Kingdom Work in the Most Expected Places

I have always found it interesting that even though one might have read a biblical passage many times, s/he can always gain new insight after every read. This happened to me last Sunday as the lector read the passage from the lectionary. She read the following passage:

39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!"

46 And Mary said:
"My soul glorifies the Lord
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
50 His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
55 to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors."
56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.
Luke 1:39-56(TNIV)

What hit me as the lector read was how unlikely both Mary and Elizabeth were to be chosen to bear John the Baptist and Jesus. Elizabeth, a woman believed to be barren and past the age which is thought to be able to conceive a child; and Mary, a teenage virgin, betrothed to a lowly carpenter. What probably made no sense to the religious leaders of Jesus’ day, made prefect sense to God. He chose to use two women who no one would have ever expected to fulfill his promises in the world.

As I sat there and listened I could not help but wonder who God might be choosing to work through today’s world that we, the Church, might never expect. Maybe it could be the homeless person who you pass on your way to work daily? Or maybe the rapper who spoke for and inspired a group of people, but who tragically died far to early? Or maybe, the teenager sitting in the “youth pew” doodling, who just wants to be asked how her week was? Or maybe the widower who comes to church in his Sunday best every week, who no one pays attention to, but who has so much wisdom to give?

This Christmas may you look for Jesus all around, and may you find him in the most unexpected places. I promise if we take the time, slow down, and look, he is there in the smiling faces of children and teens, in the wrinkles that grow with age, in the hungry stomachs of those on the streets, or in the cries of the silent. May you truly see Jesus as he builds his kingdom through those you would never expect.

Merry Christmas!