Friendships for Advent

Luke 1:26-45 (NIV)
²⁶ In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,
²⁷ to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary.
²⁸ The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
²⁹ Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.
³⁰ But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.
³¹ You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.
³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,
³³ and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
³⁴ "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
³⁵ The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
³⁶ Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month.
³⁷ For nothing is impossible with God."
³⁸ "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.
³⁹ At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea,
⁴⁰ where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth.
⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
⁴² In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!
⁴³ But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
⁴⁴ As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.
⁴⁵ Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"

There are so many different stories that surround the first Advent.  The visitation of the angel Gabriel is one of a handful - I said handful - of times that the heavenly beings that live in the presence of God appear to humans.  When angels appear its always to say something, or do something, that directly relates to the work of God.
Gabriel comes to tell Mary what is taking place - "you will be with child...a son...Jesus...Son of the most High...who will reign over His Kingdom that will never end."
Mary is all likelihood a teenage girl, one who is nevertheless "pledged" (promised) to be married.  Do we realize what the angel was telling her God wanted to do?
How will it happen?
"The Holy Spirit (not an angel) will come upon you, and power of the most High (that's the second time Gabriel refers to God as 'the most high') will overshadow you...which is why the baby will be called the Son of God."
This ALL to a teenage girl!  She is afraid, but not disbelieving.  She is aware that a Messiah will come; but through ME?  It's all troubling.
THEN Gabriel tells her a way to understand this all:  "Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child..."


Here's something to reflect upon, to ponder....Mary "hurries" to Elizabeth.  Why?  Is it to see for herself...is Elizabeth also pregnant?  Is it to run away from those who will judge her?  Why does she hurry there.
She spends three months with Elizabeth.  They live together, think out loud together of what is going on.  They spend time making sense of faith in the midst of a world that has little room for seeing the world through the eyes of faith.
Elizabeth becomes a reference point...a place to see truth in the midst of confusion...for Mary.

We all need that.  The world is too confusing; it is too disbelieving for us to live in as God's children.  We're told everyday that faith is irrational; that the world is a matter of getting ahead...claw your way through to get what you want...don't trust anyone...don't believe in anything.
The story of Mary and Elizabeth is a reminder of the meaning of community, of friendships for a shared faith and journey.
This story reminds me that Advent is not just an individual event; it's also a community and friendship meeting.
"How can I ever let God's grace fully work in my life unless I live in a community of people who can affirm it, deepen it, and strengthen it?"  - Henri Nouwen.

Who can you call today and reaffirm to them that you need them to walk with you in this journey of faith?  Who can you reach out and say "you matter to me"?