Dec. 2002 Grace International Baptist Church
Text: Luke 1:26-38
26In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
29Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
34"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
35The 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. 36Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. 37For nothing is impossible with God."
38"I am the Lord’s servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.
2 friends were discussing family histories when one of them lamented that he knew little about his roots. “I’ve always wanted to have my family history traced,” he said, “But I can’t afford to hire someone. Any suggestions?”
“Sure” replied his friend, “Run for public office.”
Politicians know they’ll have little privacy when they run for office. Their family history becomes a public domain. So it is with Jesus. He ran for the “office” of the Savior of the World, the Messiah. And He too could not escape that scrutiny. Jesus’ beginning you see was scandalous. Born from an unwed mother, that could mean a huge disgrace and it could mean stoning for adultery, it’s not something u want. Today, …
nWe will learn a few things about Mary, Jesus’ mother.
nAnd we will see how her world is much like ours
nWe will learn more about faith in our world
A police officer pulled a guy over for speeding and had the following exchange: Officer: May I see your driver’s license? Driver: I don’t have one. I had it suspended when I got my 5th DUI. (Driving Under the Influence)
Officer: May I see the owner’s card for this vehicle? Driver: It’s not my car. I stole it.
Officer: The car is stolen? Driver: That’s right. But come to think of it, I think I saw the owner’s card in the glove box when I was putting my gun in there.
Officer: There’s a gun in the glove box? Driver: Yes sir. That’s where I put it after I shot and killed the woman who owns this car and stuffed her in the trunk.
Officer: There’s a BODY in the TRUNK?!?!? Driver: Yes, sir.
Hearing this, the officer immediately called his captain. The car was quickly surrounded by police, and the captain approached the driver to handle the tense situation:
Captain: Sir, can I see your license? Driver: Sure. Here it is. It was valid.
Captain: Who’s car is this? Driver: It’s mine, officer. Here’s the registration.
Captain: Could you slowly open your glove box so I can see if there’s a gun in it? Driver: Yes, sir, but there’s no gun in it. Sure enough, there was nothing in the glove box.
Captain: Would you mind opening your trunk? I was told you said there’s a body in it. Driver: No problem. The trunk was opened; no body.
Captain: I don’t understand it. The officer who stopped you said you told him you didn’t have a license, stole the car, had a gun in the glovebox, and that there was a dead body in the trunk.
Driver: Yeah, I’ll bet he told you I was speeding, too.
What’d u do if u were that officer? Go nuts? Tear your hair out? Scream? Mary must have felt that way too, in our Bible text this morning. It’s like a “get me to the nearest psychiatrist” reaction. Here’s Mary, perhaps thinking of marriage, preparing for the big day, already pledged to be married to a man named Joe, dreaming of driving the family SUV, with kids arguing about who gets to sit in front of the camel, and u being the perfect patient mom. Then an angel appeared.
What’d u do if I came and told u “I just saw an angel and he told me I am the new Messiah”? Most ordinary people would kindly suggest or say “I think u better have a talk with Rev. Wally Weiser, your area minister.” “Ministry at GIBC must be really stressful.” If things like these happen, we’d tend to say, is this a dream, is this real, too much turkey and egg-nog, or too little coffee in the morning, too little sleep because I watched on DVD “How the Grinch stole Christmas” and “It’s a Wonderful Life” , and “A Christmas Carol” back to back to back, all in one night and all the behind the scenes featurettes As well? This angel’s entrance was not welcomed at all. Ever wonder how Mary felt? Look at v.29 “Mary was greatly TROUBLED at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.” She was immediately reminded of a 3 D world.
· A 3 D world – dicey, dangerous, dark – a troubled world
All of sudden due to this angelic visitation, a huge crisis hits Mary’s world, and her world changed dramatically. As u look into her world and ours, it appears there are many similarities between our world and the world of Mary’s time and we feel greatly troubled. Her country was under military occupation by the Roman Empire, and that makes life, a three- D life - dicey, dangerous, dark. And now she must have thought under the strain, and stress “ I must be going insane”.
Today, people are under strain in a 3 d world… Many people live under financial threat – as the see their investments and savings dip in an uncertain economy. Perhaps some are greatly troubled that way and the look at the words of business analysts and economists say and they feel greatly troubled, aren’t they? Suicide bombers, retaliatory strikes, the Iraqi threat, more terrorist threats, the AIDS epidemic, illegal drug trade, fills up our news cast on a daily basis, is this not a greatly troubled world? Just when u think u can get away for some peace, something happens… ask those many who fell violently ill from with attacks of diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach pain from the Norwalk virus on the cruise ship Amsterdam off Florida. There seems to be an increase of these attacks on cruise ships in the past year. Going on a holiday these days is no longer a safe thing to do. Just ask the tourists in Mombasa, Kenya, in Bali, Indonesia, ask the Canadians who travel in the Philippines as they hear their own embassy being shut down as travel advisorys are being issued. And just when you think you can retreat into safety of your home , we find as in the lovely suburbs of Sydney, Australia, powerful brush fires destroyed houses and cars this past week. Time and time again we have stories of domestic violence in supposedly well-adjusted families.
Just when u feel OK, I admit I am sick and need help, I want to get healthy, in our hospitals, nurses and doctors are overworked and greatly troubled, resulting in longer waits for medical help all across Canada, experts in the field are saying this is a recipe for disaster. Then u say let’s live in small community, far away from possible terrorist attacks and overcrowded hospitals, then we find the Innu of Davis Inlet, Labrador. They have an alcoholism rate of 80 per cent, one of the highest suicide rates in the world and an epidemic of gas sniffing among their young children. A whole generation of people could be wiped out.
Then some say let’s get into the world of sports. How greatly troubled can u get? The most is spend a couple of minutes in the penalty box if you are greatly troubled right? But, we hear the story of 15-year-old Jason Ricciuti, a member of the Kelowna Midget AA all-star hockey team. He hung himself in a Surrey motel room one Saturday night after being caught with pot and apparently he thought his life is over, that he’d never play hockey again. It is a tragic statement that the father said - "He lived for hockey. He loved to play hockey." It seems living for sports is not the answer.
According to a new report, as was noted in Toronto Star on Thursday, more men in Ontario committed suicide in the past decade than died in car crashes. That speaks of a crisis of hopelessness, doesn’t it? Some 591 males committed suicide in Ontario between 1990/91 and 2000/01, while 558 men died in car crashes. Dec 4, 2002 in our news, in Camrose AB, a 27 year old father and his 2 yr old toddler son have been found dead and police believe it’s a case of murder suicide. There seems to be more and more cases of murder suicides.
Then u say let’s head to church… This past Sunday evening people in Westmount Baptist Church, Moose Jaw, attended a Christmas Concert at Caronport, SK, which is a tradition for that church. Folks would stayed behind and have a Christmas Party together as a congregation. But something happened that would rock the world of that church. Phil Canning pastor of the church reported “A lady from our church and her four friends that came with her were killed instantly when they turned into the path of a westbound semi just as they were leaving Caronport onto the highway. Many of the Westmount people stayed at the scene of the accident… There is grief and sorrow, there is crisis, threat, every where we look… It seems people in churches are not immune to pain, to crisis. Do we not live in a 3 D world, a greatly troubled world? How can this year’s Christmas be a merry one in Dec. 2002?
Looking at the Bible, we find Mary’s friends, family, and countrymen, suffered through some pretty similar unstable troubled times, both politically and economically. And though none is mentioned in our bible text, I’m quite sure, the same maladies of tragedy, illness, death, and financial worries must have been a part of their daily and personal lives as well.
For instance, the terror of the crosses hanging outside their towns reminds them each day of the brutal reign of terror of the Romans. As they look around them, there seems to be little or no control over their future. They could feel the 3 D’s in a real way as they smell the air of death surrounding where they live.
· REMEMBERING GOD’S FAVOR
Gabriel greeted this young girl Mary, as one who was favored by God. "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
Now think about this, wouldn’t it be great to have an angel bearing a message from God come and visit you and give a message similar to v.28? Here u are confirmation, that there is a God, all questions about God answered, as you have the attention of an angel. After all, u have just being notified that u are specially chosen by God, and not just favored but “highly favored” isn’t that awesome?
Today, many young aspiring athletes would die for such a recognition. To be highly favored. This would mean big money, millions, yes a gargantuan contract, you’d be set for life! To be highly favored, perhaps the top 5 pick in the draft, the top five free agents, top five players in golf or tennis, is a most coveted favored position. This is the big time, instant fame and recognition! But can we assume those whom God favors will enjoy the good life as well: perhaps gain prestige, social standing, wealth, good health. Highly favored draft pick of God, wow, eh?
Well, such would not be the case for Mary, the highly favored of God, whom the angel declared “the Lord is with you”. V.29 tells us how troubled she was, she must have wondered if she has gone out of her mind. Fast forward to the future, - she would have a child out of wedlock, and tell me how scandalous that is in that day and time! Then to have to face the pain of a disappointed and confused husband who had in his mind, a lovely virgin, whom he is in love with, and now his beloved Mary probably committed adultery since they were pledged to be married to each other. Then, to face perhaps ridicule and strange stares, from fellow villagers, seeing her pregnant before her marriage to Joseph. Then later being forced by the hated Romans, to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem, because of a government census. Just to become a number and be numbered! Paper pushing unfeeling bureaucracy, what a joke! Especially when you can only waddle and not walk, being 9 months pregnant. And then later, her son would be executed as a criminal, again a scandal for this highly favored one of God. There was no wealth, no recognition, no royal title for Mary, who would be the mother of the man whom Gabriel said would be King, and whose Kingdom would never end, but there is no evidence of that Kingdom any time soon (v.32-33). That sure doesn’t sound like being “highly favored” or does it?
Application: Perhaps this Christmas, like Mary, you too find it impossible to believe you are favored of God. Perhaps you have endured some tremendous losses, this year, you had a rough year, u say how can God understand my 3 d world. Perhaps you feel misled, misguided by God, let down in a big way, betrayed, how can I be favored by God, loved by Him with so much that’s wrong with my life, there isn’t much hope on the horizon?
You just don’t feel God’s favor is with you, let me remind you of Ephesians 1:3-4 (NLT)
3 How we praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we belong to Christ. 4 Long ago, even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave him great pleasure. (Here it is we’re highly favored, top draft picks because of His love and His pleasure in us as His children)
Will u remember God’s favor is on you? In response to the troubled feelings of Mary, the words “Do not be afraid” spoken by Gabriel came to Mary, can u hear the same as we read the words from the Bible in Ephesians 1. That you need not to be fearful for God has you in his hands, no matter what you may have to suffer thru now, you are chosen by God, your future is secure, don’t be afraid! Choose to believe that! For me this is the best gift of Christmas, that God loves me, he is for me, he holds my future, the future does not hold me hostage, no terrorists, NOTHING can separate me from Him! OH, hear the words for you this Christmas “Don’t be afraid”!
For Mary, the temporal trial of giving birth to a son, born out of wedlock, means a future where the world is blessed. Her Son’s name will be Jesus. He will be the Son of the Most High, the Son of the God. Yes, through him the entire world can be saved. For God, in His infinite wisdom has a plan. God knew of our need for a savior. God knew of our need for Christmas. God knew we needed the touch of His felt hand, His presence among us, relating to us on one hand, and feel the effects of a 3 d world and yet able to save us on the other. God knew we were drowning in sin, hopelessness where so often suicide is the option people go for. In a world without hope, in a world gone mad, God is with us. Listen to this poem,
If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator;
If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist;
If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist;
If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer;
But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior.
God knew there were times then and times now when the uncertainty and the severity of the events of world would overwhelm us. God knew kingdoms and powers would rise to power, that leaders of these human kingdoms would grow strong, overwhelm and over-power others
- that these kingdoms would gather followers of falsehoods, and that these same kingdoms would oppress and hurt others, then after the damage they have done, these kingdoms would crumble and fall away.
God knew we needed a new kingdom, where hope and real peace can be found, and in Jesus, all human, all God – we will find a King to reign over God’s people forever, for his kingdom is a spiritual kingdom, one built out of love for us all who trust Him. Christmas for us is - Remember God’s favor in a 3 d world.
The central figure in our story is not Mary and not even the angel Gabriel. The central figure in our story is the gracious and loving God who gave us his Son, Jesus, whose birth is the promise of God’s redeeming love - Emmanuel - “God With Us.” And Mary was favored, chosen by God, to play a role in this redemption process.
So are we! We are favored by God, to tell the impossible story that God loves the world that He gave His Son to be born of a woman. Remember this as we live in a 3 d world. It’s really then about…
· FAITH AGAINST THE ODDS
34"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
35The 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[3] the Son of God. 36Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. 37For nothing is impossible with God."
Perhaps Mary recognized that God’s blessing could be bittersweet. Being favoured by God is often a difficult gift to receive, for it calls for great courage, great strength, great energy, and most of all, great faith. We will often be asked to face what we would rather not face. So Mary asked “how will this be?” We will often be asked to grow through events and in areas we’d rather not grow. So Mary said: “I am a virgin?” However, unbelievable as it may be, overwhelming as it may seem, incomprehensible as it is, Gabriel tells us - “Nothing will be impossible with God.” Yes, in the face of life’s greatest trials, remember with faith these words...
So Luke tells us about an old and barren woman - not Mary but her relative, Elizabeth – that she will bear a child in her old age (v.36). If that is so, can a virgin, Mary, conceive?
Again, the God of the impossible tells of the impossible with the incredible Christmas story ...The Lord entered into human history via a woman’s womb, as a child. And He grew up to die on a cross. From a womb to a tomb, But wait, the impossible happens again – when all hopes were crushed – in the tomb, from the tomb – rises hope. Jesus died but He rose from the dead- death was destroyed, yeah - resurrection and life. From the most unlikely rag-tag team of 12 disciples and even one big time traitor, comes the impossible the birth of the church, that reaches out to all the world. Who could have believe that there is such a redemption, such a hope for sinners, who could have dared dreamed of this fantastic story of God’s love? Indeed, nothing is impossible with God, not even death could hold him!
Are u facing some difficult decisions this Christmas season, yes we live in dicey, dangerous, and dark world a 3 d world but remember God’s favor and have faith that bucks against the odds ? Hear the words of God again and live again! God is telling have u and I to have faith in Him in face of incredible odds- for nothing is impossible with, so don’t be afraid.
When Gabriel finished delivering the message he had come to give Mary, after he spoke of this miracle that was to happen, and did his best to explain how this miracle could happen - as if you could ever explain a miracle...
Mary I’m sure pondered the ramifications of this Miracle - I bet she thought ahead a little, thinking how the news she had just been given was going to be received by her friends and family...
after Mary heard Gabriel’s news, do you know what she said?
“I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.” V.38
You see, I think Mary knew what being favored by God meant and was going to mean. Like most people, I imagine she realized being chosen by God often meant not only did life’s normal burdens not go away or get better, but often there were greater challenges ahead. I guess you could say that blessings in many ways comes disguised, and may not look at all like a blessing.
She could have said “no”. She could have rejected God’s invitation. It could have passed to some other girl. She could have said: “Gabe, you got the wrong Mary, wrong address, different postal code, there is this other Mary just down the street, she’s kinda like a virgin too… ” But she didn’t.
Because maybe, just maybe, Mary knew that what makes Christmas is God’s desire to enter into the lives of ordinary people living in threat-filled world, maybe yeah, Christmas is about God entering our ordinary world, and it’s about the willingness and openness of ordinary people to let God in, trusting His favor and having faith that God’s blessing will work out for the better, even if we can’t grasp it yet.
I wonder, if we can, can we grasp a hold of how different that first Christmas was.
I wonder can we understand, just a little, the magnitude of the impact Gabriel’s message had on Mary’s future, and the magnitude of the impact it has on our futures, that it would mean blessing for the whole world.
I wonder can we understand, just a little, what it took for Mary to commit to the path she chose. I wonder - can we comprehend the enormity of the commitment she made. I wonder - can we follow her lead, even if in a small way. To know that being favored by God means God is with us, especially in the trials that are bound to come in the future.
I wonder. I hope we can.
