Good News For Mary Series

Alba 12-1-2024

GOOD NEWS FOR MARY

Luke 1:26-38

I am sure that you have heard many Good New/Bad News jokes. There are many of them around. There are even some for preachers, like this one: Good News: The Women's Guild voted to send you a get-well card. Bad News: The vote passed by 9 for and 8 against.

And this one: Good News: The Church Board accepted your job description the way you wrote it. Bad News: They were so inspired by it, they also formed a search committee to find somebody capable of filling the position.

Here's another one. Good News for children: Christmas is just 24 days away. Bad News for parents and shoppers: Christmas is just 24 days away.

Yes, Christmas is coming. And scripture tells us that is a good thing to be thinking about. So for the next several Sundays, we will focus on the Good News of Jesus' birth and how that affected specific people as revealed in the gospels. So today the topic is Good News for Mary. She is an obvious choice since she became a necessary character in the account of the birth of our Lord, although it wasn't obvious to her at first. How it all started is recorded in the Gospel of Luke chapter one. It would appear that Luke is giving us a first hand report from Mary herself. The details are rather amazing.

Let's turn to Luke 1:26-38 and read about it. “26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”

29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” 35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing will be impossible. 38 Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

There are at least three reactions that Mary has to this good news: Fear, Favor and Faithfulness. Her first reaction is:

1. Fear

Can you imagine the utter shock of looking up from your work, or prayers, or anything else you may be doing one day and seeing this celestial being standing before you. I do not know what Gabriel looks like, but when he appeared to Daniel, he fell prostrate before the angel out of awe and reverence (Daniel 8:16, 9:21).

But now, God had called Gabriel to Himself and must have told him: “Go to earth, Gabriel, and more specifically, to a town in Galilee, a particular a town, named Nazareth. A man named Joseph is there who is a descendant of King David. He is engaged to a young virgin named Mary. Go to her...”

Listen, what does that teach us? God doesn’t need any homing-device to locate you. He has you zeroed in! You’re not just a number to Him, not just one of the many. He knows right were you are, both physically and spiritually! If you are His, you are being shaped and molded to perfectly fit the work He has for you to do. Just as He did for Mary.

Mary is so often perceived and cast in images as being in a state of tranquility... with a static serenity. But here we are told she was troubled...afraid.

It shouldn’t be surprising. Encounters with angelic figures were rare, and in every case described as initially frightening. Imagine the presence of one who represents God... the source of all creation... coming to meet a young teen aged girl, thought to be14 to 16 years of age.