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” by Barbara Robinson, Avon Books, 1972, pages 79-80)

Shhh…are you listening? We’re still talking about that Baby, and so it will always be. The greatest gift ever given!

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.