Preaching: Grace Claus

Text: 2 Samuel 7:1-16, Luke 1:26

 

Here we are, a week away from Christmas.  I wonder if for many of us, that thought is entirely too stressful.  If you’re like me, you have a mental checklist going and are even now planning how to cross off a few things this afternoon.

For others of us, I wonder if being this close to Christmas makes us ache.  Your mother or father died last year, or perhaps your husband or wife left you several winters ago, and the only thing Christmas does is make you feel lonely.

And I’m guess that still others of us are eagerly anticipating Christmas day.  Perhaps you feel particularly near to the Lord this Advent, and feel more than content as you wait.

However you find yourself one week before Christmas, come with me to a little village in rural Israel.  Listen to this story from the book of Luke:

26In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
31And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”
35The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. 36And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Here we are, a week before Christmas, and we’re right here with Mary, learning of her unexpected expecting.
The passage is full of a whole range of Mary’s emotion. Luke writes that she is perplexed by his weird greeting.  Gabriel also tells her not to be afraid, which implies that she was at least nervous about his presence.  She seems to be confused, too, by how she can get pregnant, since she and Joseph are not yet married.  Anyone who has been pregnant can probably testify to what an overwhelming thing it is to find out that you’re pregnant. 

 

But there’s also immense joy and anticipation in it.  And, for Mary, by the end of her encounter with Gabriel, she accepts what he has said.  She humbly calls herself a servant of the Lord.

My guess is that you’ve seen at least one painting of this scene, which is generally called the Annunciation. 

 

Every image captures a slightly different emotion.  Here are a few.  Mary’s response ranges from terrified to resistant to submissive.

My favorite of these images is the final one.  I think it captures the range of Mary’s emotion.  She looks a little nervous and bewildered, but she also looks earnest.

While Mary’s emotion is all over the board, God’s disposition toward her is steady.  When I read this story, I hear it ring with faithfulness and tenderness.

Just think: God has been planning this day forever.  Literally forever.  Ages ago, he intended to join us as a human being.  A thousand years before Mary was born, God was promising David that he would establish David’s throne.  All along, God knew that establishing David’s kingdom would mean being born of this woman, Mary.  This story is the fulfillment of years and years of faithfulness to his people, Israel.

For whatever reason, God, the Sovereign One of the Universe, looked out over all the Israelites who

would ever exist and chose a beloved girl named Mary.  I imagine that by the time this story picks up, Mary’s name has become familiar among the angels.  God has been talking about her more frequently lately.  

Finally, God calls over one of his highest-ranking angels, Gabriel.  God points out this young girl with dark hair.  He sends Gabriel sliding into an obscure town in Israel, where Mary lives.  The very messenger of God shows up in this no-name place to tell an otherwise ordinary girl that she will carry the Son of God.

Many paintings of the scene depict Mary in her bedroom, or in some kind of private chamber.  But it’s possible she was chopping ingredients for a pot of soup, and the angel showed up in her kitchen.  Or maybe she was pulling a bucket of water up from the well.  Or maybe she was babysitting the neighbor’s children.  

Wherever she is when Gabriel shows up, I think it’s significant that she’s probably just going about her usual business.  Gabriel doesn’t ask her to come up to a high mountain or to put on a nicer dress before she can hear this message from God.  God loves ordinary human life.  God loves Mary in her modest home, with her plain gray dress.  He loves the way her bangs always fall into her face when she’s scrubbing the plates.  He wants this Mary to be the mother of his Son.

God’s tender love toward Mary is confirmed by the way the angel speaks to her: “Greetings, Favored One!” he says.  “The Lord is with you!”

Favored One!  The Lord is with you!  Who else gets to be called favored?  Who else receives this singular greeting?

But all of this knocks Mary off-balance.  An unfamiliar being has just appeared in her house, and he is saying really strange things.  Maybe she starts to back up a little bit, to look for the easiest way out of the house.  So Gabriel tells her not to be scared.  He calls her by name.  He reassures her that all is well, that she has found favor with God.

Then he gives her a message from God.  This is the message God has been preparing to give to Mary forever.  The angel tells her that she is going to have a child.  He tells her what to name the baby.  Jesus.  He fills her in on all the details, that her son will be great, that he’ll be the Son of the Most High, that he will reign from the throne of David, that his kingdom will last forever.

It’s a lot of information to take in, but it’s not unfamiliar to Mary.  She knows that she’s marrying into the family of David.  She knows the prophecies, the stories of the promised Messiah.  Of course, she doesn’t yet know what sort of Messiah Jesus will be, but she’s longing for his good reign, just like the other Israelites.

 
Somehow, miraculously maybe, she’s not startled that God has chosen her to be the Messiah’s mother.  Her only question is how it’s possible.

Gabriel’s response is less of a biological explanation and more of a promise of God’s love and care and power.  This is what Gabriel says: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.”

Remember that Mary knows nothing of Trinitarian theology.  So she when she hears the words “Holy Spirit,” she understands something more like God’s breath or God’s spirit.  God’s breath will blow over her.  God’s power will cover over her.  It’s a lot like the creation story: the Spirit of God hovers over the deep waters, and out of darkness comes light.  Out of emptiness comes life.

There’s intimacy in Gabriel’s words.  The very life force of God will come upon Mary.  God’s life will become part of Mary’s life.  God’s life will grow inside of Mary.  God will protect this pregnancy.  God will watch over Mary and the small life within her.

Life!  Mary has been blessed to carry the life of the Messiah.  She has been chosen to give birth to him, to raise him, to cook his meals, to kiss him on his way to school.  She has no idea what his life has in store for her.  But with what she knows, she says to Gabriel, “Here I am.  I’m prepared to accept this.  I’m the servant of the Lord.”
I imagine by this point, she is becoming hopeful.  Of course, she is young and has never been pregnant before.  She’s heard stories of morning sickness, and she’s not looking forward to it.  Plus, she knows that she’ll have to explain this to Joseph and their families.

And yet, Gabriel has just finished telling her that God is with her.  That nothing is impossible for God!  Mary knows that God was with Abraham and Sarah, who also found themselves with an unusual pregnancy.  God chose them and was faithful to them.  Mary knows that God chose and has been faithful to Israel.  And now Mary knows that God has chosen her and will be faithful to her.

There’s a hard side to this favor, though.  When the angel comes, Mary has no idea that her son won’t be a powerful king, joyfully received by the people.  She has no idea that he’ll encounter such resistance from the religious leaders.  She has no idea that he’ll be a wanderer.  She has no idea that he’ll eventually make her heart break as she watches him suck in his last breaths.

God’s favor toward Mary brings with it a sad, troubled road.  God’s favor doesn’t come with any promises of ease.  God has chosen Mary to play a big part in the arrival of his kingdom, but it’s a hard part.
It will require strong character and love, and most of all, God’s continued faithfulness to her and to his people.
Do those words feel familiar to you?

Nearly everything that is true of Mary is also true of us.

God, the Sovereign One of the Universe, has looked out over all the people of history and all the people of the future and has chosen us, this constellation of human beings, to join in his kingdom.  The faithfulness he showed to Israel and the faithfulness he showed to Mary is the very same faithfulness he shows to us.
God has chosen us.  God will be faithful to us.  And, more particularly, God has chosen you and will be faithful to you.

As the people of God, we have found favor with God!

This is an unbelievable honor.  As Christians, we bear the name of God.  The life of God is in us!

Think of all the tenderness and love that God demonstrates to Mary when she encounters the angel.  All of that tenderness and love is also directed toward us!  

And consider how God has faithfully kept his promise to David.  God has made David’s throne great.  Because now Jesus Christ reigns on it!  We’re beneficiaries of that faithfulness.  We live under the good kingdom of Jesus Christ.

But just as God’s favor toward Mary means a heavy, sorrowful life for her, it also means that for us.  When God chooses us to be part of his family, to carry out his mission, we can be sure that we will have to endure difficult, unwelcome things.  

You probably feel some of those things right now.  Your kids are the target of gossip at school.  Or you’re watching your beloved wife get sicker, and maybe you’re running out of stamina to care well for her.  Maybe you know someone who has had a miscarriage, and the last thing you want to hear about it a woman who got pregnant without even trying.

Those things are part of life.  The kingdom of God is near, and it breaks into our lives, but it hasn’t arrived in all its fullness.

So how do we, along with Mary, persist in following God in the life he has called us?  

I think the answer to that is found on the next page of Luke.  Mary goes to visit Elizabeth, and when she gets there, she sings a song of praise to God.

Listen to her song:

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

In her song, Mary remembers everything that God has promised.  She names all the things he has done.  God’s faithfulness doesn’t cease, to her or to us.

And because of that steadfast love, that unceasing faithfulness, Mary is able to sing this song.  I bet it’s a song she hummed twelve years later, when she and Joseph couldn’t find Jesus and had to return to Jerusalem to look for him.  I bet it’s a song she sang when she thought of her son, traveling from town to town.  I’m sure she cried it to herself as she watched his breathing get shallower and shallower and finally stop.  And I know she sang it with great joy three days later, when she saw her son with life in him.

Because in that darkest, darkest moment, God was faithful to her.  And it that brightest moment, God was also faithful.

His promises are true.  

His favor is upon us.

And the best thing we can say is, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord,” and keep on singing.

Now let’s remember God’s faithfulness by speaking aloud the words of Mary’s song.  Please stand and join me.