Title En Kerem/Luke 1:39-45
Contents The Great Pilgrimage of Life (1) N Kerem/Luke 1:39-45
I am going to take you on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, starting today, as Christmas is near. The reason is to follow the footsteps of the great life of Jesus, the protagonist of the Holy Land. Because His footsteps are also the steps that you and I, His disciples, must follow. Let's start this journey by asking a question.
Where did the baby Jesus travel from Nazareth for the first time in his mother's womb after being conceived by Mary and before giving birth? Its name is Ein Karem, a beautiful, lush village about 8 km southwest of Jerusalem. The word 'en kerem' (or 'in kerem') means 'fountain of the vineyard' in Hebrew. Since ancient times, there has been a spring here, supplying water to the surrounding area, and vineyards, farmland, and villages have been formed naturally. Even now, this place is a beautiful village and pilgrims
It is a place where people do not stop visiting. In the middle of this village is 'The Church of St. John the Baptist', which commemorates the birthplace of John the Baptist and where his parents Elizabeth and Zacharias lived. There is a place called (Mary's spring), and the 'Church of the Visitation' (built on the foundation of an ancient church in 1955) is built to commemorate Mary's meeting with Elizabeth. In the yard of this church, a statue commemorating the meeting of Mary and Elizabeth is erected, and on the wall facing the courtyard, Mary's prayer hymns are engraved in several languages, which are also recorded in Korean.
Today we look back at Mary's conception as a romantic theological event, but how absurd and embarrassing for a young, unmarried girl. It must have been an unbelievable event. Shall we read the words the angel gave to Mary at this time? Luke 1:36. “Behold, Elizabeth your relative is also old and has a son. The one who was originally known to be barren has already reached six months.” Among the four relatives who were known to be barren, there was an incident of pregnancy by the power of God. What is a messager? Then, if the power of God comes upon you, who are single, wouldn't it be possible to conceive of the same life? Wouldn't Mary want to meet Elizabeth? Wouldn't you like to meet another woman who experienced a miracle just like you? So Mary left Nazareth to visit En Kerem, where Elizabeth lived, 140 km away. So, a strange meeting between a woman who experienced the miracle of pregnancy as an old woman who was unable to conceive and a woman who experienced pregnancy when she was not married and did not know a man took place.
In the meeting and conversation between two women who experienced this miracle, we would like to meditate on the lessons of the historical woman Mary used by God. Why did the Lord use Mary - for what?
1. It is to become a channel of blessing.
Most people who are born on this earth die while wrestling with the happiness of their single being. But if my life can be used as a tool to bless other neighbors, what could be more rewarding and more impressive than this? However, the girl Mary was chosen to be used as a channel to bless the whole world. But the important thing is that God chose you and me not only for Mary, but for the same reason today. So, in the gospel hymns we often sing, don't you sing, "You are the channel of blessing in the covenant of God/ Through you the nations will return to the Lord"?
2. To give you a lesson of faith.
In what sense is Mary passing a lesson of faith to us today? What does Elizabeth say to Mary in verse 45? “Blessed is the woman who believes that the word of the Lord will come true.” Mary is a woman of faith. So, more specifically, in what sense is Mary delivering a lesson of faith to us living today?
1) The first lesson of faith is that the basis of faith must be the Word.
How could Maria handle this absurd incident that happened to her? The only answer is because God has spoken. Read her first reaction to Mary's annunciation through an angel in Luke 1:34. “Mary said to the angel, How can this be, since I do not know a man?” What was God's answer through the angel? “The angel answered and said, The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” Again, what was Mary's response to these words? Luke 1:38. “Mary said to her, “I am the maidservant of the Lord, so your word may be done to me.” In verse 45 of today’s text, Elizabeth says, “The woman who believed that the word that the Lord had spoken will surely come true.” What was the basis of Mary's faith? It was thoroughly the Word of God. Let us recall the words of Romans 10:17 again. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”
Although Mary was a young girl, she was able to show this amazing faith because her faith was based on the Word of God. Where are you and my beliefs based today? There are some people who come to church and still have their own subjective beliefs or philosophies as the basis of their faith. The Bible says they are like sand and weak foundations on which my house of faith can never be built. On the day when my subjectivity and beliefs collapse, they are inevitably collapsing together.
If our faith is rooted only in the Word of God, this eternal Word that cannot change even if heaven and earth change, then our faith has a solid foundation to that extent. Can we confess this with the composer of the hymn? “He is a firm rock, upon which I will stand/ upon whom I will stand.”
2) The second lesson of faith is that faith often requires sacrificial obedience.
Mary now accepts the word of God delivered through an angel and decides to live the life of a single mother. But was it really an easy decision? Even today, such an incident may be a public scandal, but at the time it was an incident that could have been stoned to death. Therefore, when Mary said, “Your word may be done,” it was a kind of confession of faith prepared to die. In fact, before her son, Jesus, took up the cross in the distant future, she also decided to take up her own cross. But in fact, all Christian obedience can be said to be a kind of crucifixion. Because of your obedience to the Lord, you will lose your career in the world, you will not make more money, you will not enjoy more popularity, and the Lord asks if you will still obey. Therefore, each Christian's obedience can be said to be the experience of the cross. I mean in that sense, Jesus says to His disciples of all ages in Luke 9:23, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross <daily> and follow me.”
In fact, even at this moment, aren't many Christians all over the world suffering hardships and sacrifices in order to obey the Lord's word, <Follow Me>?
There is one prayer poem he left before he passed away.
“Lord, let us not scatter empty words and/or godly phrases.
/Let me know that love is better than words / and obedience is better than argument.
/We always stick with good words and all kinds of godly cliches/
I'm trying to run away from your commandments.
Lord/hold us fast/take us captive
/Submit your word to our needs today/What we can do today/
Let us do it today./And do it by faith.”
Just as Mary's faith, obedience, and sacrifice made her a channel of blessing to the whole world, this faith, obedience, and sacrifice enabled Von Hooper to become a person of blessing for her country and the world. If so, what should be the decision of faith and obedience that we must make today in order to live the rest of our lives as a channel of blessing?