The Visitation

Luke 1:39-49

The Feast of the Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth is celebrated on May 31. Since the 31st fell on a holiday this year, that feast has been transferred to today.

I'm reminded of my sermon from the 4th Sunday of Advent, which focused on Mary's mixed blessing, and the reassurance she received from her cousin Elizabeth, who shouted in ecstasy, "Happy is she who trusted that what God spoke to her would be fulfilled!" An out-of-wedlock pregnancy that could conceivably lead to her execution by stoning certainly counts as a mixed blessing. But Elizabeth helped Mary to accept God's mixed blessing.

Our parish community is full of mixed blessings. Our beloved, historic sanctuary is now a shell, waiting to be torn down. Some of us want to move on as quickly as possible. Others may still be burdened by grief. That grief will continue to be a burden so long as you do not let yourself feel the loss. Let your tears wash over your heart. And in that Baptism, Jesus, who surely wept from heaven at the destruction of the Jewish Temple, will weep with you.

Then, I hope we all will embrace the blessings we've been given. With fewer pews, we get to sit closer to our brothers and sisters in Christ. We can reaffirm that the Church is the people, not the building. And we have a wonderful opportunity for Evangelism; to spread the "Good News" that Jesus Christ is in our midst. We made two front pages in the last week; the Alabama Episcopalian and the Sand Mountain Reporter. Many, many people care what happens to us. What will we tell them about who we are, regardless of the building? Let us share the blessings of contributions we've received with those around us who are still suffering.

And as we begin to discern together what our new church should look like, we have the opportunity to ask ourselves: What do we want our worship space to say about us to the community? Bishop Parsley has often said that there are a lot of Episcopalians out there; they just don't know it yet. How can our worship space convey the particular gifts of the Episcopal Church? Come to think of it, what are those gifts which our new worship space can express? And how can our worship space welcome those who don't know yet that they're Episcopalians, and will need to work through their initial impression of strangeness? ("What sort of Christian church is this?").

We are in the news. People are watching us. That is a blessing. How will God's promises to us be fulfilled? Through our sharing of dreams and visions this coming Sunday, the Holy Spirit will begin to lead us to the answer.