Luke 1:26-38, 46-55
26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”b 29 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”c 35 The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be bornd will be holy; he will be called Son of God. 36 And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”38 Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50 His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. 52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; 53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. 54 He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
56 And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.
Conversation
There is a book titled “Five Women of the Bible”
Can any one name the five women? (Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba-the wife of Uriah, Joseph’s wife Mary)
Does anyone know what they have in common? (genealogy, women who were talked about in less than flattering ways)
Sermon
“Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”
This year as in every year…we hear these words and they comfort us. Again this year in many places… the Christmas Pageant will once again be acted out. At the beginning of it the Angel will appear with the announcement that Mary will have a baby…who will be called the Son of God.
We like Mary and we like reading this story of how the Angel Gabriel appears to her saying; “Greetings favored one.” In our mind we see a beautiful picture of the holy young girl looking up with worshipful eyes listening with intent. We see her in complete agreement and completely happy with what she is being told…and with what will happen. And we think to our selves; “What a wonderful announcement she has just received. Isn’t she fortunate?”
We are so caught up in the wonder and beauty of the picture that we don’t see any pitfalls or difficulties that this announcement means for her. To think about her story more deeply…it must be brought closer to home…than it is in our minds. It is more accurate to think of it in the terms of any young single daughter coming to her parents with Mary’s news… or to think about her explaining her condition to the curious eyes of her neighborhood who all know that she is not yet married. After all she comes from the small town ofNazarethwhere everyone knows everyone else’s business.
During the last few weeks we have been following the shocking developments of the Shafia trial in… which four female members of the family were supposedly murdered by the male members of the family. The murders have been described as honor killings. The daughters apparently brought dishonor and shame to the family. They wanted to pursue their own interests and had different tastes in clothing. They went out with boys their father did not approve of. For this family men’s honor is more important their feelings of love for their children or their sisters… In their family to preserve their honor the father and brothers severely punish to the point of killing. It is hard for us to imagine how a father could think of anything so horrific.
However, while we quickly judge these crimes and the perpetrators harshly…we also know how we react to the rumor-mill of similar stories… We also know the part of Mary’s story… when she leaves her home for three or four month because of her condition. We have been the prying eyes and the loose lips which have taken notice and have passed the stories along. We have argued with our own children over sometimes important issues and sometime trivial matters. Most importantly… we remember having to explain to our parents or to those watching…about the things we have done or appear to have done. Based on how our teachers or parent reacted…we have a good idea about how well our excuses work…when all the evidence contradicts our explanations.
Today Mary is caught in a similar perplexing predicament because of finding favor with God. It is hard not to be afraid when the evidence will certainly contradict her explanation about how her pregnancy became a reality. A young maiden’s story about Gabriel, the Holy Spirit, and the power of the Most High overshadowing her can only seem like a wild imaginary tale. Gabriel seems oblivious of her pondering and perplexing concerns. To Mary’s question; “How can this be, since I am still a virgin?” …Gabriel just explains that her baby will come from the Holy Spirit. He gives her no strategies for answering the inevitable questions from the neighbors, her parents, or from her betrothed. He just tells her that she has found favor with God…she will have a baby…because nothing is impossible with God. And all the explanations for her family…Mary will have to handle herself. And she handles it in the age old way. She leavesNazareth and goes to visit her relativeElizabeth.
When Mary has a few moments to reflect on her situation…her spirit rejoices and her soul magnifies the Lord. Mary is filled with wonder because God has chosen her…a young maiden who has done nothing to earn the Lord’s favor… In singing about God’s mercy and blessings she sees herself…a lowly and unimportant person. She sings; God brings the powerful down and lifts up the lowly. God sends the rich away empty and feeds the hungry. In her song it seems that God finds favor and blesses the ones which don’t expect it… And to those who believe that they are important and powerful…and who assume that because of their importance automatically causes God’s blessings… are instead sent away empty.
In the words of her short song…lowly Mary describes our God more clearly than the most educated and gifted theologians have ever been able. Her description of God’s world…appears completely upside down from what we expect. What our world expects…is that the important and the powerful will find favor and will be blessed by God. What we expect is that the poor will be criticized for not working hard enough and contributing their share…who are tossed aside by the rich. What we expect is that the powerful will demand respect and obedience and will have many servants who serve them… This past year we have seen how the powerful…leader after leader…consider themselves as important and blessed… They have expected to be served by the masses…by the army…even by the rest of the world.
But God’ world is very different. In God’s world… everything begins with God’s mercy and favor…and it does not need to be earned. It is unconditional and it lasts from generation to generation. In God’s world the ones who are poor and least important are most important. God lifts them up…. In God’s world the savior come to save the lowest and the least. Ultimately in God’s world God becomes the servant serving the lowly… Jesus the Son of God comes not to be served but to serve. Jesus the Son of God goes to the cross to save to lowest… the ones who have nothing to give…the ones who cannot earn salvation.
As God does great things for Mary…God also does great things for us… God makes promises to us in our baptism that we will always be important regardless of our estate. Through Jesus…God is our salvation … God has shown us mercy from generation to generation…making us part of God’s family.
Therefore let us remember God’s promises which are from generation to generation… Because we have found favor with God…let us rejoice and magnify God’s name. Let us see God’s mercy and blessings and always be thankful for them. Let always remember the great things that God does for us. Then as blessed children of God let us go out to proclaiming good news about God’s favor and blessing which is for all people who hunger for it. Let us go into the community showing in our words and in our actions all that we know of and are truly thankful for God’s blessings. Thanks be to God. Amen
