The ugliest Christmas gift I ever saw was a quilt made by my sister, Betsy, for our mother. Usually quilts are creative works of art with complementary colors and interesting geometric patterns like the Ohio Star or the Double Wedding Ring patterns. The quilt my sister made was none of these things. Its fabric was a hodgepodge of both synthetic and natural fibers in a garish array of colors—some worn & faded and others saturated for eternity. There was no particular pattern—just a bunch of odd shapes pieced together.

One of the pieces was actually a piece of fur. Upon closer inspection, it was mink. Betsy explained, "That was from Mom’s old mink stole that Dad bought for her when she was in the hospital having Sue." Dad had brought it in all wrapped up in big box. Mom figured it was a stupid robe and tossed it into the corner, so irritated she was that Dad seemed to be having such a jolly good time while she was laid up in the hospital. Long after Dad left, Mom had to get up to use the bathroom down the hall and figured she might as well use her stupid new robe. Imagine her surprise when she opened the box.

Then Betsy began to point out other swatches of material that had been included: a piece from Mom’s wedding gown left from a latter day alteration, part of an old leather golf glove and a thin & faded square from a favorite old housecoat. The whole quilt was a patchwork of her life—bits and pieces brought together with love and care. It was a beautiful gift—one of the most beautiful I have ever seen—but only after I got through the ugly first impression.

The bits and pieces of our lives do not always seem so beautiful when considered in isolation. We go through hard times: times when love goes wrong, when money is in short supply, times when we feel disappointed, discouraged and maybe even depressed. Yet they are just as much the stuff of life as the good times and, taken as a whole, they comprise the gift of life we have been given. Indeed, some of our most grace-filled moments are associated not with the good times but with the not-so-good times.

God promises to fashion the seemingly disarrayed bits and pieces of our lives into a precious masterpiece. Do we believe it? Or do we think that promise is only for people who are born to privilege, or graced with looks or talent or smarts, or lucky enough to "marry up" or win the lottery. Certainly God’s promise is not for ordinary folks like us who struggle to find acceptance and recognition, who struggle with our weight and age and demons, who carry baggage from the past which weighs us down to this day.

But the Bible does not say that God establishes his covenantal promise with a lucky few. It says that he establishes it with those who have faith. Dare we believe it? The title of our message for today is "Believe." Today is the fourth Sunday in the season of Advent—the season we prepare the way for the Lord to be born into our lives. The promise is not just for Mary, but for everyone who believes. Believing is the final way we prepare the way for the Lord.

In our text for today Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, says to her relative, Mary, "Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!" (Verse 45). That statement concludes two parallel stories which emphasize the importance of believing in what God says will be accomplished—believing in God’s promises to us. Both stories share several important similarities which clue us to their parallel nature. Having said that, one story presents a positive example while the other a not-so-positive.

Let’s begin with the latter which focuses upon Elizabeth’s husband, Zechariah. Zechariah was a priest serving in the temple when an angel of the Lord named Gabriel appeared to him. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John" (1:12-13). Zechariah and Elizabeth are going to have a child who will grow up to be a righteous fellow named John the Baptist—the forerunner of Christ.

There is one problem: Zechariah and Elizabeth are well along in years and have never had children, even though they have dearly desired to have them. Zechariah is dubious to say the least. Zechariah asked the angel, "How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years" (1:18). But Zechariah was a priest, well-versed in the sacred Scriptures. He would have certainly known of a similar promise God made to an aged Abram, and he would have certainly known of our Old Testament text for today that says: Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6). Zechariah would have certainly known that by believing Abram became the father of the faithful.

But Zechariah refused to believe God’s promise to him, which did not set well with God’s messenger. The angel answered, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe in my words, which will come true at their proper time" (1:19-20). Because Zechariah did not believe, he lost his prophetic voice and ability to speak for God as a priest. May this never happen to me, and may what happens next never happen to me. In Zechariah’s old age he fathers a child!

In the meantime, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary (1:26-27). Like Zechariah, Mary is afraid of this angelic visitation. And as Gabriel said to Zechariah, so he says to Mary, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus" (1:30-31).

Again, there is one problem. Mary is a virgin. How can a virgin become pregnant? 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" (1:35). Now I think most of us would have to admit that what Gabriel is expecting Mary to believe is a bit of a stretch. It is enough of a stretch to believe that aged parents can conceive a child, even though there is a precedent for it—at least in the Old Testament. But there is no precedence for this.

But here is where the parallel stories of Zechariah and Mary diverge. Where Zechariah refuses to believe, Mary believes. "I am the Lord’s servant," Mary answered, "May it be to me as you have said" (1:38). Or, as your New King James Version of the Bible in the pews puts it, she says: "Let it be to me according to your word." I only mention this because of a song written by Sir John McCartney entitled: "Let it Be" on an album by the same title.

Allow me to refresh your memory with the opening stanza: "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." You didn’t know that song was inspired by our text for today did you? That is because it is not. John’s mother was named Mary, and she died when he was 14. Later in life he had a vivid dream of her coming to him "speaking words of wisdom, let it be." That fond experience is what prompted him to write his song. Had his subconscious mind made a connection between Mary’s words in our text and his mother Mary’s words in his dream?" The Jungian psychoanalyst in me says "yes."

Regardless, Mary’s words are words of wisdom because they are the words of a believer. "Let it be to me according to your word." That is why Elizabeth says what she says in our text. Elizabeth is the connective link between two parallel stories. Elizabeth has had to deal with a dumb priest because he refused to believe what the Lord told him. But Elizabeth also recognizes how favored she is to be visited by the mother of her Lord and Savior. "Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"

Do we believe what the Lord has said to us will be accomplished? Pope John Paul II in his Angelus message 10 years ago yesterday said, "The Word who found a dwelling in Mary’s womb comes to knock on the heart of every person." The ancient prophetic name for the Messiah, Emmanuel, does not mean "God with Mary." It means "God with us," which brings to mind a little controversy people have about what greeting to use during this season of the year. Some folks are very insistent upon saying, "Merry Christmas," and get incensed when others say, "Happy Holidays." Personally, I think "Merry Christmas" can be a little trite and rote. Try this as an alternative: "May Christ be born in you."

More importantly believe that Christ may be born in you. Believe what you are singing in the carols of Christmas: "O holy Child of Bethlehem! Descend to us, we pray; Cast out our sin, and enter in; Be born in us today." Do you believe that Christ can be born in you--that you can embody the peace and joy and blessedness of Christ in your life, or do you believe that is a promise for others and not you? You have a history. You have baggage. You have issues.

I remember thinking that, back before I was a pastor. There was a time when I thought being a pastor was out of the question for me. Why? Because I had a history. Heavens, I left for college in 1971. Who from that era does not have a history? Okay, maybe Jack Finefrock does not have a history, but he is the exception that proves the rule. I was the rule. I had a history and was too tainted for the purity required of a minister. It was out of the question.

But then Gabriel paid me a visit and opened the door for me to help a little Methodist Congregation whose beloved minister was terminally ill and declining fast. By George, that little congregation almost made a Methodist out of me. After their pastor died, they appealed to the Bishop to let me take his place even though I was an infidel from a Community Church. The Bishop didn’t like the idea, so it didn’t work out. But it did start me believing that maybe I could be a minister after all.

God wants every one of his children to be a minister. He wants every one of them to know the growing sense of joy and meaning and purpose and satisfaction that comes from being a part of the Body of Christ and continuing his saving work in the world. Do you believe that? Do you believe that applies to you, despite your history and even despite the present thorns in your flesh? Believing the Good News will prepare the way for the Lord to be born into your life. Don’t be like dumb Zechariah. Be like the Blessed Virgin Mary. Let it be to us according to the Lord’s Word.