December 18, 2021

Dear Road Church Friends

The theme of the fourth Sunday of Advent is Love; and the Gospel reading assigned to this Sunday is Luke 1:26-55. It relates the story of an angel’s visit to Mary, and Mary’s visit to her aunt Elizabeth who is six months pregnant. Mary has learned from the angel that she too is with child. Both have something remarkable to talk about. Elizabeth is too old to get pregnant, and Mary is a virgin. As expectant mothers they shared their hopes for their children and for each other. Their time together is summed up in two songs, one that Elizabeth sings to Mary, (1:41-45). In it she commended Mary for accepting the role that God had for her. Mary’s song to Elizabeth, (1:46-55), begins, “My soul magnifies the Lord.” Mary rejoices in the prospect of being the mother of the Son of God. This harks back to the message first delivered by the angel and Mary’s reply, “Let it be,” (1:38). These are powerful and important words that define Mother Mary’s character.

            SERMON: “LET IT BE”           READING: Luke 1:26-55 

An angel appeared to a virgin named Mary and said, “you will conceive a son and name him Jesus. He will be called the Son of God.” Mary said, “That’s not possible since I am not married.” The angel said, “God makes all things possible.” Mary said, “ I’m at God’s service. Let it Be.”

Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting… she exclaimed, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb... And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.” And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.

O LOVE THAT WILL NOT LET ME GO

O love that will not let me go, I rest my weary soul in Thee,

I give Thee back the life I owe, that in Thine ocean depths its flow

May richer, fuller be.

O joy that seekest me through pain, I cannot close my heart to Thee,

I trace the rainbow through the rain, and feel the promise is not vain

That morn shall tearless be.

O hope that lightest all my way, I cannot choose but cleave to Thee,

And wrestle till the break of day, disclose the wisdom of the way.

In blessings yet to be.

by George Matheson

NOTE: There will be a 40 minute service of readings, music and prayers in our Sanctuary on Friday, Christmas Eve at 4 pm. All are asked to wear a mask.

 May the grace of Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.                                                                                       

      Due to technical difficulties, we were not able to have a recording of the service or Pastor Norm’s message, so we have posted his hard copy of the sermon.

Pastor Norm’s sermon: LET IT BE

Luke 1:38

December 19, 2021

 The theme of this fourth Sunday of Advent is the story of Mary’s visit to her aunt Elizabeth who is six months pregnant. Mary has recently learned that she too is with child. Both had something strange yet wonderful to talk about. Elizabeth is too old to get pregnant, and Mary is a virgin. The first is improbable. The second is impossible. These two expectant mothers spent three months sharing their hopes for their children; as well as their love for each other. Their time together is summed up in two songs.

Elizabeth says to Mary:

“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you bear. What an honor that the mother of my future Lord has come to visit me! How blessed you are for believing what was spoken to to you by the Lord.”

Mary says to Elizabeth:

“My soul magnifies the Lord! I rejoice, because God has blessed me in my humble circumstances. He has done great things for me.”

 Mary and Elizabeth are the lead characters in Luke’s Nativity stories. In Matthew’s version Joseph is the lead and Mary has no lines. In Luke’s version, Mary and Elizabeth do all the talking and Joseph has no lines.

Mary’s words, are few but powerful.

When an angel appeared to her and said, “Greetings Mary, you will bear a son and you will name him Jesus.”

Mary said, “That’s impossible. I’m not married.”

The angel said, “Nothing is impossible with God.”

And Mary replied, OK, then, “Let it be.” With those words Mary agreed to travel down a difficult path of disgrace. She was engaged to be married but was unfaithful. No one would believe her angel story. Rumors abounded for years as to who the real father of Jesus might be. When Jesus began his ministry people in Nazareth said, “Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary?” The townspeople were sure Joseph was not his father. They only knew that Mary was his mother. “Let it Be” was Mary’s decision to embrace God’s will, and let go of her own cherished plans, even though it meant disgrace. “Let it be” can also mean to let go of our addictions and surrender to a higher power.

These words were the inspiration for a Beatles song that was the title of their final album, “Let it Be.” It goes: 

When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me

Speaking words of wisdom, “Let it Be.”

And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me

Speaking words of wisdom, “Let it Be.

And when the night is cloudy there is still a light that shines on me

Shining until tomorrow, “Let it Be.”

 It was written by Paul McCartney. When asked if it was about the Virgin Mary, he said, 'Let It Be' happened during a time when people were overdoing the use of substances. I certainly was. It was common. It was the fashion. I was constantly getting pretty wasted. One restless night my late mother came to me in a dream. She could see that I was troubled and said to me, 'Let it be. It’s going to be OK. Let it be.' I woke up and wrote that song, about my mum, coming to me in the dream saying, let it be, leave that stuff alone and you’ll be OK."

 “Let it Be” was Jesus’ mother Mary’s decision to accept God’s will for her life. “Let it be,” was no easy path for her. Giving birth to a child out of wedlock in a small Galilean town, condemned her to live under a cloud of scandal. She would always be shunned by her neighbors. Joseph stood by her because he too had said, “Let it Be.” Jesus’ parents sacrificed much when they let go of their own plans and let God be their guide.

But what they gained was far greater than what it cost them. Jesus’ parents, especially his mother Mary, still speaks to us.

 In these Christmas stories, Mother Mary comes to us speaking words of wisdom saying,“Let it Be,”—Let go and let God. She shows us what it means to pray the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done;” and the Serenity Prayer,

 God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change;

the Courage to change the things I can,

and the Wisdom to know the difference.

 Wisdom says, “Let it Be”

Let it Be that I live one day at a time,

Let it Be that I am grateful for every moment,

Let it Be that God’s will, not mine be done.

Let it Be that the change I want for the world begins with me.

Let it Be Christmas in my heart every day.

And, Let it Be that God blesses us this Christmas,—each and every one of us.”

Pastor Norm Erlendson