Do You Hear What I Hear?

Scripture:  Luke 1: 39-45

I do not remember my exact age at the time, but I remember being a child in the basement at Milan UMC for children’s church one Sunday.  It was around this time of the year, and the teachers had decided for this particular Sunday we were going to sing Christmas Carols.  We had just finished singing one song and the next song requested was “Jingle Bells”.  I immediately responded “Hey! That’s not a Christmas song.” 

Elementary school me, was both right and wrong about that.  The song really has nothing at all to do with Christmas.   However, years of tradition have paired the song with Christmas so even if the lyrics have nothing to do with the birth of Jesus or the celebration of the holiday it is still considered a Christmas song.  There are several songs that are considered Christmas music that actually are not about Christmas.  Like Jingle Bells a lot of these are winter themed songs such as Winter Wonderland and Let it Snow.  However, there is one Christmas song that has nothing to do with Christmas but most of us do not even realize it.   That song is “Do You Hear What I Hear? 

If you quickly run through the lyrics, it sounds like it fits this time of the year.  It has a star, it has shepherds, and it has a baby shivering in the cold.  However, if the song was referring to the birth of Jesus it would be at best a very stylized and loose retelling that was taking a lot of liberties with the story found in the bible.  It is close, but it does not quite fit.  That is because the song was not originally written as a Christmas song. Do You Hear What I Hear was written in 1962.  The song writer, Noel Regney, was known for a poetic, avant-garde style.   The song was written during the height of the Cuban Missile crisis, and the song is a plea for peace during that time.   Given the context some of the lines become chilling.  Consider the verse: Said the night wind to the little lamb, Do you see what I see? Way up in the sky little lamb, Do you see what I see?  A star, a star dancing in the night With a tail as big as a kite.  

That is not a reference to the star the Magi followed.  It is about a nuclear missile. The song is not some artistic rendition of the Christmas story it is a plea for peace in the light of potential nuclear holocaust.  This is not just me reading into the song, the song’s author has explicitly stated this as well.   It is a bit ironic that the song is called “Do You Hear what I Hear?” because most people when they listen to it do not actually hear what the song’s author intended them to hear.   I think there is a faith lesson for us as well.  Much like we miss the meaning of the song, we can miss the work and wonders of God all around us. God can be at work in the world, inviting us to join and we do not see and we do not hear what God is up to.    This morning’s scripture from Luke gives a great example of how not to miss God at work. 

To place this morning’s scripture in full context, it takes place in the gospel right after the angel appeared to Mary and announced that she would bear God’s son.   From a practical standpoint it makes sense that Mary left her small hometown of Nazareth and headed to visit her relatives.  She was unmarried and pregnant.  Nazareth was a small town, so you people would have been talking.  It made a lot of sense to lay low someplace else for a while.  The scripture states that Elizabeth lived in the Judean hill country.  This would have been days of travel away from Nazareth.  The relationship between Elizabeth and Mary is not clear.   It is likely that Elizabeth was Mary’s cousin or Aunt. Like a lot of the people we meet in the Bible, we do not get a full snapshot of Elizabeth.  We must read between the lines to get a fuller picture of who Elizabeth is. 

 From the gospel of Luke, other than a relation to Mary, we know Elizabeth was married to a man named Zechariah.  Zechariah was a Levite, which means he spent part of the year serving at the temple.   We also know that before the birth of John the Baptist, Elizabeth was childless.  We do not know how old Elizabeth was, but Luke 1:36 references Elizabeth’s old age.  It was likely she and Zechariah had been unable to conceive for quite some time.  It needs to be mentioned in the culture of this time, when a couple had difficulty conceiving it was always viewed as the woman’s fault.  It was seen as a divine judgement against her and it would have been a source of great shame.    I imagine for Elizabeth it felt deeply unfair as others began to have children but she could not.  As the years went on, she could have gotten bitter and blamed God.   Being childless was a mark of shame and hurt in the lives of Elizabeth and Zechariah, but all indication is despite that they remained faithful to God

The fact that Elizabeth was with child was a miracle.  It was so unlikely that even Zechariah did not believe it was possible.  In the gospel of Luke it is recorded that while Zechariah was at the temple serving the Angel Gabriel came to tell him that Elizabeth would conceive the boy who would grow to be John the Baptist.  In response to this angelic message, Zechariah questions how this is even possible because of his and Elizabeth’s age.   Elizabeth’s response was much different though in Luke 1:25 it is recorded, “The Lord has done this for me,” she said.  “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.” 

Elizabeth had experienced the miraculous nature of God, she had experienced God’s favor.  She knew God was willing and capable of doing good things.  Elizabeth had experienced God’s favor so she was more attuned to what looks like.  When Mary came to visit Elizabeth, Elizabeth was herself six months pregnant.  It is not uncommon in the sixth month of pregnancy for the baby to be kicking and moving quite a bit.  Yet she was able to discern that this was not an ordinary kick.

The scripture does give us a bit of a clue as to what is happening here.  Verse 41 states “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.”  Upon the greeting of Mary, the baby kicked as if to ask “Do you hear what I hear?” and thanks to the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth did indeed.  The scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit is what helped Elizabeth discern what was happening.  However, Elizabeth was able to recognize Mary and the child that she was carrying for what they were because she was in a place where she could hear the leading of the Holy Spirit. 

Elizabeth had ears to hear and eyes to see enough to know this was not just an ordinary kick.   She was receptive to the possibility of God being at work in the world, and she was open to the leading of the Holy Spirit which brought her to the truth:   The Messiah was coming, God was moving, and soon it would come to pass that God is with us.   Considering God’s goodness, Elizabeth responded in the most appropriate way:  with uncontainable joy!   Elizabeth did not miss what God was doing in the world.  Thirty years before Peter would be the first disciple to declare Jesus was the Messiah, Elizabeth was already stating as such in this morning’s scripture.   Her heart soul could loudly hear what God was communicating.   She absolutely did not miss it.  As we consider this morning’s scripture, there are a couple of pointers we can get from Elizabeth about how we can better hear and see the movements of God. 

First, Elizabeth recognized God’s provision.  Perhaps this might have been a little easier for her.  She had spent years feeling like she was cursed, only to have God show that God had a special plan.  Perhaps because Elizabeth had experienced God’s provision in her own life she was more likely to be looking to see where God is going to show up next.   This is what allowed her to recognize that the kick was more than kick and it is why she was open to the Spirit’s leading to the revelation that Mary carried the Savior of the world.   Perhaps because Elizabeth had experienced God’s provision in her own life, she was more likely to be looking to see where God is going to show up next. 

Our personal experiences with God providing for us may not be as dramatic as Elizabeth’s but we all have stories about God’s provision.  One of the things I appreciate about our United Methodist tradition is that we believe God’s grace is previenent in our lives.   This is a fancy way of saying that God’s love, God’s grace, and God’s provision is always present in our lives.   We believe it does not matter how far someone is away from God, God’s love does not give up on them and God continues to provide.   This means that when that unexpected blessing comes, that means when a series of seemingly coincidences aligns just so, that means when exactly what we need seems to fall right in our lap, it is God.   It is not Karma, it is not fate, it is not the result of good vibes, or a reward for doing good work.   The book of James states “Don’t be deceived my dear brothers and sisters, every good and perfect gift is from above.”   God provides, and we are the proof.  We could probably sit here all afternoons sharing stories of how God has answered prayers, how God worked in our lives, and how God gave us exactly what we needed when we needed it.

Because God has proven God’s self to us time and time again, then like Elizabeth we should be expecting and looking for what God is going to do next.   When we are looking for God at work in the world, then we will find God at work because God is a loving God who provides out of God’s goodness.  When we expect God to show up then like Elizabeth, we will hear the leading of the Holy Spirit and we will be the ones asking those around us, do you hear what I hear? 

The second pointer we can get from Elizabeth is how she reacted to what God was doing.   She reacted with joy.   When we consider how good God has been to us, how perfect the works of God are, joy is truly the most appropriate response.  And yet, I realize that there are times when joy seems far away.   I realize there are times when the weight of all that we are going through can be so crushing and suffocating that it takes all the wind out of sails.  I know some of us have gone through some rough patches over the course of the past year, but even in the valleys and hard spots of life we can still find reasons for joy, because God is still at work, and God’s care is still there for us.   God is good-all the time.   This is true even when things are not going quite like we want them to go.   

A simple exercise can help us see how true this is.  In this season of gift giving, consider taking a few moments to list out all the ways that God has provided for you over the past year.  Focus on the good, on all the reasons you have to be thankful.  I have confidence we will be amazed when we do this.  As we begin to consider the ways God was there for us we will likely become aware of God’s goodness and provision in ways we were not previously aware of.  Being aware of God’s provision makes us more likely to hear, to see, and to notice just how truly good God is.   When we become more aware of how God provides when we catch glimpses of God’s goodness, then our reaction should be like that of Elizabeth’s:  She proclaimed in a loud voice a mixture of surprise and joy.

​So may you have ears to hear and eyes to see how good our Great God is.  May you know that God has and God will continue to provide for you.   May you remember that every good and perfect gift comes from God.   May that fill you with joy.    May you be able to exclaim in a loud voice, God is good, all the time.   And all the time, God is good.