Shane Hughes 12-21-25

It's good to see you here. My name is Shane Hughes. I'm one of the ministers. And it's a delight if you're a visitor with us because you've traveled from far or you just decided, you know, today's the day I'm going to go to church and you decided to come here. We are glad that you're here.

No matter which way it goes, the end is almost here. I love what Brad and Jen said just a moment ago. It leaves you questions like, is this enough? And for most of us, I imagine by now your job is probably mostly wrapped up. You might have a few more things you got to tick off your list before you can really check out.

But for most of us, our jazz, our jobs are wrapped up as best we can. Presents are bought. You still have two more days. Good luck. And although there's a myriad of details left and another run to H E B, it's like everything else.

All the stuff that's not Christmas now is settled. All that stuff can wait. I got to be honest with you. Waiting has been a struggle at our house this Christmas. We put.

Normally we don't put our present stand under the tree until Christmas Eve because we have three boys. But this year we decided to put them out as we wrap them. And so for. For. There's been this growing tension in our house.

There is a particular person in our house. Whoops. That has a particular box. It's about this big, this wide. It's some wrapping paper.

And I am dying to know what it is. Waiting has been so hard. But it's a couple more days. I can make it. And it brings me a memory of my Christmas.

This is how I learned how to tell time. Because in my family when I was growing up, we had a rule that said don't wake mom and dad up on Christmas. And the reason why is because for the most part on Christmas my brother and I would wake up at like 4:30. And of course we were ready to open presents. Of course the day was supposed to begin and.

And that's when they instituted the don't wake mom and dad up rule. And this is where I began to learn to tell time. Because my mom would say, you cannot wake us up until this number is a six or a seven, you know, whatever. But I remember on the Christmas morning just longing for the light to appear. Cause I was up way before sunrise.

I was up ready to experience the day. And I think we all long. I think we're all longing for the light to appear. And if you can understand what that is. I think you can understand Advent.

I think this is what Christmas means. This is a picture, a portrait, a painting painted by Henry Oswala Tanner, who is an African American famous artist. And. And he went to Jerusalem, had lived for a while in Israel, and came back. And as he came back, this is what he created.

Now, most of the stories of the Annunciation are set in this kind of medieval time period. And many, many famous artists, Michelangelo and da Vinci and others have painted images like this one. But it's almost always outdoors or Mary's talking through a window, and everybody looks like they're dressed up to go to a ball or something. And I love this painting. And I think sometimes we can learn something about the text and about God and about ourselves just by noticing.

And so I want to invite you into something that you may have never done before in your life. I want to invite you into it today. I want you to just kind of to gaze at this picture. I know in our time, in our. In our culture, you don't have the attention span to really look at a thing, because there's the next thing that you can look at.

But I want you to spend a moment just to look at this.

There's. There's details. Now, this is the story of when the angel meets Mary and speaks to her. It's the story that occurs in the text right before the story we heard today, where Gabriel tells. Angel tells, mary, you're going to have a baby.

And this is no ordinary baby, this child, this one is the Son of God.

Just gaze at it for a moment.

I don't know about you, but I'm the kind of person that when I go to an art museum, I will walk rather quickly through many of the galleries. But if something catches my eye, I will find a place to rest or to sit or to stand, and I'll just watch it. I can pass through many, many different pieces, but when there is one that captures my imagination, I stop. And this is one that made me stop.

And if you're willing, if you've had a chance to gaze, what I'd love for you to do, I want to invite you to do, is turn to the person next to you. And if you know them, you know them. If you don't introduce yourself, if they don't make eye contact with you, that means they don't want to play, and that's fine. Just turn to the other side, but turn to that person and tell them what you notice as you gaze. Tell them what you see.

Turn and we're just going to talk for 45 seconds. And it may feel weird, but that's okay. We can do that in a sermon. Just tell them what you see. As you gaze on this painting by Tanner.

Ready, set, go.

It's.

Now there are critics that are much more astute that I, that I've read over this week to, and they want to tell you some of the things that they notice. The first is the expression on Mary's face. She's not afraid, but she is wondering what's going to happen next. She is expecting something important to happen by her pose in her bed, and it's clear that she just woke up. There's rumpled sheets.

This angel has interrupted her sleep. But the angel itself isn't depicted the way that typical angels are, with wings and robes and fancy clothes. It's. It's merely light that's kind of cutting into reality and separating the space between God and the world that we live in in a more palpable way than Mary or you and I have probably ever experienced in our life. Yet still, Tanner wants to show that there is divide.

If you notice that little. That little rift in the rug there, where it's pushed up, that has been interpreted to be the place of humanity and God. There is still a little bit of separation there. Yet you may also notice that there are three pots in this picture. One up at the top on the upper right, one at the bottom by the angel, and then there's a third on that kind of stone stand next to Mary, and it kind of forms a triangle that draws your eye to Mary's face.

And three is a special number in Christianity. It may be the Trinity. And if it is the Trinity, then what I want you to notice is that the Trinity is breaking through that divide. And we could spend time talking about the color and many other things that you notice. And you can find me afterwards and tell me what you saw.

I think if there's any expectation that's more powerful than Christmas of that waiting, it's pregnancy. It's a time of waiting that engages you physically and mentally and emotionally more than anything else. And I think part of this text speaks about what it means to be pregnant, about what it means to wait in expectation for the coming of a baby. I think this text speaks of what it means to be a woman. That's something I don't have much experience with.

But there is this story of. Of Mary and her encounter with the angel Gabriel. But that's quickly followed by, I'm going to need that water. Jeff, can you help me out? There's also the story of Mary and Elizabeth.

Mary goes to the. Goes to the hill country to meet Elizabeth. And Elizabeth, if you remember, is her cousin, but she's much, much, much, much older. Elizabeth is also pregnant. And it's kind of a surprise because they've been trying for a long time and it's never happened.

And so she has her own miracle that's brewing in her womb as well. And we ask the question, why does Mary go to the hill country? Is it just to get away? Is it to reflect? Is it to prepare?

Is it to avoid the shame of the fact that she's pregnant and not quite married yet? And Elizabeth, who's the preacher's wife, who is too old to be starting this, greets her and so does John the Baptist in her womb. We spent the last several weeks walking with John the Baptist as he prepares the way for Jesus. But this moment, this kick that happens is his first sermon. Say, this is the one.

Here he is. It's Jesus. And I wonder, have you ever felt that kind of kickboxing before? I don't mean like a baby kick.

Have you ever felt that moment where it seemed like reality got very thin and God was sending you a very clear message that God was speaking into this world in a powerful way? Have you ever felt that before? Maybe you've been in an interview for a job and there was this moment where you felt that kick. You felt that. That realization.

That was a thin space and God was doing something important here. And I'm not always sure when that happens. Does that mean I should take the job? Does that mean I should run away from the job? I mean, that takes wisdom.

How do you know if it's to go or if it's to stay, if it's to break up or if it's to say yes, if it's. In all of these situations, all you can tell is that this moment is full. It's pregnant with the presence of God.

John is beginning to point the way to Jesus in his first sermon. And in this moment when Mary and Elizabeth, they come together and Mary stays with her older cousin for some time. God gives Mary and Elizabeth two things that they each lacked. They lacked community, and they lacked connection. And God removes their isolation and helps them to understand themselves more fully as part of something larger than their individual destinies together, as they're known, more fully.

And they begin to see more clearly than they do as individuals. And I think this is an advent message of hope and understanding. That starts out slowly and quietly. We anticipate its growth and full mentation, but we don't yet fully experience it.

Have you ever felt that kick, that thin space?

If you have a moment, share that moment with the person next to you. Tell them about it, listen to them. Maybe not now. I don't mean it right now. I mean at lunch today, around, around your Christmas table, talk about that moment when you felt the kick.

It was the presence of God saying, hey, this matters. Pay attention. Your life is about to change.

And in this breath, Mary sings a song. It's what we sang at the opening of services. We call it the Magnificat. You've been saying it together in your prayers, around your table. At home, my soul magnifies the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior.

And the first half of that song is very expected because it's praised and adoration to God. But the second half of that song, if you pay attention, it's not what you expect. In fact, I would make the argument, and I'm about to, that this song is way more like the Eagles Hotel California than it is about Silent Night. Now, I love Silent Night. Singing Silent Night with candles at Christmas Eve, that is one of my favorite things that happens all year.

But I think the Magnificat is a little bit more like Hotel California. Now, if you've never heard this song, you can listen to it on the way home. It's a kind of a creepy song, but it doesn't sound creepy at the very beginning because it was written in the 70s, 60s. 70s, doesn't matter. It was written before now.

And California then was kind of the place to go to. It was the place to be seen. It was a cultural manifestation. It was where you wanted to live and to go to California, that meant you were derived. It was a land of opportunity.

But then as the Eagle Song carries on, you realize that this is not about opportunity. This is about being captured.

One of the lines from that song is, you can check out anytime you want, but you can never leave. And you. The further you go into that song, the more, the more sinister even the music sounds, even though it hasn't changed. And the more the greater the sense of dread kind of grows. And you think it's going to be amazing.

It turns out to be not that great of a story because what you expected is not what you're going to get. Silent Night, on the other hand. I grew up in Colorado, lived for a while in California, but I grew up in Colorado. And the best Christmases in Colorado, where the Christmases, where there's snow. Now, I gave up that like 20 years ago.

I don't think that's ever going to happen here. But there's a moment that happens. And if you ever get to experience this, you can. If it snows during the day and then the clouds clear, all of a sudden, all the heat that's been trapped under those crowds evaporates. It gets very cold.

The snow takes on this icy quality at the very top. Now, there's still fluffy, fun, snowbally snow, but the top is very crunchy. And so when you step on it, it holds and then it gives. But it's not so much the texture of the snow. What you have to do is go out at night and listen to the absolute silence.

Because it's like the snow's put a blanket over everything and it just absorbs all the sound. And there is nothing moving. There is no wind. It is just still, which I imagine every time I sing Silent Night is. That's the memory it takes me to, is those nights in Colorado.

And that's all the song is. It is the peaceful moment when Christ is born into this world and all the creation is holding its breath. Breath.

But that is not what the Magnificat says.

This song of Mary talks about the powers that are high and the people that are low. And pretty soon this Ferris wheel, it's about to turn.

And if you've been living your whole life on the bottom and you've been struggling to find food, and you've been struggling to find justice, and you've been struggling to find. Find righteousness, and you've been struggling to find your place in this world, Mary has good news for you, because that giant wheel is about to spin. It's about to turn. And those that are on top that have been eating more than their fill, and they've been taking advantage of everybody else, and they've been profiting on others expense. Those that are evil and wicked at the top, their turn is about to come as well.

And this song, it throws back to another song in the Old Testament. It's another woman who deeply desired to have a baby. And her name was Hannah. And the son that she has is Samuel. Samuel is one of the greatest prophets and the greatest priests and the greatest judges.

He kind of held it all. And Hannah, in her song, she prays. My heart rejoices in the Lord, My Lord is. In the Lord my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies.

For I delight in your deliverance. Do not keep talking so proudly, or let your mouth speak such arrogance. The bows of the warriors are broken. Those who stumbled are armed with strength.

Those who are full hired themselves out for food. But those who are hungry are hungry no more. She who has been barren has borne seven children. But she who has had many sons pines away.

There's a significance of Samuel as the turning of the tide. And what you can't miss is there's a reversal in both songs that the low are going to meet high and the high are going to be made low. And what's notable about Mary's song is that it's all in the past tense. She's not speaking of the future. She's.

She's not even speaking of the present. She's speaking about what God has been doing with God's people since time began, that this is the story of God's work in the world. But this moment in particular is different, because this moment begins the rise and fall of everything.

You've probably never heard of a man named Lech Visalia. He was a Polish dock worker, and he grew up under the Soviet Communist rule in the 1960s and 1950s. And he was just a big, burly guy who was a welder and who loaded ships. And actually, he was a pretty funny guy. He'd tell a lot of stories that people like to listen to.

But Lek had this ability. He had this ability of when he talked to people about ideas, they listened to him. But he was a nobody.

And in the Soviet regime and the Soviet power that had conquered most of Eastern Europe and taken control of it, pushed out the edge of their empire, lek was just no. 1.

But he had an idea and he had a dream about how the lives of the people working in the docks could be better. And so he just got everyone together in a tavern and said, what if we could make our lives better? And he formed the first union of the Polish stock workers. And they were able to get slightly more wages and slightly better working circumstances and slightly a better way of life. And from that they gained mobility and momentum.

And things began to change in Poland. Not only were the dock workers interested, but all the people that worked in trades were interested in joining this union, to become part of it and to become more and to become more, and, you know the end of the story that the crushing weight of the infrastructure of the Soviet Union eventually falls upon itself and eats itself, and Poland as a nation is set free.

Do you know who the first elected, democratically elected president of Poland was? It was Lech Vesalia. And he commented at the end of his presidency, as he stepped off the stage of political life, he. He said, I don't understand how things have changed since the world that I was living in, but I know that they are. I know I'm not the person to lead anymore.

But he reflected on his life and he said, never in a million years would I have thought that a welder from the Polish dock workers would ever become the president and lead his people to freedom. But in the economy of God, that is exactly what happens. This isn't just a story of Mary and Elizabeth. This is also the story of Luke's audience, the church that's hearing this story being read in their community together. And they're at the edge of a society that does not reflect their values.

They're on the edge of a society who would not blink to cruelly kill their own citizens or anyone else in the world. Those whom they oppress, they wouldn't hesitate to do it and they wouldn't feel bad about it afterwards. They lived in a world with an empire who used their power to engorge themselves in wealth and fame. And they don't hesitate to trample the poor or starve the hungry. And they work with the purpose and intent to keep the gears of the wheel frozen so that they might enjoy the fruit of their ungodly lifestyle.

And this church that lives on the margin of that world, that suffers in that world, that lives as slaves and women and people that have no power in that world, they hear the story that this massive wheel is about to turn.

And what Mary's song reminds us is that there is a rise and fall to everything and that God is at work in the world to bring about that kind of goodness to us all.

And so this Advent season, this Christmas, we continue to look forward to the dawning of the light. This is how we learn to tell time. The coming of the morning and the tick of the clock and the sound of loosening gears. That is the sound of freedom. For anyone that's ever felt like they're on the bottom.

For anyone that's been hungry and hasn't had food. For anyone that's seen injustice in this world and longs for righteousness, will you stand for our benediction, Hyland? There are presents to wrap and there are cookies to bake. There are probably last minute gifts to buy. But in all of the busyness of the next few days, be reminded of Mary's song.

A merry song that gives us hope that one day things will be different. The powerful will not always be on their high platforms. That God hears us and sees us and is moving in this world through Jesus Christ to give us what we need. May you be filled with God's grace and go in peace.