26In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32He 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. 33He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 35The 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 born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. 36And 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. 37For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38Then 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.
Crazy. Nothing about this story really makes any sense to me.
Now I should preface, I love the annunciation story as much as the next
person. It holds an essential place in the nativity story, and it has all
of the perfect nuances of a classic Biblical story. Angel sent by God to
an unsuspecting time, place, and person.
The familiar greeting of Do not fear, which usually precedes some
form of prophecy or proclamation that is typically considered “good”...at least
in the long run. There is the nod to the prophets of old and the
fulfillment of those prophecies. There is mention of God’s power and
presence. All of this not to mention Mary’s humble and beautiful model of
discipleship. I love the annunciation story and its place in the
narrative.
But when I really consider the story, and I’m honest with
myself….nothing about this story makes any sense to me. Especially if we
place ourselves within the moment of the story, unaware of the events that will
unfold in the next thirty years. As a fly on the wall, I have really hard
time comprehending this story. And maybe, I’m the only one.
I think at times we grow nostalgic with some of the Advent and
Christmas narratives. They’re constants in our liturgical lives and we depend on them.
That can lead us to become sentimental towards them and possibly
complacent with their complexities and scandal. Perhaps it’s worth it,
at least for moment this morning, to dwell with the...dare I say...absurdness
of it all.
For hundreds of years the prophets spoke of a Messiah. A great King of all kings and Lord of all lords. A mighty
ruler. The expectation, as you know, was that this king would enter the
world through royalty and extravagance. The savior would be raised in luxury
through a famous lineage and would one day rise up to become a great,
incomparable power. He would rule over all lands and restore Israel to
its proper stature and place.
And yet, it is to a small, somewhat off the grid, no-name town
called Nazareth that God sends God’s most prevalent angel Gabriel to initiate
God’s long-promised arrival in a king. And at that time, the angel’s
arrival and annunciation was so inconspicuous and simple that it defied all
expectations. Even more crazy, is that God finds favor in a teenage girl.
Ignoring the fact that she was unwed, she wasn’t even considering
procreation.
Can you imagine this unsuspecting girl having a conversation with
an angel, and the angel politely begins with “do not be afraid.” But
that’s a pretty blunt ice breaker because the next thing the angel says is you
will conceive God’s child, Jesus. Honestly, it’s a bit ridiculous to me.
And her response, can you image, her reaction is how can this
be...not when...but how. Conception was not in her immediate future.
And if we dig past their conversation and the annunciation itself,
it’s crazy to think that God...the creator of all things...the mighty one...the
alpha and omega, the great I am, would choose to become incarnate in a simple, unsuspecting town…born
among a poor family in an insignificant shelter….to grow up poor and
misunderstood. That’s not even considering the fact that God would become
incarnate in a world ravaged with violence and corruption. A world
darkened by sin and greed. It just doesn't seem like the setting, the
time, place, or location, that God would make God’s grand entrance. It just
doesn’t make sense that THIS is the way God would fulfill God’s long-expected promise
of a king. Can THIS really be God’s plan for salvation and redemption?
Yes...Of course on this side of the resurrection, we know that
yes, this is God’s plan for salvation. A small-town teenage
virgin girl, giving birth to God incarnate, the savior of all nations, just as
God promised I suppose. Crazy
One of the most remarkable aspects of this text, beyond God’s plan
for incarnation and salvation, is Mary’s humble and generous response. Her model of discipleship.
Throughout the history of the Jewish people in the old testament
there are numerous accounts of people interacting with an angel as a part of
God’s calling. There are a select few that oblige quickly with “here I am
Lord.” but the majority of these characters fight God’s call. They
question their ability or worthiness, they challenge God’s intention or plan,
the disagree or even disobey. But It is on the rare occasion that a
servant in God’s salvific plan humbly says yes. I am your servant.
My soul rejoices.
Mary is one of those characters, and many regard her above the
rest not only for her role in giving birth to God’s son, but for her joyous
consent to God’s salvific plan. “Here I am, the servant of my Lord, let
it be according to your will.” Crazy.
But ya know, as much as this text reveals the humble, servant
heart of Mary, it also reveals a lot about God. God chooses this moment in God’s history of
creation and salvation to enter the world. God chooses this small town in
this moment to initiate God’s plan of salvation for all people. God
chooses this young girl, in this small town in this moment to be the literal
bearer of good news to world desperate for hope. If we didn’t know
the ending then everything about God’s action in these stories would catch us
by surprise. Nothing about God’s choices in this girl, in this place,
and in this moment match any of the people’s expectation of God. In fact,
Jesus is will spend a significant part of his life showing, telling, convincing
people that he is the Messiah, that he is the one called for, that he is God
incarnate.
And if we can glean anything about God in this short passage,
perhaps it is that God acts counter to, or independent of our expectations.
Or better yet, and more simply, God acts. Since the Genesis of
creation, through the history of God’s people in Israel, and to the
annunciation of the Messiah until now...God acts. It might not always make sense to us, but God
acts. God acts with intention and purpose. God is present in God’s
action, whether through the Spirit, a pillar of fire, an angel Gabriel, or a
human being, God is present in God’s action.
And as the angel says, Nothing is impossible with God.
Nothing is impossible with God. Maybe that’s the truth worth
remembering in this whole thing. That in God, salvation is given, even
through a baby boy born to a virgin from a town called nazareth.
The good news today is that God loves us so much that God would
choose to live among us. God chose intentionally to enter the world in
the most expectation-shattering way.
God chose not to abandon us to our own sinful demise and
consequences but rather to live among us and challenge us into a new way of
life. God became incarnate in a no-name town, and a off-the-beaten-path
stable, to an unknown teenage girl to experience first-hand the world’s grief
and pain. God was born homeless and grew up poor and misunderstood.
God lived among God’s people to share in joy and sorrow. To
teach about healing and love. God in Jesus wept, rejoiced, lamented, felt
anguish, guilt, and grief. God loves the world so much that God even
experienced death in the world. I suppose I have a hard time making
sense of that too. Crazy.
Advent is a good reminder that God acts in favor of us in the most
incredible, not expectant ways. That God would break into a world full of
sin, corruption, greed, self-interest….all in a baby boy, born to a virgin,
from a town in Galilee called Nazareth.
Doesn’t make any sense...or maybe it does. Either way,
thanks be to God. Amen
© Pastor Daniel Locke, preached at St. Mark's Jacksonville, FL on 12.24.2017
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