SCRIPTURE: Luke 1:26-38
TEXT: 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. THEME: We serve of a loving God. INTRODUCTION The timing referenced of this passage is from the number of months of Elizabeth has been pregnant. Beyond childbearing years, she and her husband Zechariah are expectant parents. A miracle in its own right, she is in her 6th month of pregnancy carrying the Forerunner to the Messiah as the angel Gabriel goes to visit Mary. One of the commentators of this passage compared Zachariah’s reaction to the angel with Mary’s reaction. Needless to say, just saying “Don’t be afraid” isn’t enough for Zechariah as his inability to comprehend and embrace all of what God is doing leaves him mute, while Mary ends up singing. SCRIPTURE Mary was quick to pieces together all of the events of her angel visit and decides the best thing she should do, is to do her part in this mysterious, grandiose plan of God. Even though she shares part of the family line of king David she certainly lives more like a pauper than royalty. The origins of the Son of God are Divine. Even from the very start Jesus will be at odds with the Empire and their Emperor who also claims to be divine. Unmarried but engaged, young but favored by God. Mary will conceive and give birth to a son who she will name Jesus; “The Lord is Salvation.” Unmarried there are all kinds of problems with this. No support from the Ohana, no sheltering from a husband, vulnerable to public scrutiny, where will the food come from? Who will provide the things she needs? And where will the household come from? The ancestral promise of a royal linage, has earthly connotations, but now with a flare of the Divine. When the angel appears to Zechariah and Elizabeth, they had enough faith to go along with God’s plan, but Mary, was by herself. Later she is bolstered with Joseph’s compassionate faith and Elizabeth’s witness of God’s possibilities. APPLICATION Why not us? Sometimes we don’t get to choose but find ourselves living the impossible with God who makes it possible. All it takes is an eyelash of faith, like Zechariah. He was high on the form of religion being a priest in the temple, but had difficulty believing, but it was enough for him to do his part in God’s plan of living among us. Mary had faith to accept what God was doing, moving beyond the normal to be among us, through a birth. She was willing to participate in what God was doing. It would be a blessing for all people. Love is not mentioned in this passage but it is embedded. This is the same God who heard the Israelite’s cry while slaves in Egypt and whose love initiates a plan of liberation with the birth of Moses. Moses doesn’t get to choose but his experiences with God are compelling, moving him to participate in God’s compassionate mission of liberation. In the same sense Mary didn’t get to choose but was compelled to participate in the loving works of God for all people, with the assurance that 'nothing will be impossible with God.’ As with Zachariah and Elizabeth beloved by God, their child will prepare the way for Jesus. CONCLUSION The child, that comes, to dwell in our world, disrupts and the quiet lives of parents, and changes the world. God’s plan of liberating love will challenge the reach of the Empire, will change the religious order of things, will change the social economic classes, will change racism, will change immigration policies, and will change the redistribution of wealth. In God’s realm, everyone is seen, cared for and ministered to. Mary trusts that God is loving and only wants what is best for us. It is like being on the Amazing Race. Some of the feats the participants need to complete seem to be life threatening. They have to trust that the producers and planners have taken in every consideration that what seems impossible to the participant will require their skill, talent, and agility but they are more than capable to accomplish this feat without dying. All they have to do is overcome their fear and do their best. Trusting in God’s love, trusting in God’s plan, trusting that God will take care of them even though we know what God wants us to do, would be impossible for us to do on our own. All it takes is any amount of faith to trust in a love that is more powerful than our fear.
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