DO YOU HEAR WHAT I HEAR?
LUKE 1:39-45 DECEMBER 22,2002
LUKE 1:39-45
39At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"
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Dearest Redeemed and Fellow-Saints in the Lord:
During this Christmas season you and I get to hear all kinds of music, carols and hymns. We hear them so often and so much that it can be hard to pick out a favorite one. They are all beautiful in expressing coming closer to our Savior. Today, on our last Sunday in Advent, we realize it is a very short time before we celebrate Christmas itself and the birth of Christ the Lord. One of those Christmas carols is called ‘Do You Hear What I Hear?’ As we look at the verses, it starts by saying, ‘Do you see what I see?’ Then it goes on to say, ‘Do you hear what I hear?’ and ‘Do you know what I know?’ Of course, the answer is yes to all of those. The last verse says, ‘Then listen to what the Lord has to say.’ Today the Lord invites us to come near and listen to what He has to say. In Ecclesiastes we’re told, "Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong"(ECCLESIASTES 5:1). May the Lord work in us willing hearts and hearing ears, that we come near to listen. We ask ourselves in this season, ‘Do you hear what I hear?’
DO YOU HEAR WHAT I HEAR?
I. God’s joyful promises
II. God’s voice of blessing
I. God’s joyful promises
When we look at our text, we realize that is what Mary heard, that is what Elizabeth heard, God’s voice of joyful promises. We didn’t read all of chapter 1, but if you go back before the angel came to Mary, you would find the angel appearing to Zechariah. An angel appeared to Zechariah to tell him that he, Zechariah, would have a son (he and Elizabeth). After that, the angel went to Mary and Joseph. They were both excited for different reasons, both amazed for different reasons. Zechariah and Elizabeth were elderly and childless. They were beyond the normal range for bearing children. The angel said, ‘And you will give birth to a son and he will prepare the way for the Messiah.’ Then today we heard how the angel Gabriel came to Mary. Of course, she was amazed because she was not married.
Yet this news was more than just an earthly kind of news, an earthly blessing. It was something that would excite both of them, realizing that it was God’s voice of joyful promises. It was something that God could do and had done. As we heard in our gospel, nothing is impossible with God. In fact, Mary was so excited about this news, what does she do? 39At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. Elizabeth and Zechariah hadn’t shared much news that they were expecting a child. They didn’t want people to make fun of them, thinking they were not ‘all there’ because they were so old. Remember the angel told Mary, so Mary went there to visit Elizabeth, her cousin. We have to remember that she didn’t just jump in the car and drive over there; Mary had to get ready and walk there or maybe ride a donkey or horse. Generally, she probably walked and it took time. Joyfully this news that the angel told her, she realized that this was God’s voice of joyful promise. Even though she was unmarried, even though that was frowned upon (to be an unwed mother), she realized the Lord had chosen her to give birth to the Messiah. As she thought about that, she went to visit Elizabeth. Elizabeth confirmed it for her didn’t she? 41When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb. Mary heard God’s voice of joyful promise. Elizabeth heard God’s voice of joyful promises. John the Baptist, who wasn’t even born yet, heard the voice of God’s joyful promise and he even leaped for joy.
We come back to ourselves and ask ourselves, ‘Do you hear what I hear?’ Do you hear in the simple word of God those joyful promises made time and again to each and every one of us? Sadly, we really have to listen closely in this day and age to hear God’s voice of joyful promises. As we look around us, it seems as if the only news that we get to see, read or hear, is bad news or news of disaster, or news of people falling from states of grace, or news that says the church is crumbling. That bad news is always there. But also, you have to listen closely to hear what God wants you to hear, those joyful promises because we live in a world of sin; a world of sin that began with Adam and Eve. They lived in a perfect world, and yet, they sinned. You and I live in a far less perfect world than they, so we have to remind ourselves all the more that sin is constantly around us. Sin can try to rob from us the joy of God’s voice. It can try to rob from us the simple message of salvation. What happened after Adam and Eve sinned? The Lord told them they would face the consequences of their actions. Things would change dramatically and drastically until the end of time. "By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return"(GENESIS 3:19). No longer would it be a joy to tend the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve would work by the sweat of their brow. They would grumble and complain because of the thorns and the thistles, and they would finally end up as dust in the ground. That’s the legacy, the inheritance that you and I have been given. Sometimes we don’t find joy in this life; we work by the sweat of our brow. It’s important to remind ourselves that before the Lord pronounced this judgement, in verse 15 He offered them a Savior.
When we look at our lives, we realize, yes, we are not any better than Adam and Eve, not any better than anyone else. Even the Apostle Paul said he was the chief of sinners. We would also agree with that description for ourselves.. We look at our sinfulness and realize how great it is. You and I have sins that we cannot even keep track of. You and I have sins that we cannot count because they are countless. Because of our sinful nature, we sometimes like to wallow in the wickedness of this world rather than wade in the joyful promises of God’s voice. Isaiah describes that for us as he says, "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away"(ISAIAH 64:6). As we look around when we go home today, there are not many leaves left on the trees. There are some because it hasn’t been as windy as usual, but when the wind blows for a few days, all those leaves are gone. The Lord says that is our sins—they sweep us away just like a wind because they are so many and so great.
Thus we need to come back and ask ourselves ‘Do you hear what I hear?’ Do you hear the joyful promise that the Lord made to Mary and Elizabeth? Do you hear the joyful promise that the Lord makes to us? Yes, we are sinners; we can’t help that, we are born with that, but we can still live in the joy of our salvation. Listen to the psalm writer. He says, "You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand"(PSALM 16:11). He says we have forgiveness and we have joy in this life (although it doesn’t compare to the joy of eternal pleasures at God’s right hand.) We have joy because the Savior who was promised in the Old Testament, the Savior who was promised here to Mary and Elizabeth, came and was born and lived and died and rose again for our sins.
That Christmas carol says, ‘Do you hear what I hear?’ Do you hear that joyful promise of God, made first to Mary and Elizabeth, Zechariah and Joseph? Do you hear what I hear? Do you hear...
II. God’s voice of blessing
Our text continues and we hear God’s voice of blessing; blessing upon blessing. Now, Zechariah, when the angel came to him, at first did not think that this was a blessing for one reason. He didn’t think that God could do such a thing…that Elizabeth would have a child. He knew the blessing of having children. What do you think Mary thought? She was a teen-aged girl, no husband, and the angel said, ‘And you will give birth to a son.’ Probably all sorts of dread and fear filled her heart at first, but then they listened. Both women listened to the comforting message of the angel and they realized that it was God’s voice of blessing. Remember? Mary is so excited that she takes time out, walks over to Elizabeth’s home and we’re told 41When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. God’s voice of blessing blessed Mary, Elizabeth and John (who was yet to be born). Here, John would prepare the way for our Savior, and already he found joy in the simple message of God’s voice of blessing. He would not think it a chore, he would not think it just another job to go and prepare the way for the Savior. He leapt in joy already before he was born because he would prepare that way for Jesus.
Then we’re told that Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. What does she say? 42In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child (the fruit of your womb) you will bear! I want to note a few things. Elizabeth does not fall down and worship Mary. She says she is blessed among women. From very early on, from Adam and Eve, every Jewish woman thought they would be the one to give birth to the promised Savior. Even Eve thought that the next son she had was the Savior of mankind. After all, the Lord had promised it. So for generation after generation, for thousands of years, every woman was thinking, ‘Is this the King of Kings and Lord of Lords?’ When Mary comes and tells Elizabeth, she says, ‘And now you understand that blessed is the child whom you will bear. He is that Messiah promised long ago. He is that Messiah to be born.’ She goes on: (picture Mary and Elizabeth visiting, John leaping in Elizabeth’s womb, and Elizabeth just awestruck) 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? Mary didn’t go anywhere else, did she? She came to Elizabeth first. Elizabeth says now, ‘Why me?’ (to hear such great news.)
Now Elizabeth talks about faith. In the last verse of our text she says, 45Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!" The Lord spoke at creation and it was. The Lord sent His angel to speak to Zechariah and Elizabeth that they would have a child, and it was. The Lord sent His angel Gabriel to Mary and said she would have a child, and it would come to pass. Elizabeth realized it was God’s grace, it was God’s voice of blessing upon both of them. To believe that miracle was to believe God’s promises. They were awe-struck, they were amazed and filled with wonder at the simple message of an angel.
What would it take for us to be awe-struck in our day and age? It’s a little bit harder to be amazed or surprised or to become excited about things. We live in a great age of technology and advancement so we think ‘ho-hum’ about many daily, yet really miraculous things. We have instantaneous connection with people and friends throughout the world (not just by telephone but by e-mail) and we think ‘ho-hum’. We’ve walked on the moon, we’ve walked under the oceans, we’ve extended life, we’ve cured diseases and we think ‘oh, ho-hum.’ There are countless miracles today not even thought of less than one hundred years ago. If an angel spoke to us, would we even listen? Would we even recognize the voice of God anymore…the voice of His blessings? We live in a land flowing with milk and honey as the Lord would describe it, a promised land. Sometimes we forget and we say, ‘ho-hum.’ The Lord would ask, ‘Do you hear what I hear?’ Everyday do you hear the voice of God’s blessing? Probably not, sometimes. The prophet Hosea writes: "When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me"(HOSEA 13:6). Doesn’t that happen to us? We look at our life and we say, ‘Look at all I’ve accomplished!’ We look at our life and say, ‘Look at all the work I’ve got to do yet. When I get it done, I’ll have done a great thing.’ Yet what happens? It is the Lord that feeds us, it is the Lord that clothes us, it is the Lord that provides us with everything. Yet when we’re well fed and satisfied, not hungry anymore, we forget the Lord. We become proud in our own hearts. That’s the way of this world, isn’t it? We become proud of all the things we do.
The Lord would ask, ‘Do you hear what I hear?’ Do you hear that God has done all these things? In 2 Corinthians we read: "And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work"(2 CORINTHIANS 9:8). It’s just the opposite of what the world does. The world looks on everything the Lord has given them and not realizing that the Lord has given it to them, thinking they have done it for themselves and they forget about God. They become proud in their lives and hearts. For you and I as believers, the Lord says, ‘I give you everything, all the time.’ He gives us all grace, so that instead of us sitting back and resting on our laurels, we realize that we are to and want to abound in every good work. We live lives of Christian faith and love and charity to reflect back God’s love and charity and grace in our lives to other people. Then of course, that blessing goes beyond all comparison, doesn’t it? It’s not just for this earth, it’s for time and eternity. That’s what the Lord means. That’s what that carol means when it says, ‘Do you hear what I hear?’ Do you hear the voice of God’s promised blessing over and over again in every word of scripture?
When Jesus was born, not everyone recognized Him. It took John the Baptist to prepare the way, to make sure that people knew that Jesus was the Messiah. It took angels to come to Mary and Elizabeth and Zechariah and Joseph to tell them, ‘The Savior is here.’ But then the angels left. John, as he was teaching and preaching, and as Jesus was walking about and the disciples were wondering who that person was, we’re told John’s response as he pointed out the Savior of the world: "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ’Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’"(JOHN 1:29). Yes, this Infant who was born in a manger, is our Lamb of God, our perfect sacrifice who takes away the sins of the world. Not only the sins of the world, but our sins, day after day, until we sit at His right hand. We see that and we hear that and we know that.
Just as that carol says, ‘Do you see what I see? Do you hear what I hear? Do you know what I know?’ We do, by God’s abundant grace. We see, we hear and we know God’s joyful promises. We see, we hear and we know God’s voice of blessing. Then as the hymn says, listen to what I say. We don’t want to underestimate that power of listening. As Paul reminds us in the book of Romans: "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ"(ROMANS 10:17). During these next few days, we have some very special opportunities to hear that word of Christ; to hear once again God’s joyful promise and to hear once again God’s blessing. Amen.
Pastor Timm O. Meyer
