This is not an original sermon, points borrowed from Advent 3/C, December 17, 2006 Lynne M. Dolan (I believe the message was entitled “Nothing Impossible with God”). I have restructured the message, however; want to ensure I give proper credit.
TITLE: MARY’S SIDE OF THE STORY
SCRIPTURE: PHILIPPIANS 4:4-7 / ST. LUKE 1:26-38
Today marks the first Sunday of Advent. I always look forward to preach the Advent season as well as HOLY WEEK in the Spring. Advent represents the waiting period leading up to the GREATEST ANNOUNCEMENT THE WORLD HAS EVER HEARD. I enjoy the Advent season as there is so much we continue to learn leading up to the Birth of our Lord and Savior.
• Advent comes from the LATIN word “ADVENTUS” which means “COMING” or “ARRIVAL”
• In Western churches, Advent begins four Sundays before Christmas, or the Sunday closest to November 30th
• The Advent Season lasts through Christmas Eve
• Advent is a season of Spiritual Preparation for the Birth of Jesus Christ
• Advent is not only a way of remembering Christ’s first coming as a human baby, but also for his continued presence with us today through the Holy Spirit
It is a peculiar thing, this coming of God. It takes us all by surprise even when we know it is coming. After all, we know the narrative. We are not surprised and perplexed like Mary was when she heard the news. We know the whole narrative, cover to cover, start to finish. Yet, somehow each time we hear it, we are touched in a different way.
• It is like your favorite song, the one that makes you cry every time you hear it
• You know the words, you know it is coming, and then somehow, you are surprised when on cue those tears start flowing
Did you know there are ACTUALLY TWO VERSIONS OF THE CHRISTMAS NARRATIVE in the New Testament? Although scholars debate the differences and try to reconcile the two accounts, I think there is a fairly simple explanation.
• Matthew tells Joseph’s story
• Luke tells Mary’s story
• If you doubt that, just go back and read the two versions in comparative fashion
• Matthew tells the story like a man would tell it
• Luke emphasizes the things a woman would consider important
Let me try to explain my point. I recall when Michelle and I were stationed in Germany when our first child and the first grandchild on both sides of the family was born. I called my family back here in the States with excitement and said –
• Nicole had finally arrived and she is healthy and doing well
• As far as I was concerned the statement was informative and complete and all points covered from a man’s perspective – she arrived, healthy, doing well, ok bye
• However, when Michelle called home to tell family Nicole had arrived she stated
o How long she had been in labor
o What time Nicole had been delivered
o How many pounds and ounces she was birthed
o How many inches in length she was birthed
o Head full of hair
o Expected date she would leave the hospital to go home
o That was from a Woman’s perspective much more detailed
Luke provides and offers us this higher level of detail. What is it we know about Mary from Luke’s Gospel? Here is a brief list –
• First, her father’s name was Eli
• Second, she had a sister named Salome
• Third, she had a relative named Elizabeth
• Fourth, she is young
• Fifth, she is poor
• Sixth, she is a devout believer in God
• Seventh, she is very much in love
• That last one is a key to the narrative as recorded by Luke
• Mary is a teenager in love
• She may have been as young as 12 or 13
• She might have been as old as 18-19
• If we said 16, we would not be far off the mark
Mary is a young girl in love, waiting with happy anticipation for the day of her wedding. Like teenagers everywhere, she can hardly think of anything else. If we suppose the wedding feast is still four or five months away, we can imagine all her thoughts center on the same things prospective brides think about today– THE GUEST LIST - THE DECORATIONS - THE FOOD - THE MUSIC - WHAT SHE WILL WEAR AND WHERE THEY WILL HOUSE THE PEOPLE COMING IN FROM OUT-OF-TOWN.
• Mary had never been happier
• This was the most exciting time of her life
• It is right at this point that God breaks in
• He is about to ask an unknown teenage girl to take part in something that is so shocking as to be totally unbelievable
• What God asks Mary to do will change her life forever
I wonder, how does Mary’s story speak to you this Advent season? In a few weeks from now, Christmas Sunday would seem rather odd if we did not hear from Mary. After all, there would be no Jesus and no Christmas without Mary. How amazing it is this young woman, no older than a teenager, would be the one God chose to change the world.
• Imagine her horror and surprise when she received the news
• What are you talking about, angel, calling me “favored one”
• Who me?!
• You must have the wrong person, Gabriel
• God would never choose me
How often have you heard those words come out of your own mouth? God would never choose me. I imagine there is more than one of us here who has thought if not said aloud those very words. God would never choose me. And why is that? What makes you less worthy to carry out the will of God? Well, this is precisely how Mary felt. She couldn’t believe what the angel was telling her because she could not accept her own worthiness.
• Say it isn’t so
• But it was so
• The angel said so
It didn’t take Mary very long to move from disbelief to belief. I know for sure I would have taken much longer to get to the place of acceptance. How amazing it is she ponders this news for such a short while and then tells the angel to count her in. She will do whatever it is God asks of her.
• She didn’t sleep on it
• She didn’t call her best friend
• She didn’t insist she run this past her mother or even better her fiancée
• She just accepts this incredible invitation and then waits to see what will happen next
• After all, there is nothing to fear
• The angel has promised that nothing shall be impossible with God
I believe there is a difference between “all things are possible,” and “nothing shall be impossible.”
• The angel did not say all things are possible
• What the angel did say was “nothing shall be impossible with God”
Many of us think in the language of impossibility. We think, I couldn’t possibly do that. However, the angel promises not only Mary, but all that believe that nothing shall be impossible with God.
• Things may seem impossible when I try to do them alone - but nothing is impossible with God
• The way may seem impossible to travel when I try to make the journey alone - but nothing is impossible with God
• How easy it is to forget this
• How easy it is to shut others out and see only darkness instead of the light, however dim, that will lead us where we need to go
Mary isn’t someone to look up to as the perfect example that we can never reach. Instead, when we see her step out in faith, we realize that we are called to the same kind of life-risking faith.
• Without faith Mary would not have accepted the words that Gabriel had for her
• She would have told God that she was too young or not ready
• She would have said no to God’s great plan for her life and Jesus wouldn’t have been born
• Think about that for a moment
• God relied on the faith of one woman, Mary, and because of her faith He was able to bring us His Son, Jesus
When we step out in faith, when we respond to God in the way Mary did, saying “MAY IT BE,” God is able to bring around great things in our world as well. It’s a strange thing, the way God works.
• He continually looks for ways to find faithful followers to work through
• He continues to call to people and ask them to step out in faith and move forward
• And when they do He then uses their faith to change the world, to save it
• He did it for Mary
• He saved the world through her
• And He can do it for us as well
Mary is such a powerful witness. She is considered by some to be the first disciple, the ultimate role model of faith. Did the narrative happen as we hear it today? We don’t know. Did she really agree so quickly and how long before the Holy Spirit came upon her and allowed her to conceive? I don’t know if Mary agreed that quickly or not, I am not sure of the space of time, but we know for sure, she agreed to this miracle.
Mary knew something almost instantly that we sometimes take much longer to discover. Even though she had agreed to do this miraculous thing, she knew she could not do it alone.
• She would have to get the courage to tell Joseph what had happened
• She would have to tell her family what was happening
• As she pondered these things in her heart she heard the angel’s promise, “NOTHING SHALL BE IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD”
We all need someone to be that non-anxious, loving presence as we make our way through uncharted territory. Before Mary was able to let others in on her news, she had Elizabeth. What a blessing it was to share the journey with her. Elizabeth, for so long unable to have a child, was also pregnant and would be Mary’s faithful companion along this mysterious journey.
• Mary had no idea what was happening to her
• But she agreed to allow God’s will to be done
• Let it be to me according to your word
• Not according to how she thought it ought to be done
• But as God intended for it to be done
• After all, if it were up to Mary, none of this would be happening
• She would be going about her business, quietly planning her wedding
• After all, she was not ready, she was not prepared for any of this
Remember with me, she had not yet married Joseph. She was, as we well know, a virgin. Therefore, it would take a miracle for any of this to happen, and a miracle is precisely what God promised. The Holy One would come into the world in the least expected way.
• Not as one born to Royalty - but to a simple young woman
• Not born in Luxury - but in a stall behind an Inn too full to accept the Mother of God
• Not surrounded by Family and Friends – but surrounded by lowly stable animals
In spite of all the impossible situations you and I have ever faced, I’m thinking the greatest “impossible!” of all time comes from today’s narrative. It is not difficult for us to identify with Mary’s initially incredulous response. God, you must have the wrong person. It cannot be me. But God insists that -
• You are the right person, the very person to do God’s will
• You are the one God needs
• You are the one God has chosen
• You are the one whom God will send
• You are the one to whom God will give courage and strength to do what you thought you were after all, unable to do
• Because nothing shall be impossible with God!
The angel does not only speak to Mary in her amazing situation. The angel speaks to each one of us who believe.
• When the impossible hits in our lives
• When that Impossible
• When that Unexpected
• When that Unbelievable thing impacts our lives
• When that Incredible event breaks our hearts and shatters our dreams
• The angel’s promise comes to us as well
• Nothing shall be impossible with God
DO YOU BELIEVE THE ANGEL SPEAKS TO YOU OR ARE THOSE SIMPLY WORDS FROM MARY’S STORY? When tragedy strikes our lives, when the ground beneath us shifts and threatens to swallow us whole, the promise of the angel rings quietly in our ear – “NOTHING SHALL BE IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD.” Even when the panic or dread threatens to sweep us away, the angel carries us to safety and reminds us again - NOTHING SHALL BE IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD.
There is a process with three steps that occurs in the Gospel narrative this morning. This process can help us on our own spiritual journeys. We’ve encountered two of these steps so far.
• FIRST - the impossible situation is named -- This is where most people give up
• This is where we throw up our hands in defeat or crash in despair
• This is a when we have not yet heard the angel’s promise or fail to believe it
• Then, we hear something, from the chaos, there comes a voice reassuring us - NOTHING SHALL BE IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD
First the impossible thing confronts us and like any normal human being we are frightened, or angry or depressed or any number of other emotions that are a natural part of this process. The SECOND step only happens, if we STOP and LISTEN for that still small voice within, we hear that unbelievable promise that nothing shall be impossible with God.
• We may dismiss it at first, wallowing a while in those feelings of despair
• However, the angel keeps whispering - nothing shall be impossible with God
THERE IS MORE TO THIS PROCESS THAN SIMPLY HEARING THE PROMISE. There is one final step that may be the most important of all. One more thing has to happen.
• This is not something God does, but something we do
• Something Mary did or there would have been no birth of the Christ child
• Something we need to do or there will be no birth of Christ within us
The THIRD step in the process of moving from the impossible to the miraculous is contained in Mary’s reaction to this news. Listen carefully to the response that ushered in the incredible miracle of the incarnation.
• She says, “HERE I AM, THE SERVANT OF THE LORD, LET IT BE WITH ME ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD”
• The key to this narrative is Mary’s belief
• It takes a willing spirit to hear the words of God
• It takes a believing heart to actually understand this to be Good News
In the week’s ahead, as we Start, Continue, or Finish all the HUSTLE and BUSTLING, the WRAPPING, the BAKING, the WORRYING and WONDERING, perhaps these words will be a special gift to you - NOTHING SHALL BE IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD. Perhaps this Holy Season we will like Mary say “WHATEVER IT IS YOU ARE ASKING OF ME LORD - HERE I AM THE SERVANT OF THE LORD, LET IT BE WITH ME ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD.” Even if this season is particularly difficult or challenging, allow yourself a moment of rest to hear these words again - NOTHING SHALL BE IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD.
WITHOUT EXAGGERATION, WE MAY CALL THIS ONE OF THE GREATEST STATEMENTS OF FAITH IN ALL THE BIBLE. We read it so often that we forget how great it really is.
I can only imagine it’s 2:00 in the afternoon, you’re 16 years old and very much in love. Your mom asks you go fetch some water to do the laundry and on your way to the well, you run into a man you’ve never seen before. He tells you that –
• You’re going to get pregnant
• You’re going to give birth to a son
• He’s going to be the Son of God
• When you ask how, he says, “Don’t worry about it. The Holy Spirit will cover you like a cloud and you’ll end up pregnant. That’s all there is to it.”
• What do you say to that?
Mary said Yes.
• Yes to God
• Yes to the Impossible
• Yes to the Plan of God
Did her heart skip a beat when she said Yes? There she is -
• Teen head tilted high
• Her hands trembling just a bit
• Wide-eyed
• Nervous
• Open-mouthed
• Questioning but not Afraid
• Wondering but not Terrified
• Unsure but not Uncertain
--When the angel said, “Nothing is impossible with God”
--Mary took a deep breath and said, “BE IT UNTO ME AS YOU HAVE SAID”
--And with those words -- CHRISTMAS CAME TO THE WORLD
--We thank God this morning for – Mary’s Side of the Story!
