"saying 'yes' To God"

“Saying ‘Yes’ to God”

Luke 1:26-38

I am indebted to Mike Slaughter's Book: "Down to Earth" for directing me through this sermon.

Mary was a teenager when the angel Gabriel visited her, and more than likely, she was doing what most teenage girls in the first century would have been doing.

She was probably doing everything she could to help her family survive.

They were most likely poor, and so life was a bit of a struggle…

…not that it isn’t for many teenagers living in the 21st Century.

Kids have to deal with a lot.

In any case, it was in the middle of all this struggle to survive that Mary was visited by the Angel Gabriel.

And he brought her news that she was going to be pregnant, an unwed teenager, which could be a death sentence in her day, especially as someone who was already engaged to someone else.

The angel said to Mary, “Greetings, you who are highly favored!”

I’d imagine Mary didn’t feel highly favored with this news.

We call it good news, but for Mary it was difficult news, scary news that would be hard to accept.

Throughout our community, our church, and our world people are receiving all kinds of news that is causing fear and confusion—a medical diagnosis, a pink slip, divorce papers, a note from a teacher, a call that a loved one has died.

And it was in this kind of state of fear and confusion that Mary was facing in our Gospel Lesson on this Christmas morning.

She was a real-life teenager in the middle of a majorly challenging and stressful situation.

The angel said, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.

You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him 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 Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

“How will this be?” Mary asked the angel.

And right there in the middle of Mary’s mess, she realized that God was asking her a question: “Mary will you accept this calling?

Will you say yes?”

That moment gave Mary the opportunity to say “Yes” to God.

And it would change her life forever.

What do you suppose Mary was thinking?

I mean, she didn’t have the hindsight to see what a miracle this would be.

All she could see was what was right in front of her.

She was unwed, uneducated, poor, seemingly unimportant, insignificant and soon to be rejected by her family, her fiancé, her community.

As a matter of fact, she was risking her very life.

Mary didn’t face an easy decision.

Remember, even Mary was given free will.

She didn’t have to do what God was asking of her.

She didn’t have to hand her life, her very future—everything—quite literally everything over to God!

But she did.

She chose to say, “Yes.”

In verse 38 we are told that Mary said, “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.”

Wow.

Like Mary, some of us today might find ourselves struggling.

Like Mary, our lives might be a little scandalous.

Like Mary, we may be scared out of our minds and not know what to do next.

I think the first step is to ask ourselves, “Right here and right now, on this Christmas morning, what would it mean to say ‘Yes’ to God’s plan for our lives?”

Maybe you need to say “Yes” to your marriage; perhaps for years you have said to yourself, “If he would only do this, or if she would only do that.”

Maybe you’ve hesitated to fully invest yourself or your love in your spouse.

Maybe today is the day you finally make that commitment.

Maybe you are dealing with a lot of drama.

Perhaps you’ve allowed yourself to be pushed and pulled in all sorts of directions and today you are going to say “yes” to healthy boundaries.

Perhaps your faith journey has been on the rocks for a while.

Maybe you have drifted in your relationship with God and your dedication to God’s Church.

Perhaps today is the day you say

“yes” to intentionally rededicating your life to God’s service.

Whatever you are facing, saying “yes” to God won’t work if it is half-hearted.

Rather, it is allowing God’s gift of faith to take root in your life.

It is believing that God can do a miracle in your life and then aligning yourself with what God wants, not necessarily what you want.

God wants to do great things with all of our lives.

It may be hard to believe, but it’s true.