AM sermon preached at Central Christian Church December 11, 2005
Touched By An Angel sermon series #1 “Mary, I Guess You Did Know…”
Luke 1:26-48
What do you think of when you first hear the word angel? [ANGEL SLIDE 1] Do you think of a heavenly being with large feathery wings sitting around on a cloud playing a harp or flute? [ANGEL SLIDE 2] Do you think of the bumbling lovable Clarence Oddbody from the movie It’s a Wonderful Life with his AS2 ranking and hopes to get his wings? [ANGEL SLIDE 3] Do you think of a guardian angel keeping watch over a child? [ANGEL SLIDE 4] Do you think of cute chubby gentle looking at times almost naked baby cherubs or [ANGEL SLIDE 5] do you think of menacing awesome sword bearing powerful creatures? About that video clip we watched ---I can honestly say that while I like the biblical accuracy of it--- I had never before thought of the possibility of that angels might have a fro thing going on. The hair on that angel in the clip was something else, wasn’t it?
[SERMON SERIES SLIDE….NOTE---IT WILL MOVE AHEAD AUTOMATICALLY TO TITLE SLIDE]
Today I’m beginning a Christmas sermon series called touched by and angel. And I want you to know upfront that the focus of this series is not going to be on angels. Sure I’ll be talking a little about them and you may learn something new about them along the way---but as we journey together through some of the events surrounding the birth of Jesus and as we look at some of the people involved in those things--- my intention will be to keep Jesus at the center of things.
If you listen to Christmas music on the radio then you’ve probably heard the song titled “Mary did you know?” And I guess in light of the fact Mary had an angel announce to her that her child would be the Son of the Most High we’d have to say---Mary I guess you did know…
Instead of rereading the scripture passage which was narrated on the video we watched, I want us to pick up Mary’s story where the video left off. The Bible tells us that after the angel left Mary, she went to pay Elizabeth a visit. Here’s what we read in Luke chapter one beginning at verse 39
39At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"
46And Mary said:
"My soul glorifies the Lord
47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
50His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
51He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
54He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
55to Abraham and his descendants forever,
even as he said to our fathers."
56Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home. [BLANK SLIDE]
Joseph who had thought about divorcing Mary because he assumed she had been unfaithful to him is also visited by an angel. We’ll be looking at that angelic visit next week. For now I’ll just simply say that the angel that visited Joseph set him straight about Mary’s pregnancy. So Mary becomes Joseph’s wife---then there’s that trip to Bethlehem mandated by the census the government decided to take. Mary gives birth to Jesus while they’re in Bethlehem---and that very night shepherds show up gawking---they talk about angels appearing to them and tell what the angels said about the baby Mary had given birth to. It was indeed a special night filled with wonderful awesome moments. And Luke 2:19 records Mary’s response to the birth of Jesus and the shepherds visit this way, “Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”
Mary’s story is incredible and her openness to the will of God and the ways God used her really challenges us today. I see in Mary’s example a challenge to believe that nothing is impossible for God. [FIRST SERMON POINT SLIDE – BELIEVE…]
Mary received a pretty outrageous announcement from Gabriel. In fact, Mary was the first one to question the idea of virgin birth. “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered by telling Mary that things which are humanly impossible are not beyond the bounds of God’s power. In fact, Gabriel reported to Mary that nothing is impossible for God. And Mary believed that too and she went on to say, “I am the Lord’s servant, may it be to me as you have said.” We also read how when she visited Elizabeth—Elizabeth said to her “Blessed is she who has believed what the Lord has said to her would be accomplished.”
Believe that nothing is impossible for God. That’s a faith lesson we need to grasp not only in terms of the huge and awesome, but maybe even more so in terms of our everyday struggles and living. Many of us who have come to accept that God created the universe and that he sent Jesus to be our Savior have difficulty trusting in God’s power to see us through some of our day to day situations. Can God help you forgive someone who has wronged you and to this day has not admitted it? Yes, He can. Can God help you deal with a difficult work situation? A rebellious child? An uncaring parent? Yes, He can. Can God give you the strength you need to face the loss of a mate or child? To overcome chemical dependency? to rise above an abusive situation? The answer to all those questions is “yes, He can!” Nothing is impossible for God. What God decides to do, what God wants to do, He can do. Mary’s reply to the angel reminds us of this truth and challenges us to believe it and live by it.
[SECOND SERMON POINT SLIDE – BE OPEN-MINDED...]
Mary’s example also challenges us to be open-minded to God’s call to service. In agreeing to bear God’s Son, Mary accepted a very difficult, demanding and risky area of service. Mary was a virgin pledged to be married to Joseph. Mary knew when she agreed to bear Jesus that she’d have some tough assignments in front of her. Of course there were the hassles of pregnancy, the inevitable pain of childbirth and the demands of parenting ahead of her but long before those things would be occurring Mary would have to deal with Joseph. Mary knew that according to first century Jewish law when Joseph learned of her pregnancy he could have her stoned to death for being unfaithful to him. Mary knew the risks and demands, and she was willing to accept them.
Commedian Mark Lowry comments Mary was the first person to carry the gospel. And folks she did it willfully and joyfully. I’m sure Mary had never given thought to bearing God’s Son before Gabriel’s visit. And when Gabriel told her what was up---Mary didn’t immediately slam the door to the opportunity because it wasn’t anything she had ever before thought about doing. No Mary remained open-minded to God’s call to service and so should we.
You and I have also been called to carry the gospel, only for us carrying the gospel has nothing to do with pregnancy; it has everything to do with telling others about Jesus. What a shame it is that many people carry the gospel grudgingly and reluctantly rather than willingly and joyfully. The truth is God is still calling people into service today. He may throw something at us that we never thought about before or even that seems a little off the wall…He may put before us a vision for greater than we’d ever thought about… He may call upon you to become an overseas missionary after retirement… He may speak to your heart about being more involved with the ministries of Central now… He may encourage you to branch out and serve Him in a totally new way…doing something you never thought about doing before… starting a ministry with Aids patients, providing free transportation to the needy, teaching in our children’s church… the question is not---will God call on me to serve Him---because He will--- No the question is when God calls will you be open-minded to whatever it is He’s wanting you to do?
[THIRD SERMON POINT SLIDE – KEEP…]
I find in Mary’s example a challenge to keep ourselves off the pedestal and to magnify and lift up the name of Jesus. The challenge to remain humble servants whose hearts and mouths are filled with God’s praises. When Mary entered the home of Elizabeth, the baby in Elizabeth’s womb, whom we know to be John the Baptist, jumped for joy. Elizabeth then began to pay Mary all kinds of compliments. And Mary could have quickly got the big head; but she didn’t. She remained humble. She didn’t want Elizabeth or anyone else to put her on a pedestal. In fact I think she’d abhor the idea of anyone ever praying to her although millions today do. After all, you see, the baby she was giving birth to was going to be her Savior. So instead of making a big deal about being specially chosen from among all the other women and being blessed beyond others, Mary turned the focus back on God. She began recalling a number of things God had done in the past and she praised Him. Mary in reaction to Elizabeth’s glowing comments seemed to be saying---keep me off the pedestal. Exalt the Lord. Don’t praise me, praise Him!
You know friends, in our lives there will no doubt be times when we will enjoy some success and we’ll be tempted to bask in the praises and glowing remarks sent our way---however since God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble, we need to make sure we stay off the pedestal. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:31 “whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” The baby Elizabeth gave birth to in her old age, John the Baptist, had the right attitude---when someone started talking to him about Jesus, he humbly remarked that Jesus must increase and he himself must decrease.
[FOURTH SERMON POINT SLIDE – SHARE…]
And lastly I see Mary’s example challenging us to share the joy of this moment with God.
Have you ever done the wrapping thing where you hide a small package inside a whole bunch of larger wrapped boxes? I remember a Christmas where I did that to Lori’s little sister, Kim. I don’t remember how many boxes I wrapped around the smallest box, just that it was several—and I remember that I went so far as to not even put her present in the smallest box. Instead a put a note in the smallest box. The note revealed where I had hidden her unwrapped present. I remember during the process how Lori’s sister grew more and more frustrated as she opened box after box without finding her gift. She stuck in there though and eventually got around to receiving her gift.
Sometimes we too deal with growing frustration because we see others around us who apparently got their gift at the first unwrapping when we didn’t. We go to bed anticipating the dawn of the next day to bring good things only to find that while people in Florida are on the beach enjoying 75 degree weather---we’re going to be late heading off to work because we have to scrape a layer of ice off our windshield in 20 degree weather. Or maybe the thing that hits us first thing in the morning is a family problem, an illness, a phone call with some bad news, a clogged toilet or burnt toast. And then we go and allow that frustration to bog us down and we begin to develop a sour attitude. We then proceed to carry our disappointment around with us---and we began moping about---or we start whining. Sometimes we let the internal pressure grow and grow to the point that we need to pity the next person whose path crosses our own because we’re going to let them have it. Do you know what I think God wants to say to us in times like that? I think He wants to say, “You keep unwrapping and unwrapping and coming up empty. But you don’t have to. There’s a gift for you in this day. I’ve not disguised it or hidden it. The problem isn’t with the gift. The problem is that you’re looking in all the wrong places and you’re focused on the wrong things.”
Someone has said, “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is mystery, today is a gift---that’s why we call it the present.” But all too often we miss out on the gift of today because we have become so stressed out about tomorrow or because we’re so hung up on yesterday. A cartoon in New Yorker magazine showed this business executive standing behind his desk with a scowl on his face. He was reading a memo from his secretary which stated, “While you were out, Mongol hordes swept across Asia, Dempsey knocked out Firpo, the cow jumped over the moon, Sherman took Atlanta, VanderMeer pitched two no-hitters and Rock and Roll was born.” Have you ever felt like that frustrated businessman in that cartoon? Have you every felt that everything happens when you’re not looking and that life’s best and most exciting moments have somehow slipped through your fingers?
John Lennon once said, “Life is what’s happening while we’re busy making other plans.” You know friends, I believe we ought to give serious thought to tomorrow, after all the gospel message is greatly concerned with where we will spend our future---yes, we should give serious thought to tomorrow----but let’s not worry or fret over it. And let’s be careful not to become so absorbed in what may or may not happen tomorrow that we disassociate ourselves from today. We need to do more living in the moment. We need to learn to enjoy this moment. Life’s what’s happen---Lennon said---while we’re busy making other plans. Think about it---while we’re busy making other plans our kids our growing up---while we’re busy making other plans people we love are growing older, they’re moving away, they’re dying---while we’re making plans our bodies are getting out of shape and our dreams are getting further and further out of reach.
You know Mary could have got so hung up over the future or for that matter she could have gotten so hung up on the past that she missed the blessings of the present, but she didn’t. As moment after wonderful moment unfolded before Mary, Luke reports that she treasured them and pondered them in her heart. There are moments right now that we should be living, treasuring, sharing joyfully with God.
After Elizabeth greeted Mary so warmly ---and after she finished piling on the compliments---Mary waxed poetic or began to sing about the moment claiming “my soul rejoices.” …. Listen we choose to sing or curse. We chose to sit along the wall or get out on the floor and dance. We choose to spend our time unwrapping the emptiness or enjoying the blessings and gifts God places before us.
Mary knew how to share the joy of this moment with God. So did the resident of a state run nursing home which Tom Schmidt describes meeting on a Mother’s Day several years ago……. [BLANK SLIDE]
Close with Mabel illustration……..
[INVITATION HYMN SLIDES FOLLOW ILLUSTRATION]
NOTE TO THOSE WHO READ AND OR CHOOSE TO MAKE USE OF ANY OR ALL OF THIS SERMON: I am sharing this sermon with the hopes it will be an encouragement to others. I know that coming up with new Christmas sermons every year can be difficult! I apologize for any blatant typing errors---I debated submitting the Christmas sermons I have this year because I have not taken the time to edit them. However, I decided that more people will find them helpful at this time than at other times of the year. So, there you go…. I try to give credit where credit is due, noting writers and or sources to the best of my ability. I have for years been drawing from a wealth of sources including this website. I recognize that my mind and writing processes are fallible. I may occasionally fail to properly identify a source. Please do not take offense if you see anything of this nature. I never intend to plagiarize. Having said that I want you to feel free to draw from my message. When appropriate I hope you will give credit as I do. But most of all I hope Christ will be lifted up and God will receive the glory in all things.
