Sunday, December 11, 2016

"A Mother's Faith" (Luke 1:26-38)


Introduction



I am overwhelmed by the beauty of this passage of scripture – my mind runs away with me with all the remarkable features we read here. Most particularly, where Mary ultimately says (Luke 1:38), “Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word”. A complete giving over of her life. Extraordinary! I am in awe of Mary, and the faith and commitment exhibited here. Considering all that had just been laid on Mary! I’m caused to think … how can I ever emulate this level of response and faith? Well, this same text gives us an answer … in two places. We’ll come back to this.



I think of ‘nuns’ who take special vows … into a life of prayer and service to God. I think of my own ordination to ministry, and the serious vows I took concerning God’s calling to mission and pastoral care. Yet, the bible teaches that all of us are under a calling, irrespective of our particular vocations and situations. God calls all the disciples of Jesus to witness, encourage, pray and care. How can we say, with genuine commitment, “Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word”?



The ‘Favoured One”



What sort of a person was Mary? The remarkable news, concerning a blessed baby, came to Mary completely out of thin air! Or did it? Was Mary the sort of person, even as a young girl (of maybe 12 or 13), that was, in some way at least, anticipating God’s activity in her life?! We read that “the angel Gabriel” called Mary “favoured one” (1:28). I think this indicates that Mary WASN’T just plucked out at random, but rather chosen … chosen on the basis of character, openness and readiness. God had to know that his Son would be in good hands. Even if she had no idea of the specific call upon her life, Mary seems to have been well-prepared for this angel’s visit.



At the same time, we see God’s hand in the fact that Jesus came into a very ordinary family, indicating God’s natural connection with the humble and poor (more so than the proud and powerful). And Jesus would not be born with pomp and ceremony, but rather quietly in a barn with the animals. Thus, we could consider Mary as the most appropriate woman alive to carry the Son of God. What if an angel appeared to us! Are we anticipating that God wants to work in our lives in very particular ways, and draw us into something significant? If we are anticipating this, then likely, when the day comes, we too are more ready to say, “Here I am, the servant of Lord; let it be with me according to your word” (1:38)! Could it be, given our particular personality and experiences, that we are most appropriate person for a certain task or ministry?



Yet, there was understandable concern for Mary … to work her way through (1:29). She was so young! What was happening to her dreams of a quiet life with Joseph? What does it mean to be a “favoured one”? Was this angel really saying what she thought she had heard? This would all be quite intimidating. Bearing a child who be a king! And, how could Mary be pregnant? Again, a natural question to have. Mary was only engaged to Joseph, and although fully and legally committed to one another, they had not begun to live together yet. The answer was that this would be a very unique one-off conception. This child Jesus would be conceived through the Holy Spirit, and be in reality God’s Son (1:35).



As this was a very special visitation, Mary was reassured that she should not be afraid (1:30). Yet, even the acceptance of this miracle birth was laden with threat. Mary would still be exposing herself to the possibility of the contempt and rejection of her community for having a baby out of wedlock, and even the legal penalty of stoning for alleged adultery; and for all she knows, the possibility of being dumped by Joseph. And, what was Joseph going to think about all this? [For the answer go to Matthew 1:18-25]. But there just seems to be a trust in God displayed here, Mary quickly believing that everything will be alright!



Mary’s life, which was of great value, was going to play out as God intended, because Mary exercised her freewill in the right way! Sometimes the hard thing to do, is actually the right thing to do! We should never, though, downplay Mary’s feelings as a mother, concerning all the implications of what the angel was saying. Surely such a role in the world as this, would be tremendously challenging for her son – she would feel for him in advance. As it turned out, Mary came to witness Jesus suffer more and more opposition to his ministry, leading to his eventual crucifixion. Mary did understandably waver at times about all this, but I think she was ably reassured.



Yet, her son's crucifixion was devastating – despite knowing who Jesus was, and what was being achieved. The burden of universal guilt laying upon one set of shoulders, must have been hard to watch. A mother likely only sees the pain and the torture, and has a keen sense of her own loss. Jesus himself apparently sensed his mother’s anguish, as he asked his disciple John to take Mary into his own household (John 19:26-27).



I think, that this young girl Mary, that we read about at the opening of the Gospel, already anticipated some of this heartache, and accepted God’s will wherever it would lead – “let it be with me according to your word” (1:38). So, Mary had not only anticipated God working in her life, but also that there would likely be some personal cost. In the midst of all this concern, Mary chose to accept any pain, inconvenience, false accusations or danger that came her way … in faith and commitment to her God.



The ‘Son of God’



But what about the upside! Her son Jesus, had been identified to her, by the angel, as the long-hoped-for Messiah (Luke 1:31-33). The very name Jesus means ‘salvation’. Jesus is really God’s Son! Jesus is the One who is rightly placed to take David’s throne over God’s people. Jesus would also become part of a family which had descended (through Joseph) from David, thereby fulfilling the Hebrew prophecies concerning the origin of the Messiah. Jesus will fulfil the promises made to the patriarchs, that God’s kingdom will stretch beyond the Jews deep into the Gentile world.



People of faith and insight like Mary, would have understood, that God’s Messiah would NOT have been that conquering hero (that so many had hoped would crush the Romans), but rather be the suffering servant that Isaiah spoke about so often. People don’t need a political liberator, so much as a spiritual liberator. [It is through spiritual liberation that we will more ably address society’s problems and rampant injustice]. The text makes it clear (for those ready to hear) that this was most assuredly God’s long-awaited anointed One (1:32-33) – so why did the people of the day largely reject Jesus??



The broken are likely to respond when Jesus comes to town. However, self-contented people don’t want to be challenged about their life.



What happens in our outer life is so much controlled and destined by what is happening on the inside. And on the inside we need a Saviour. So no wonder Jesus is so often rejected! Who wants to be confronted with the necessity of major change on the inside!?



In Isaiah 7:10-14, we read of King Ahaz, who only wanted to hear what he wanted to hear, not so much what God wanted to tell him. So given the opportunity, King Ahaz would rather not ask, than get the wrong (or non-preferred) answer for him. Ahaz should NOT put his trust in political alliances, but rather in “Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). Someone to wipe my problems aside … ‘that’s what I want’! No! Jesus came to do a work on our inside, so that we would be transformed inside-out toward doing His will. Then our new selves would see the problems and challenges around us in a new light. But you have to be ready for this.



The “Immanuel” – meaning ‘God is with Us’ – that King Ahaz heard about seven centuries earlier has turned up. The baby conceived in Mary is the Son of God; and given the name Jesus … he would save people from their sins. Jesus is still and will always be the Saviour of the World. This was God’s way of cleaning up our lives, and this is the grand provision that we celebrate at Christmas!





The Blessed Assurances



So in Mary’s predicament, or in any faith or commitment challenge that comes to us, what is the way forward … where is our reference point??



For Mary, she heard, right at the beginning, “The Lord is with you” (1:28b). Then as the particular calling upon Mary’s life was unveiled, and concerns or doubts were expressed, she heard that, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you” (1:35a). This is a reoccurring biblical reassurance, that wherever God’s people are given a challenge, there is the accompanying promise of God’s presence. When Jesus pointed his disciples toward the mission-field, he said to them, “And remember, I am with you always to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20b).



And just in case anyone remains unconvinced … that this is God bringing about the remarkable, and underwriting the whole process – we are given the example of Mary’s relative Elizabeth. This Elizabeth was elderly and believed to be “barren” (thus incapable of bearing a child), but here she was in the sixth month of her own pregnancy – a seemingly impossible outcome! Mary could, and did, check this out for herself; and found it to be true. Whether it be Mary, or the original readers of Luke’s Gospel, or us … the only conclusion possible, is that nothing will be impossible for God (the Creator of the universe and all life within) – 1:37.



The call to faith and commitment to God comes with assurances. Not ease, often the opposite. Not status, but rather service. Not comfort, more often inconvenience, and sometimes danger. But in all this, the assurance rings loud and clear, “The Lord is with you” (1:28b), and, “The Holy Spirit will … overshadow you” (1:35a).



Conclusion



Like Mary, we can have faith and commitment, because it will always be supported by the close and supportive presence of God. Mary’s experience of God in this scripture is so personal, so comforting, so affirming. May our experience of God be so personal, comforting and affirming! God is so close, he is like the clothes we wear next to our skin. God “overshadows” us, which suggests a complete covering of our lives and our movements.



In fact, so much of Mary’s experience here is as a faithful and open channel. God is actually doing it all! We live under “Divine agency”. When we talk about being an ‘agent’ or representative of Jesus, it is not as scary as it sounds! Jesus is not remote, but close by. It’s not like God is at a distance with a long-range remote-control. Rather, God dwells close and is right at hand.



There is something special about a God who enters into the reality of human life through the gateway of everyday birth, yet at the same time remains the God who can all-powerfully deal with all the tragedies and difficulties and brokenness in our lives … with transforming power. Jesus was able to understand and involve himself in human dilemmas, yet was also able to lift people up toward new possibilities. Happy Christmas indeed!

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