“Saying ‘Yes’ to God”
Luke 1:26-38
I am indebted to Mike Slaughter's Book: "Down to Earth" for directing me through this sermon.
Mary was a teenager when the angel Gabriel visited her, and more than likely, she was doing what most teenage girls in the first century would have been doing.
She was probably doing everything she could to help her family survive.
They were most likely poor, and so life was a bit of a struggle…
…not that it isn’t for many teenagers living in the 21st Century.
Kids have to deal with a lot.
In any case, it was in the middle of all this struggle to survive that Mary was visited by the Angel Gabriel.
And he brought her news that she was going to be pregnant, an unwed teenager, which could be a death sentence in her day, especially as someone who was already engaged to someone else.
The angel said to Mary, “Greetings, you who are highly favored!”
I’d imagine Mary didn’t feel highly favored with this news.
We call it good news, but for Mary it was difficult news, scary news that would be hard to accept.
Throughout our community, our church, and our world people are receiving all kinds of news that is causing fear and confusion—a medical diagnosis, a pink slip, divorce papers, a note from a teacher, a call that a loved one has died.
And it was in this kind of state of fear and confusion that Mary was facing in our Gospel Lesson on this Christmas morning.
She was a real-life teenager in the middle of a majorly challenging and stressful situation.
The angel said, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.
You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.
He 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, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
“How will this be?” Mary asked the angel.
And right there in the middle of Mary’s mess, she realized that God was asking her a question: “Mary will you accept this calling?
Will you say yes?”
That moment gave Mary the opportunity to say “Yes” to God.
And it would change her life forever.
What do you suppose Mary was thinking?
I mean, she didn’t have the hindsight to see what a miracle this would be.
All she could see was what was right in front of her.
She was unwed, uneducated, poor, seemingly unimportant, insignificant and soon to be rejected by her family, her fiancé, her community.
As a matter of fact, she was risking her very life.
Mary didn’t face an easy decision.
Remember, even Mary was given free will.
She didn’t have to do what God was asking of her.
She didn’t have to hand her life, her very future—everything—quite literally everything over to God!
But she did.
She chose to say, “Yes.”
In verse 38 we are told that Mary said, “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.”
Wow.
Like Mary, some of us today might find ourselves struggling.
Like Mary, our lives might be a little scandalous.
Like Mary, we may be scared out of our minds and not know what to do next.
I think the first step is to ask ourselves, “Right here and right now, on this Christmas morning, what would it mean to say ‘Yes’ to God’s plan for our lives?”
Maybe you need to say “Yes” to your marriage; perhaps for years you have said to yourself, “If he would only do this, or if she would only do that.”
Maybe you’ve hesitated to fully invest yourself or your love in your spouse.
Maybe today is the day you finally make that commitment.
Maybe you are dealing with a lot of drama.
Perhaps you’ve allowed yourself to be pushed and pulled in all sorts of directions and today you are going to say “yes” to healthy boundaries.
Perhaps your faith journey has been on the rocks for a while.
Maybe you have drifted in your relationship with God and your dedication to God’s Church.
Perhaps today is the day you say
“yes” to intentionally rededicating your life to God’s service.
Whatever you are facing, saying “yes” to God won’t work if it is half-hearted.
Rather, it is allowing God’s gift of faith to take root in your life.
It is believing that God can do a miracle in your life and then aligning yourself with what God wants, not necessarily what you want.
God wants to do great things with all of our lives.
It may be hard to believe, but it’s true.
God wants to work in us and through us…
…and it’s not just for us.
When we decide to say “yes” to God it’s something to be shared with the entire community and world.
Think of Mary’s “yes.”
Her decision to obey God’s will not only changed her life but all of our lives.
Through this one miracle God was changing everything.
God was and is delivering and rescuing the entire world through the birth of Mary’s baby—He is God with us, God in the flesh, God traveling down to earth.
As simple as our own acts of obedience to God’s call on our lives might seem to be, our “yes” has the power not only to change us but also the people around us.
Now, I don’t want to put too much weight on an everyday “yes,” because that can be unhealthy and debilitating.
I simply want us to recognize the power of a simple “yes” to God.
(pause)
As Christ-followers we are called to be light in what sometimes seems to be a world of ever-present darkness: I’m talking about wars, division, polarization, anger, hatred, violence and the list goes on.
I really do believe, with all the messes going on, with all the false prophets and wolves in sheep’s clothing—the world is waiting for some light—light that will shine through people who are authentically trying to live-into their “yes” to God’s good purposes.
We may think that people get some sort of glee when another preacher or professed Christian falls from grace or turns out to have been a fake or a crook.
But I don’t think this is the case.
People want something to believe in.
They want to know that there is a reason to this existence.
They crave the unconditional agape love of God.
We are all the same in that regard.
The world wants to see Christians who are living what they claim to believe…
…who are loving, humbly serving, and not judging.
People want to see it, to experience it, to know it is possible to live a different kind of life—a life in obedience to God.
That is what we are called to be for one another and for the world: a breath of fresh air.
“Look how they love,” that is how we are supposed to be distinguished.
And when people experience followers of Christ who live this way, they walk away feeling lighter, happier, healthier, and actually changed: less confused, judged or angry.
Isn’t that something worth living into…something worth living for—to be THAT KIND of Christ-follower?
It’s a journey.
It doesn’t happen overnight, but we can become better and better at being Jesus’ disciples.
I wonder what God is asking you to say “yes” to on this Christmas day?
Mary, standing face to face with an angel of God, didn’t try to avoid trouble or pain.
I wonder if she could even fathom what God was asking her to do, but she decided to trust God anyway.
“I am the Lord’s servant,’ Mary answered. May your word to me be fulfilled.”
Mary said, “yes.”
She was an obedient servant of God.
I invite you to pray this prayer with me…
…If you’ve ever assumed you’re too old for anyone to listen to your wisdom…
…if you think you’re too young for people to care about your dreams…
…if you think you have too many problems for anyone to listen to…
…if you think you are too far gone for God to want you.
Let us pray:
Jesus, You came down to earth and became one of us.
You didn’t come so that we could pretend to be superspiritual or superhuman but so that Your light and love could shine in and through us.
Shine in the darkest place of our hearts, shine where fear and confusion have left us paralyzed and unable to move forward, shine when we face the questions of obedience to You.
Jesus, this Christmas, may we offer to You our simple “yes,” and may that “yes” cause a change in us and those around us.
Give us Your grace to shine so we will carry Your light and love into the world.
In Your mighty name, we pray.
Amen.
