"Two Miracles, Two Expecting”

In Jesus Holy Name December 19, 2021

Text: Luke 1:39,56 Redeemer

“Two Miracles, Two Expecting”

Some of you had the good fortune of attending a baby shower last Sunday after church. Baby showers are joyous occasions. Everyone celebrates the advent of the little one that will soon to enter our world. We rejoice with the mother, father and grandparents. Stories are told. And there will be laughter. (Idea from Rev. Mary Erickson Sermon Central 2018)

“Expecting” is the word we use when a woman is pregnant. “She’s expecting!” What exactly is she expecting? Joy, and so much more!!! Parents are expecting this new and unique creation. They’re expecting that there will be new duties thrust upon them as parents. They’re expecting a change in the balance of the family system. In short, they’re expecting their whole world to change. And then remembering their own past, I’m not sure they will look forward to the “teen” years to come. But a new baby usually blocks those future teen year thoughts out.

In today’s gospel reading, we encounter two expectant mothers-to-be. Elizabeth and Mary, both are both pregnant. To begin with, both of their pregnancies were a surprise.

Luke tells us that Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah were unable to have children. Which in Jewish culture meant people wondered why God was punishing them. Zechariah could have solved the problem by divorcing Elizabeth, a common practice in that day. But he did not divorce her. That speaks about his love for her. Both had endured the whispers in public settings and the looks of pity from the kind-hearted. His support was unwavering.

One day Zechariah is serving incense in the temple. Don’t pass by that little detail. Historians tell us there were perhaps 20,000 priests in Israel in the first century. They were organized into 24 divisions, each serving twice a year, one week at a time. The highest honor was to bring incense into the Holy Place where it would be sprinkled on the burning coals on the golden altar. It was such a high privilege that a priest would perform that ceremony once in his life.

This was Zechariah’s day. It was not an accident that his number came up. God had a surprise waiting. In that holy moment as he was burning the incense, an angel shows up. It had been 400 years since there had been an official word from the Lord. Gabriel shows up and makes a promise, but Zechariah doubted!

Six months later, Gabriel makes a visit to a teenage girl in Nazareth named Mary. He promised that she would become pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit. The angel surprised her suddenly making a series of incredible announcements (Luke 1:31-33):

• You will conceive and bear a son.

• You will call his name Jesus.

• He will be great.

• He will be called the Son of the Most High.

• He will rule over the house of Jacob forever.

• His kingdom will never end.

The angel adds two other facts:

• Remember how Elizabeth got pregnant.

• Nothing is impossible with God.

When the angel finished his announcement, Mary reaction was different. “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34) Later she said, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).

Zechariah wanted proof. Mary wanted understanding. Zechariah knew that young couples have children, old couples do not. Zechariah should have remembered His bible stories, especially the one of Abraham and Sarah. God knows what he is doing. The news was just so unexpected for both families.

Luke tells us that Mary went to visit her Aunt and Uncle in Bethlehem. We are not sure why Mary’s parents decided to have her visit her aunt Elizabeth, but we could guess the conversations. Maybe they were worried about what neighbors would think? More than likely Mary’s parents knew of the angel’s visit to Zechariah and Elizabeth. Whatever worries Mary’s parents had it was still a good idea to have her visit relatives in Bethlehem, the proposed marriage to Joseph was still a ways off.

God knows what he is doing, but Joseph did not. Once Joseph discovers the news that Mary is expecting he struggles with the decision to continue with the marriage or give her a divorce. It was then that Joseph was also surprised by the unexpected. He had a dream about Mary and her expectant child. He puts away the divorce papers and takes Mary as his wife.

From God’s point of view, history is His story, it is the record of God’s dealings with the human race.

Here’s the Reader’s Digest version of what history is all about. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. He then placed Adam and Eve on the earth and made them stewards over the whole planet. But when they disobeyed, they surrendered their stewardship into the hands of Satan, the fallen angel. From that day until this, the whole world has been the domain of Satan. Michael Heiser in his book “The Unseen Realm” notes: “The only perfect Being is God. This is why things could and did go wrong in the Garden of Eden.” (P. 59)