You Are a Blessing
Dec. 1, 2024 First Sunday of Advent
Series: Words for the Beginning: Advent Reminders for New Seasons
Isaiah 43:1-7, Luke 1:26-38
Rev. Cynthia Cochran-Carney, First Presbyterian Church, San Rafael, CA
But now thus says the Holy One, the One who created you, who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.
For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel…Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you, I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life.
Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you;… bring everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made." Isaiah 43:1-7 (selected verses)
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a young woman engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The girl’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! God is with you."
But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of God’s kin-dom there will be no end."
Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called 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 unable to bear children. For nothing will be impossible with God."
Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Holy One; let it be with me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her. Luke 1:26-38
Series - Advent, the four weeks before Christmas, is a season of endings and beginnings. As the calendar year comes to a close, a new church year rushes in. Christ’s birth ushers us into new ways of living and loving—and yet, we may feel the weight of worry, fear or confusion about endings and beginnings. We may feel anticipation and hope in the changes.
As the Worship Committee, Liturgical Arts Team and I looked at ways we might frame Advent and Christmas this year, we chose a series published by a group called A Sanctified Art. This Advent series is filled with blessings, with the words we need to hear again and again as we begin a new season. We imagine the words Mary would speak to her newborn son. What scriptures and stories would she impart to him? What lessons would she teach him as he grew? And so, our weekly themes may feel like the lessons we teach to children, but in reality, these are lessons we continue to learn and relearn as adults.
Advent of preparation in the church, at home, in our lives. We can enter this season as if you are entering a sacred new chapter, holding fast to the reminders that will bolster you for the journey ahead. These weekly Advent scriptures and themes may seem deceptively simple, but put into practice, they are lifelong ventures. This series is shaped around several reminders we all need from time to time: you are a blessing; we can’t go alone; do the good that is yours to do; hope is worth the risk; love knows your name. These reminders root us in the fundamental truths of our faith.
And each theme will have a symbol, based on a quilted pattern. Quilt patterns are an amazing combination of math and creativity.
So today we begin this season. In many ways, pregnant Mary was surrounded by endings—large and small, personal and political. And yet, Mary proclaimed hope in a God who was and is making all things new. Endings and beginnings.
I see this in your lives. A number of people retired from full time work in 2024 or embraced it in new ways. Some became grandparents and great grandparents. Some are facing the first holidays with a beloved husband, wife, partner. Some have started a new chapter as caregiver. Some are facing difficult diagnosis, change in health or terminal illness. Endings and beginnings. New seasons of life, of love, of grief, of hope, of moving.
Today and each week during Advent we will look at words, a phrase, rooted in scripture and lessons for us as we begin again. These words for the beginning renew us and remind us of the ways we are called to be rooted in our spiritual lives and live out our faith.
Mary and Blessing
We begin the series with blessedness, for this is Mary’s beginning, and it is ours as well. We begin with these words – You are a blessing. There is the radical nature of this statement. Far too many people are told—implicitly and explicitly—that they are a burden instead. It’s a message that can easily be muted, trivialized, or redacted. Material value culture, scarcity thinking, racism, acceptance of hate toward others. are all forces that make people, make us believe we are not a blessing. When we stop believing that we are a blessing to God, then we may stop believing this about others. Conversely, when we’re rooted in our blessedness, we can treat every created being as a blessing as well.
Mary is described as “blessed among women” (Luke 1:28). Clearer in different translations.
And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. King James Version
She is neither wealthy nor powerful, and yet she is chosen to bear God’s child. Her story begins with blessedness, and so does ours, for the prophet Isaiah declares that we are claimed by a God who calls our name. We are a blessing because we belong to God. When blessedness is our beginning, we begin to see the world—and others—through the eyes of a God who says: “You are precious in my sight” (Isaiah 43:4)
Mary’s encounter with Gabriel, a pivotal moment in the Advent story, marks the unveiling of a promise and a prophecy of a miraculous birth that subverted every expectation of what a coming King’s arrival might look like.
Mary’s response—“How will this be?”—is profoundly human. In this moment of divine mystery, Gabriel offers a blessed reassurance: “Do not be afraid.” When we wonder if our quiet worries or loud wonderings matter in the vast expanse of the cosmos, these words remind us that God knows our wandering hearts, acknowledges our fears, and moves toward us.
Isaiah 43 echoes this comfort, promising we will not be alone when we pass through deep waters or face the fires of trials: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you.” You are a blessing. Let that truth buoy you as you breathe each new breath. We are formed and made by a God who loves us & doesn’t leave us.
We often feel compelled to earn our worth and belovedness, but the One who grants each breath affirms our inherent worth. In light of God’s infinite love, we are beloved, the very fibers of our being woven with care.
How are we like Mary
Advent invites us to reflect on how we, like Mary, are invited into God’s redemptive narrative—no matter how ordinary or small we might feel—for each of us has the potential to carry God’s love into a weary world. Mary was called blessed by the angel.
When you were a child, did you receive the message that you were a blessing? If you were raised in a faith tradition, did your faith teach you this message? If so, how did that shape your self-image and perceptions of others? If not, what messages did you internalize and receive? How did those messages shape you?
Whether we heard it as a child or not, this year as we think about Mary, maybe we can see her as one who was open to mystery because she had spiritual practices and a community. These blessings prepared her to say Yes and to be named as blessed.
Picture the young Jewish woman in the small village. Every Sabbath, she goes to the synagogue. She sits with the other women, and stays out of sight as was the custom. She sings the psalms, listens to the promises of God, joins in the prayers, and goes home to light the candles. Every week she does this. It shapes who she is.
Within the home, she learns the commandments of God: love the neighbor, gives alms to the needy, do justice, walk humbly. When she sees the beggar on the street, she finds a coin in her her pocket, and offers it. This shapes her character. She sees the value of living like this.
So it isn’t entirely out of the blue that the angel comes to her with this news, this role to play in the unfolding story of God’s grace. Mary knows how to trust. She has kept the commandments. So Mary says, “Let it happen.” “May it be so.” That’s her way of saying yes. That’s her way of trusting what she cannot yet see. She offers a simple yes, in spite of all the coming complications. Her “yes” is her decision join with what God is already doing in the world. It’s the same sort of “yes” we are invited to speak each day.
God wants to rescue the world, to heal the world and creation, to restore this original blessing. Not abandon the world. We can ignore this, or we can obstruct this, or we can say yes because we want to be part of that. It's just that simple and just that important. Each day God rolls up the Divine Sleeves, and begins again on repairing the world. It’s long and tedious work, made worse by so many people running amuck. But that’s what this is all about – the mission of God aimed toward the earth and all creation. (1)
When we say “yes” to God, it affirms our trust that this is what God intends to do: to fix all that is broken, to restore what has been twisted out of shape.
In Advent and Christmas, these seasons can help us trust that God wishes to heal all that is ill, that God ceases all that destroys, and promises to mend all that has been torn apart. Jesus, who welcomes children, will teach us that every child is to be regarded as our neighbor. He will show us how every child of God is to be given respect and encouragement.
We experience God as we light the candles, sing the psalms, listen to the holy promises, and care for those in need. In the thick of it all, we learn what God really wants to do: In the midst of endings and beginnings, God continues to love the world and help you remember you are a blessing. Amen.
This sermon included content from our Advent 2024 materials published by A Sanctified Art
https://sanctifiedart.org/words-for-the-beginning-advent-bundle
1) Rev. Bill Carter, “Meditating with Mary,” December 21, 2014
https://billcartersermons.blogspot.com/2014/12/meditating-with-mary.html
