Texts: Isaiah 61: 1-4, 8-11; Luke 1: 46-55

In Agnieszka Holland's film The Third Miracle, Ed Harris plays Father Frank Shore, a priest who has lost his faith in both himself and God and who is pulled out of his drunken self-pity to investigate a series of occurrences following the death of an immigrant woman that are seen as miracles by the community at St. Stanislaus Church where a statue of the Virgin supposedly weeps. Several years ago, several of us watched this film which explores the meaning of faith and redemption. It asks not only about miracles we see but the unseen miracles that lead to lives of love and service.

My old professor Roland Bainton used to say that Luther said there were three miracles of the Incarnation: the first was that God loved humankind enough to offer us the possibility of redemption; the second was that God chose to do it through a young peasant woman giving birth to a baby; but that the third – and greatest miracle of all – was that Mary believed the angel. The third miracle is that of faith, of being willing to open ourselves to the possibilities of God's love and to reflect that love in the world. That third miracle is the joy we hear in the words attributed to Mary in the Magnificat, the promise of God's justice to restore equity.

The joy that Mary feels, however, is probably not felt by the rich who are sent empty away. To be sure, this past week, we have seen the victory of the rich through their banks and other financial institutions in gutting the nomination of Richard Cordray, former Ohio Attorney General, to head the Consumer financial Protection Bureau. So … what are the financial powers that fund his opposition so afraid of? Perhaps they fear more light on their unethical practices. For shame! Only one Republican dared to back off from cloture – he faces Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard lawyer who helped to establish that agency in a fight for his Senate seat in Massachusetts. For shame!!!

The origin of Mary's Magnificat is found in Hannah's canticle when she learns she is pregnant with the prophet Samuel. But look at how the Gospel writer has inverted the words. Hannah sings that the Lord "raises the poor from the dust" as God "lifts the needy from the ash-heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor for the pillars of the earth are the Lord's." Yes, that's the origin of the title of the Ken Follett novel.

In Mary's Canticle, she sings that God has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly; that God has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. Not cheerful words for those in power but the fulfillment of God's declaration through the prophet Isaiah: I the Lord love justice; I hate robbery and wrongdoing. Senate, take notice, take notice now.

Now, I know what you're probably thinking: sounds nice but isn't it wishful thinking? I mean, won't the rich always get their way and aren't we, peons in the face of such enormous wealth, unable to secure equity? Isn't this Canticle some first century version of class warfare? How do we reconcile the Canticle with our lifestyle – not to mention the Christmas shopping frenzy?

This Sunday's candle on the Advent wreath represents joy. How is it that we find joy in the midst of our economic situation, in a world that has terrible conflict, in a society where angry people turn guns on each other, killing those once loved and anything else that stands in the way? It seems trite to tell people to look for the joyful things in their lives in the midst of violence and the personal despair that breeds it. Sometimes we hear the news and just hold our breaths, acknowledging that there but for the grace of God, go I.

Holidays are supposed to be "happy" but we know that often, after the gifts are opened and the dinner finished, that people are sad. A few days ago I had to stop off at 614 Frelinghuysen – the deport office to check in on someone who had to present a ticket and ran into almost 30 of my old Indonesian friends, some of whom I had represented in immigration court, who now having hit the end of the road, were told they all had to go back before Christmas. Unfortunately, I don't win every case. About half of them have children born here – and I won't get into the details of immigration law about why they didn't qualify for certain forms of relief from removal, but what really got me was the attitude of the ICE officials. In Indonesia, Christmas, although a joyful time, is also a fearful time because every Christmas there are attacks on Christians and their churches. Children were crying – not to mention their parents. Some parents have even surrendered custody of their children to friends here in the U.S. so their children will not have to live in a society that is hostile to them and their faith.

In response to their plight, Reps. Carolyn Maloney from New York and our own Rep Frank Pallone have introduced a bill to permit a special group of 70 to apply to have their cases reopened. Of course we have those paragons of Christian virtue Michelle Bachman and Rick Santorum saying, who cares if families are separated? Get rid of them! This desperate group of Christians hope for a miracle. But miracles in the world of immigration are in short supply, very short supply.

Miracles and the joy they bring are also in short supply in the land of Jesus' birth. Quite frankly, I shuddered for my dear friends Ted and Jane as I read of attacks on Christians and Muslims by radical Jewish groups. Religious extremism and hatred do not just belong to one faith; unfortunately, they cut across all religious lines. And we Christians are not exempt. Remember that this church and the little village of Middletown were established by persons fleeing religious intolerance by other Christians.

We need to ask ourselves: Where is the third Miracle, our Third Miracle? I think this means a new approach toward how we think of miracles. None of the miracles in Scripture just "happen." Each and every one of them requires some action by someone. If we look at traditional "miracle" stories, the miracles are responses to not just human need but human action. Take, for instance, the story of the widow's oil; she just doesn't stand there, she goes out and gets vessels from her neighbors and pours the oil into them and then is able to sell the oil to prevent having her own children sold into slavery. Those healed by Jesus take affirmative action from the friends who lower the paralytic into his midst to the woman who touches the hem of his garment. And in the film The Third Miracle, when the town is to be bombed, the child runs back to the statue of the Virgin and prays. Indeed, she puts herself in danger to protect others. That is the miracle. What happens next is only in response to her selfless action.

We are offered opportunities every day to enable miracles not just in our lives but in the lives of others. Last Wednesday night when the COG Board met, I heard of miracles that occurred because of the generosity of local church people: a single mother able to send her children to school with new backpacks, a gift that helped get a family back on its feet, a child learning to read. The miracles we enable through such work helps to enable the Kingdom of God in our midst, that kingdom of which Isaiah prophesied and Mary sang.

Let us pray: Creator of the many miracles in our lives, enable us, O Holy One, to extend our joy through the hope and expectation of your justice and the peace that comes from it. Amen.