It seems to me that everything for this week is wrong. There is no snow on the ground here in North Dakota, which is abnormal to say the least, it has been unseasonably warm for the upper Northern Plains, and women are acting like prophets in the gospel lesson for the last Sunday in Advent. Something is just not right!
But then again, God often turns everything we think as right upside down, and I praise God for this. In the gospel lesson for this week, Mary takes off by herself which was something unthinkable for women in that time and continues to be for some today. As I watch the news, women in some Middle Eastern countries cannot go anywhere without a male escort. In some cities right here in the U.S., a woman would be smart not to venture out alone due to the increased risk of attack. Even right here in North Dakota, an escapade in the cold without a companion might lead to death. Could God be telling us something in this? Could God be telling us that we are made to be in community? We need others around us to be safe. We need a companion on a tough journey to help us arrive at our destination. God is a community unto God’s self. If we claim to be followers of this God, then maybe we need a community around us more often than not. Curious?
But the strangeness of the gospel continues. We are included in the conversation between Elizabeth and Mary. Two pregnant women who speak of their soon to be born infants include us in their chat. I think of my wife as she carried our children. She worked at an office with other women. When I would enter into that sacred space during those times when the women were talking of child birth, it would get quiet. I often felt an intruder, but not today. Mary and Elizabeth include the entire cosmos in their dialogue. Everyone hears this discussion and are blessed by it. But this is not the arena for men, right? The XY chromosome should not be included in this chitchat. We have manly stuff to do. There are tires to change, sidewalks to be shoveled, and engines to repair, but maybe the men of the world are supposed to hear this.
Maybe God is trying to turn the world upside down with these women. Maybe God is trying to show those who carry the XY chromosome that the tried and true way of doing things doesn’t work. Maybe Mary and Elizabeth and their children are meant to change the entire cosmos. John will prepare the way for Jesus. John will show us that even religious people need baptism. This was a strange idea for the religious people of the day. They were the holy ones. They were the people who others came to for guidance. They were the righteous ones who would need no cleansing, but John shows another way. A way in the desert that is hard to hear. Everyone needs baptism because baptism brings relationship. Moreover, Jesus will show us that life comes out of death. Jesus shows in his life, death, and resurrection that things are often not the way they seem. God will turn the universe upside down in God with us, Jesus of Nazareth. Now that is the ultimate reversal. Maybe my way of doing things isn’t the best way and I might be wrong about life. Maybe life is not about accumulating wealth and having the most toys. Maybe life is about giving things up and dying to live. Maybe God is trying to show us that God’s way is not our way, and God’s way is better. Curious?
But there is even more. These women who are not supposed to be prophets are showing us that God can use everyone to do God’s work. Even a woman of the first century can be a vessel of God’s grace. Even an old woman who was thought to be barren can bring life into the world. Quite the reversal. Even an outcast, a woman who is pregnant outside of marriage can be an instrument of God’s revelation. A reversal even by today's standards. God works outside of our, outside of my boundaries. God often crosses over my self imposed way of thinking, my right and wrong to show me that I am not God. When I let God do God’s work and I do my work, things often work out better. God is strange, but thanks be to God for this strangeness.
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