The Yes of a Servant
Luke 1:26-38
The first week of Advent always begins with the announcement of God Gabriel to this young teenage girl, Mary. There are three elements of this passage I want to focus on this morning: the chosen, the ruler and the call. When God wants to intervene in history, he always wants to do it through a person and what is amazing is the people that God wants to pick out. It has nothing to do with their character, their abilities or their accomplishments and has everything to do with their availability. In the most important intervention of God in Hisotyr through his Son Jesus Christ, God chooses a young teenager. Not only that verses 48 and 53 tells us that Mary was low in situation, humble, poor and depressed. Not exactly the type of person you and I would choose. But the angel tells Mary, you who are favored, which means chosen by God for this purpose, God is going to conceive in you through the Holy Spirit a child and you will carry that child to term, give birth to this Son and name him Jesus, which means “God saves.”
Have you ever received something in the mail or been given a responsibility where you are totally amazed that you were chosen and many respects feel as if you are not deserving.
When you are chosen, the very first thing that God does is impregnate your mind with the idea. The problem is that a lot of people have God ideas that never really go anywhere. They result in a stillbirth. You have to carry that idea to full term. You have to bring that idea to fruition and the way you do that is that you have to have a strategic plan. There are people in this room who are sitting on God ideas. Once you’ve been given the idea, you have to give birth and just go out and do it. You’ve got to make it happen. But God never gives this God idea to people who are going to act alone. God gives these ideas and bieths them to those who are connected in community. This is the kingdom of God, a place or group where God is in control, God sets the agenda and his will is being done. This is why we pray each week, Thy kingdom come, they will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” When people come together and are committed to doing to will of God on earth, then you see the kingdom of God in action. God gives God ideas to people who are in submission to this kingdom.
God says about 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 the house of Jacob forver. His kingdom will never end.” So many people in church want to reduce what God through His Son Jesus to individualistic salvation. It’s about getting individualistic people in heaven. The problem with that is that God is not concerned with getting individuals into heaven, he’s concerned about getting heaven into earth. When chaos entered the world through the sin of Adam and Eve, God set in place a pan of salvation. At tat moment when chaos and evil seemed to reign here on earth, God said Adam, through your seed, one will come who will crush the head of evil. 7-800 years before Jesus was born, the prophet Isaiah said this: “For to us a child is born, for to us a child is given, the government will be on his shoulders. He will be called wonderful counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace, there will be no end.” God isn’t concerned with getting individuals into heaven, but getting heaven into earth. “He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.” Justice and righteousness are the foundation of God’s throne. Peace is the demonstration of God’s presence. “The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this. Thos who are committed to live in the purpose of the kingdom of God are countercultural. They don’t reflect the values of our culture but those of heaven. God came not in power and authority but in humility and servanthood.
We are called to live our lives in humility and servanthood. So many of us have forsaken the Jesus who lived his life in humbleness and in being a servant of all and instead worshipped the Jesus of the American dream. We have proclaimed a Jesus who offers security, comfort and prosperity. The problem is that the call of Jesus of Nazareth has nothing to do with security, comfort and prosperity but instead come, follow me which means we need to sacrifice and service. Which Jesus are you following? Which birth of a savior are you celebrating and anticipating this Advent?
Now the angel tells Mary, You’re going to go home and tell your mother you’re pregnant and God did it. And listen to Mary’s response: “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me according to your work.” Are you able to say that when you come to this table today? Jesus asks this question to every person who comes to this table: “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink? That cup is the cup of the way of the cross. It is a cup or life of sacrifice and service. The way of the cross is messy and dirty. It’s not the easy way.
Jesus came to establish the kingdom of God and then to leave the rest of it’s building to us. It is a kingdom which will never be defeated. How did Jesus say people will see the kingdom of God? Because the blind receive their sight. That’s how you know God is working in your midst. Because the lame walk. That’s how you know God is working in your midst. Here is the power and authority he has given to this community. He says: “I give you authority over all unclean spirits.” We are a community who has been given authority over all evil for Jesus said, I give you power to heal. It’s not about getting people into heaven but releasing the resources of heaven here on earth. So when we take authority over evil, the kingdom of God becomes visible. When we got out in the name of Jesus t heal then the presence of God and the purpose of God becomes visible.
“For nothing is impossible with God.”
