Hello and welcome to Tuesday’s Podcast. I’m Brian Wilson, one of this week’s guest speakers from St Hild College, which is a strategic partner of STC Sheffield. Today we are continuing our journey through the Advent season and we have reached the point in the first chapter of Luke’s Gospel where Mary is heading off to visit her cousin Elizabeth.

REFLECTION

Mary has just received an amazing visit from the angel Gabriel, who has announced the incredible news that Mary will become pregnant and give birth to a son, Jesus, who will be great, he will be called the Son of the Most High and his kingdom will never end. Mary is puzzled and perplexed but is keen to confirm that she is most definitely available for the Lord to use in his service. ‘I am the Lord’s servant’, Mary answers to the angel, ‘may your word to me be fulfilled’.

Today’s reading is verses 39 to 45 of chapter one and you can hear it in full at the end of the podcast. After the angel’s visit, Mary is hurrying off to see her cousin Elizabeth, who is herself miraculously pregnant, in spite of her advancing years. Elizabeth’s baby will be John the Baptist and when Mary enters the house, he leaps with joy at the arrival of Jesus’ mother-to-be. Elizabeth encourages her visitor by saying how blessed Mary is because ‘she has believed that the Lord would fulfil his promises to her’.

In western Norway, there is a spectacular rock called Trolltunga. If you Google Trolltunga, you will see loads of images of brave climbers performing dangerous stunts at around 3,000 feet above sea level. You would immediately realise that the English translation of Trolltunga is, unsurprisingly, Troll’s Tongue. This oddly-shaped rock, which overhangs above the lake far below, looks as if it could collapse at any moment. Standing on it seems like an act of enormous foolishness.

Many people look at Mary confirming that she is the Lord’s servant, available for him to use, and think her commitment to be an act of great foolishness. A bit like standing out over the Norwegian lake on the edge of the Trolltunga rock. But the Trolltunga rock is as safe as houses and has been there for thousands of years. Despite initial appearances to the contrary, standing on it is, indeed, relying on a firm and solid foundation. In the same way, Mary’s commitment to be available for her Lord to use her is based on a firm and solid foundation. ‘Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfil his promises to her’ is what Elizabeth says about Mary. Mary’s willingness to be available for God to use is based on her well-founded trust that He will fulfil his promises.

As we approach the celebration of Jesus’ birth, how much are you and I prepared to echo Mary’s availability for God to use us in his service as part of his mission to reach an all-too-often dark world that needs to see the light of Christ, individuals who need to know Emmanuel, God with us? The degree to which we are available for God to use will be directly related to our trust, like Mary, that he will indeed fulfil his promises. Our commitment to be available to our Lord is not blind faith, it’s not foolishness nor stupidity. Instead, it is based on the firm foundation of God’s promises.

Trusting completely in God’s promises can sometimes feel a very risky and dangerous place to be. But, in this season of Advent, we will be reminded of so many of those wonderful promises to each one of us and to all people. This year, will we listen afresh to those familiar promises? Can we allow them to soak deep into our hearts and souls and minds?

May they assure us that we too, like Mary, are blessed and favoured and chosen by God as part of his incredible plan of salvation to draw us and all people to himself. And may we respond by recommitting our own availability for God to use us in all of the many ways that he plans in the weeks and months ahead.

PRAYER

Lord God,