Luke 1: 26-38, 46-55
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
December 8, 2019
Second Sunday of Advent
This Advent we are sitting in four stories from the Gospels of Luke and Matthew where an angel of the Lord makes a divine visit to proclaim, “Fear Not!” And we are uncovering the layers of these holy encounters with Zechariah, Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds to be encouraged that yes, God is indeed with us and listening. God’s Word will light the way for us to rediscover and celebrate the hope, peace, joy, and love that Jesus’ birth brings.
Today we listen to the story of Mary’s encounter with the Angel Gabriel in Luke 1: 26-38, 46-55.
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.’
But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He 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. He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’
The 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. And 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. For nothing will be impossible with God.’
Then 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.
Mary’s Song of Praise
And Mary said,
‘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 for ever.’
Mary was living her best life. She was a young teenager and betrothed to Joseph. Mary was technically legally married to Joseph, although she lived in her father’s house. She was counting down to the big day to officially tie the knot and begin their life together.
Mary’s encounter with Gabriel was a complete interruption. The angel’s presence brought Mary great distress. Her heart went back and forth with a mix of emotions. Her mind was trying to make sense of Gabriel’s words: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name his Jesus (Yahweh saves). He will be great, the Son of the Most High.”
God was calling Mary to do a hard thing: to carry and deliver the Son of God.
Do you know who was relying on Mary’s answer?
The lowly were waiting for Mary to say “yes” so that God’s hand would lift them up and overthrow those who abused human authority at the lowly’s expense.
The hungry were waiting for Mary to say “yes” so that God would fill them with good things and to send the rich away empty.
Israel was waiting for Mary to say “yes” so that God would make good on the covenants to Abraham and David (Genesis 17: 4-8; 2 Samuel 7: 12-17).
All of these were waiting for Mary to say “Yes” to God in order for God’s plan of salvation to be fulfilled (Luke 1: 52-54).
Can you imagine if Mary had said, “Oh Lord, I cannot do that. You are asking too much of me!” Mary did not know how God would work it all out. Nor did Mary know that this holy child would be destined to pierce her own soul and cause her family pain; she would one day watch her son bear God’s unconditional love on the cross (Luke 2:35).
But with what Gabriel did reveal to Mary - the angel reassured her that as crazy as all of this might sound, nothing will be impossible for God (Luke 1:37).
Mary overcame her fear by placing her trust in God’s faithfulness. Faith gave Mary the courage to say “Yes!” to God. And God’s faithfulness provided Mary with all she needed to serve the Lord and bring about God’s purposes.
Mary’s willingness not only brought her a sense of peace. Mary’s boldness continues to bless all of creation and humanity with the promised peace that only Jesus Christ has the power to bring into our hurting world.
God called our spiritual ancestors to do hard things to bring about God’s purposes.
God called Moses to deliver God’s people from Egypt and yet Moses felt unqualified (Exodus 3: 10-11).
God called Isaiah to prophesy to God’s people and show them the way forward into God’s will and yet Isaiah felt unworthy (Isaiah 6:5).
God called Jonah to share the good news with the people of Nineveh, his enemy, and yet Jonah ran in the opposite direction (Jonah 1).
God calls you and I to do hard things for the Lord too. It may not be as daunting as what God called our biblical ancestors to do! But when God calls us out of our comfort zones it is scary, nonetheless.
Jesus Christ calls us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves; to forgive others – not just once but throughout our lifetime; to love our enemies and pray for them; and to pray for God’s will.
Jesus Christ calls us to feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, care for the sick, and visit the imprisoned (Matthew 25: 35-36).
Christ calls us to make disciples of all nations and teach them all that he commanded (Matthew 28:19-20).
Christ calls us to do all things according to God’s rule of love. And we are promised that the work of the Spirit will always guide us daily into Christ’s truth and God’s will (John 16:13-14).
What is the hardest thing God has ever asked you to do? As God showed you the next right steps who was blessed by your willingness to say yes to God?
What might God’s Spirit or an angel in disguise be nudging you to do now?
Our first thoughts just may be, “Oh Lord, I cannot do that! You are asking too much of me!”
In some ways, that response is gospel truth. Whatever God is asking of us– it is true that none of us can accomplish God’s purposes on our own. And it is true that on any given day it will seem that God is indeed asking too much of us.
Jesus Christ is our example of what human faithfulness looks like to God. Christ fully relied on God with every obedient step he took from the cradle to the grave. And Christ gave his all for us as God was reconciling the world to himself.
The cost of discipleship is great, my friends. It costs something of us because it cost Jesus Christ everything.
The good news is that NOTHING is impossible with God. The God of peace will make you and I complete in everything good so that we may do his will (Hebrews 13:21). God’s grace and power are perfected in our limitations and weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Do not fear having your life interrupted by God’s plans. Do not fear the hard thing God is calling you to do.
I have to be honest; no matter what hard thing God has called me to do, I have never had a sense of peace until I have said “Yes” to God.
So say “Yes” to God because the Spirit will provide everything you need to share the peace of Christ.
Say “Yes” to God because someone else is relying on your “yes.”
In the name of God our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Amen.
Sources Referenced:
The “Fear Not” Advent Theme Sermon Series and Worship Planning used with permission from Get Lit Worship Resources.
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