Closing Chapel at Lutheran Interparish School, Williamsburg, IA
2013.5.30
Occasion: The Feast of the Visitation of Our Lord (observed)
Text: Luke 1.39-56
In
the Name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
It
really is all about Jesus. We want it to be all about us. Repent.
Why
do people look down on the plain and the ordinary? I think it is
because, secretly, deep down in our hearts, we want to be
extra-ordinary, we want to be the best, we want to outdo all other
people. In other words, we want to be god, and we want other people
to recognize us / as the best and most powerful and most
beautiful. / That / is pride and arrogance, it is evil working in our
heart. Repent.
Mary
/ was just plain and ordinary. In her own words, she was lowly. The
world paid no attention to her. None of her friends and none of her
neighbors expected her to become anything great; she wasn't well
known, probably not even popular.
This
world is full of people like us, prideful and arrogant, and so this
world runs after and celebrates those who are the most impressive.
But our Lord is different, our Lord chooses those of low estate,
those who are plain and ordinary, those who come to Him empty. He
chooses great things for those with nothing to offer.
So
it was / that out of all of the women of the world, the Lord chose
plain Mary. He chose her and destined her to have the highest honor
any human would ever know: For it was Mary who held within her body
the Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This plain and ordinary woman,
who didn't care that all the world know that she was plain and
ordinary, Mary was given a privilege that no other person would ever
be given again: from her body, she gave God a body.
That
is why we call her blessed, that is why her soul magnifies the Lord
so much, because the fruit of her womb, Jesus, would die on the cross
to bless and magnify all the world with His Divine and eternal Life.
You
see, it really is / all about Jesus. There is no greatness / with
Jesus. There is no beauty / without Jesus. There is no power / with
Jesus.
Some
of you (you 8th graders) will be moving on from this
place, probably all of you are going to High School somewhere, /
you'll be moving up, you're ready to take the next step in your
education so that you can do great things and make a great life for
yourself; / at least, that's the way the world thinks, and that's
what the world will constantly tell you: that if you just work hard
enough / and if make the right decisions / and if you surround
yourselves with the right kind of people, / then / yes, then you will
be the best, you will be great and the world will celebrate you and
throw parades for you and everyone will love you and your life will
just be so awesome!
Dearly
beloved children of God, / I have a little secret for you (which
really isn't a secret at all, but we'll call it a secret just to be
dramatic about it), please listen carefully...ready?...You already
have a greatness and a beauty and a successful life / one that the
world only wishes it had. And what do I mean? I mean, that you have
Jesus. You are Baptized.
The
world promises a successful life for how long? You 8th
graders are 13 or 14, right? Say you live to be 75. Do the
math...60 years. A long time, right? But what is 60 years compared
to FOREVER? / And what about the stuff? The world promises a lot of
great stuff. But, let's say that you work hard enough to earn / the
whole United States. That's right, everything in the United States,
you buy it, it's yours. Pretty impressive, right? And that would
take a lot of work, right?
Dear
child, you, at the age of 13 or 14, or 10 or 8, you already have more
than everything in the United States, you have more than everything
in the whole world! You are Baptized, you have Jesus, and so you
have the heavenly Kingdom of God! It's all yours, already, without
your work. Jesus came to earth and was born from Mary to give you
this gift of life forever / and the heavenly Kingdom of God.
Eternal
life / and the heavenly Kingdom of God. These aren't just imaginary
things. You can't see them yet, but they are just as real as
anything here on earth that you can see. And the reason you can't
see them yet / is because they are too great, too beautiful, and too
much; this world can't hold all that you already have in Jesus. This
world is too lame and ugly to have the beauty of heaven.
This
is what Mary knew. Mary let her soul and mind be filled with the
Word of God, she believed the promises of God; that is why she was
okay with the world knowing that she was so lowly, because the world
is nothing in compare with the riches and beauty of heaven.
It's
all about Jesus / and Mary had Jesus. Literally, she had Jesus in
her. That was all she needed. Jesus is all you need to. All you
need is Jesus. With Jesus, you have the life that will go on long
after all this world is destroyed. With Jesus, you will enjoy the
beauty and success and abundance that will surpass anything you will
ever be able to earn here in this world.
So
now you know, that it's OK to be plain and ordinary, because in your
Baptism, you are already so great, so beautiful, so successful. Do
not let go of Jesus, He is your life, He is your Beauty, He is your
success.
8th
grader: as you all go off to High School; and the rest of you, as you
go out for summer break, let Jesus' Word, this Word of infinite
greatness, let His Word dwell in you richly. Do not neglect meeting
at God's House on Sundays, receiving that forgiveness which makes you
new and beautiful again and again and again.
In
Jesus' name. Amen.
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