A Personal Audience with God?
Advent 4b, Luke 1:26-38 with II Samuel 7:1-16 in b.g. (December 18, 2011)
Does God ever speak to you, ask you for anything?
You heard me correctly. I asked you, "Does God ever speak to you, asking you to do or say or give something of yourself to others for God?" These are important questions – not easily answered, for they require much more than words or even thoughts. These questions require obedience in our lives, risks, venturing often beyond our comfort zone.
We are somewhat familiar with Mary's story. But I wonder, just how familiar are we? Luke tells us that an angel was sent to Mary. We have our conceptions of angels – like some sort of winged creatures – ethereal, maybe even nice. I am not sure if any one of us truly knows what an angel looks like. But at their core angels are messengers of God. That's right – angels speak something from God to a person or to a group of people.
Think about that for a moment. Attempt to think about that from Mary's perspective. She very likely could have been 12-15 years old. She lived in a patriarchal society – that is a society completely and absolutely controlled by men. Mary's status was determined firstly by her father – and perhaps in a while by her soon to be husband. She didn't have any status, any earning power on her own. Her voice would not have mattered to the society outside of her home, her family.
On top of that for a woman to be pregnant who wasn't married was shameful – perhaps even punishable by death. At the very least if she became pregnant – and her fiancée Joseph wasn't the father – well what would he think? What would he do? Would he abandon her?
I want us to understand a little bit of what Mary's life was like.
Nevertheless God's messenger, Gabriel, comes to Mary – yes Mary, and greets her directly. We are allowed to listen in. "Greetings favoured one. The LORD IS WITH YOU!"
It's no small wonder that Mary is perplexed. A representative FROM GOD is speaking TO HER. What sort of greeting might this be? She ponders this, wondering about it.
What would you do – if you heard a message from God directed specifically to you?
The messenger doesn't stop there though – with this announcement that she is favoured, that God is with her. Oh no! That's only the beginning. The angel Gabriel proceeds.
The angel tells her in so many words that she is not to be afraid, that she has found favour with God. That may be like me telling those of you prone to worry, not to worry. Good luck with that. Then the angel continues with this incredible announcement. The gist of it is that Mary is to conceive a child and bear a son, and name him of all names, Jesus, which Mary knows means God saves, God delivers, God rescues. Not only that but the angel tells Mary that her son will be great and will be called GOD'S SON and will somehow REIGN FOREVER – that his power will never end.
Think about that. It all has to sound impossible to Mary. I mean on so many fronts – that she, Mary, would be the mother of some kind of king. That this king would reign forever. No king had ever reigned forever. And right now – her land was being reigned over by a foreign ruler, who was anything but nice. I suspect that Mary was continuing to ponder.
And this is exactly where I love her. She asks this messenger a question. She recovers long from her awe long enough to ask a logical question. "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"
Good question! The angel continues – with words and language – but they point beyond x's and o's, beyond 1 + 1 = 2. The angel points to God and God's Spirit. Do you remember the creation accounts? The Spirit of God moves over the face of the deep and God speaks. In that act new life, new creation comes into being. There's some of that here – the Spirit of God will come upon her and overshadow her and the child to be born will be holy – that is set apart, of God. And then (TAKE A DEEP BREATH) he will be the Son of God."
I suspect Mary is doing more pondering. But Gabriel is not aloof to her pondering. He gives her a sign, something she can hold onto for a moment anyway. He tells her of her relative Elizabeth – who is old and past child bearing age. Elizabeth who had so wanted a child – but had never been blessed with one. Well, Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah, that old priest, are now pregnant. In fact Elizabeth is in the 6th month of her pregnancy.... Then Gabriel makes a bold statement. "For nothing will be impossible with God." .... WOWSERS.
Perhaps Mary was silent for a long time. The text doesn't give us time frames. But eventually she is moved to speak. Her words humble me. They are great news. At the same time they are humbling for any who would question God's activity, resisting it, questioning its ultimacy. Do we now hear Mary's response to Gabriel's declarations? "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." .... And Gabriel leaves her.
So I ask you, do you ever hear God speaking to you? We may think or feel that it would be impossible. I mean who are we? We are just common, ordinary people. We are people who struggle with loving ourselves, who often don't love others – who often forget to pray. I mean when was the last time you even opened the Bible? We may think, we may feel, what gifts do we have that God would be interested in?
But my goodness people SEE MARY. Talk about common, ordinary. She had limited if any education. She very likely couldn't read or write. She had no savings, no financial influence. She had little or absolutely no status in her community. And she was too young to have had a lot of experience in the ways of the world. Comparatively speaking, many of us are more experienced, more talented, have way more wealth and education.
But GOD CHOOSES MARY! Let me say that again. God chooses Mary to be the mother of God's only Son. And just as miraculously, Mary embraces God's choice. She doesn't complain. After much pondering and struggle (which I suspect was only the beginning of much more pondering, struggle and heartache) she says, "Here am I, the servant (another word for slave or handmaiden, waitress) of the Lord. Let it be with me according to your word.
Make no mistake people, Mary could have no idea what she was getting herself into – or more correctly what God was directing her to. Nevertheless, we are among the countless billions who have been so richly blessed by Mary's giving of herself to and for her Son, God's Son, the One who comes to earth to challenge and ultimately defeat death and evil, by giving himself over to them.
So let me ask you again. Does God ever speak to you? The messenger may take many forms – maybe even once in a while a person dressed in a white dress. Or that messenger may be another person, a plane burning on a roadway, a lonely or hungry person, an employee or employer or friend. I mean God isn't limited in the way God speaks.
But it is important for us to listen to and for God. As we listen it is important by the grace of God, to say YES to God. For who knows? Mary couldn't have begun to comprehend what God was about to do in and through her. And maybe , just maybe we may not be able to comprehend what God is about to do through us. To be sure, it isn't necessarily on the grand scale of sending a saviour for the world. But who knows God may work through us, to save, to deliver, to bring hope to just one other person, just one other creature.
May God help us in the midst of our unknowns, our fears, our anxieties, our doubts, our anger to listen for, to hear God. When God speaks, as God speaks even now, may we like Mary be moved to say and do, "Here am I. Let it be with me according to your word". Amen.