Angel Encounter: Fear not Mary
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We begin a series of messages this week considering the encounters between the main characters of the first Christmas.
It’s hard for us to look at the Christmas story the way it was for Mary and Joseph.
We see it as a point in history, but for them it was happening in real time. Right in front of them.
For us, we know Jesus as our Lord, but they only knew of promises for a Savior at some point in time in the future. That “future” just happened to be right then.
So when we read the story, we read about their fears and we usually read right through it as though it was nothing more than an interesting fact - a tidbit.
The reality is, I believe looking at these conversations and what they experienced as they got the news of Jesus’s birth and how it shaped their response will tell us much about our own response to what God may be calling us to today.
I say this because in the coming year, our church will consider new ministries, changes to existing ministries; our church will be faced with making difficult decisions. If you are a disciple of Jesus, in the coming days God will prompt you to move as well. Maybe not to a new town, but to a new posture with him, to a new relationship with your neighbor, to a new career, or maybe a new ministry in our community. All throughout scripture, God is on the move; and his people are called to follow him.
On Christmas Eve we will look at Joseph, next Sunday we will consider the shepherds, but this week we look at Mary, the mother of Jesus as the Gospel of Luke records it.
Invite folks to use the bible
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
Who was Mary?
Who was Mary?
Elizabeth’s pregnancy is discussed in the beginning of chapter 1. We will talk a little about that later; but here we have God sending an angel to Mary in a small outpost town Galilee… sort of like being sent to Langford or Pamona proper. She was engaged to marry Joseph. We will talk more about this on Christmas Eve, but for now just know that this was a formal normally year to 18 month engagement during which she lived with her family.
Mary was for centuries a major focus of the Christian faith - still is in the Catholic tradition, but since the Reformation, we Protestants have sort of ignored Mary; almost as an over correction of the problems we saw in the church at the time, we have left Mary as an extra character in the life of Jesus. But Mary is a central character to the life of Jesus, in fact we might say that she would have been a major source of Jesus’s way of living out the Spirit’s promptings. We will see that in today’s text.
It all began right here in today’s text as encountered the angel Gabriel.
28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” 29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.
When we first read this, our instinct is to think Mary was afraid of the angel. But it was more than that.
Angels had a reputation you see, they were messengers of God. Sometimes those messages were in words, other times they were in action… messages of judgement.
The passage tells us it wasn’t the messenger, it was the message that gave her anxiety. It was the message that led to her trouble and worry… fear.
You see it was in the way he addressed her in words that told her that God was about to use her in an amazing way -just like the great men of OT times.
Others who had heard this phrase “you are highly favored” “the Lord is with you”.
But was she like Moses? Daniel? Gideon?
But she was just a teenage girl. She wasn’t a mighty soldier or a renown prophet.
She was a no body from a no where town.
Who wouldn’t feel inadequate in this situation?
The truth is, it doesn’t really matter our situation. We all have a little fear when we sense God asking us to do something. Mary was no different.
Fear in what God asks of us
Fear in what God asks of us
My fear isn’t limited to God’s calling. I don’t know about how many of you struggle with this, but it is one of my biggest struggles… the internal conversation I have with myself when ever I am faced with change. I can’t… no I couldn’t.
For some people, this fear of inadequacy keeps them from moving, taking risks; for others, it drives them to over compensate… to always push the envelop. Same fear… two extremes depending on circumstances.
This is crazy but it’s real. We have a great Wednesday night thing going on thanks to some great volunteers… It all began with some of you who care about kids and our community wanting to meet and talk about what could be. We dreamed, we met, we prayed; and then we began to plan. We met over the spring and summer and back in October, it was time to start. I knew this was a big deal for us, a big risk, a big investment of volunteers.
Now, I can’t remember what it was but on Monday of that week, I remember having the thought… I don’t even know what sparked it, but it was loud and clear in my head,
“Don’t do this.”
“Don’t do this.”
You need to cancel Wednesday. You know it’s not going to work, you are going to get kids in here and you won’t have enough volunteers… or worse, you are going to get a ton of volunteers and no kids. Normal people don’t want to be a part of the church any more, if they did they would come on Sunday. This isn’t going to work, it will be better to cancel it than waste everyone’s time, money, and energy.
Some of you may be just now realizing that your pastor has issues. Welcome.
For a long time I believed these internal conversations. Then I realized where they came from, and ever since I have been able to keep them in a healthier perspective. For me, these internal voices come out of my believing failure is the worst thing that can happen. So, I had rather not make the attempt, at least that way I won’t fail.
Maybe it works that way for you as well… you are afraid to take a step forward for fear of failure… or maybe you find that fear of failure makes you an over achiever… it’s as though you are running from failure, looking to defeat it at every turn. Maybe both of these describe you depending on the circumstances; I bet that’s the case for most of us.
Too often we believe the “what ifs” more than we do anything else.
For Mary, the angel was there to address her fears.
The angel explains it right away
30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.
Gabriel continues:
31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
How is Mary going to live out this “God with you” life? you are going to deliver the Messiah.
Now Mary, up until this point was looking forward to her marriage to Joseph. She had been waiting for several months now. She was looking forward to being the mom to his children. But she also knew the prophecy that the Messiah would come from a miraculous birth… but she had never thought that she would be a part of it… not in her wildest dreams.
Sure she believed God could do whatever God wanted, but she just didn’t see herself as a part of God’s miraculous plan, so she asked a practical question:
34 Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”
How can this happen? That’s a good question when God is asking you to be a part of something that’s never happened before.
When our plans are different from God’s purpose, someone needs to change.
When our plans are different from God’s purpose, someone needs to change.
When our plans come into conflict with God’s purpose, someone has to change; who do you think that is going to be?
It’s very different from the way Zechariah responded earlier in teh Gospel of Luke.
We didn’t read it today, but Gabriel had appeard to another family a few months ago.
Zechariah was a priest, married to Mary’s cousin Elizabeth. they were both advance din age.... that’s old. Gabriel came and told him
13 But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.
Gabriel is talking about JTB. He describes his ministry for his father. What priest could dream of having a better son?
His response to Gabriel: In verse 18 we see “How can I be sure of this?”
He wants proof. This man of God wants proof that two old people are going to have a child.
His was a difficult miracle… Mary’s was absurdly impossible.
She trusted but didn’t understand… Zechariah understood, but wanted proof.
The result… Zechariah would be struck mute until the child was born, but not Mary. Mary who trusted in the promise of God through Gabriel would be blessed with clarity.
35 And the angel answered 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 called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”
37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”
Gabriel says… God’s going to do it Mary. I’m just here to tell you that God is about to use you to do something that will change the world.
Now if Gabriel had just told Mary that she was going to be the mom of the messiah and left, she would have been overwhelmed with figuring out how to do that, but Gabriel lets her off the hook. God’s going to do it.
That’s how God works in the lives of people who live to honor him.
I really don’t think God is hiding his way from us… usually the problem is, we try to figure out how to get God to do it our way.
How much easier it is to just let God do in us what God wants to do.
Illustrate: I remember one time I had a couple come to me and ask for help with their marriage problems. I listened to their problems. And frankly they were pretty normal. They asked, how do I get him to change? How do I get her to change?
I simply reminded them to love God and love each other in that order. It sounded simple, but loving and honoring God would produce the change they were both looking for.
God will do it.
Just a few weeks ago, we started this ministry to kids on Wednesday nights. We didn’t know how we would pay for dinner every week for 80-100 people. But we were sure that God had called us to have that as an important element of meeting real needs for people in our community. God has shown up again and again providing.
I was at a conference last week and a speaker was talking about being bold in following God’s call… he said
If it’s God’s will, it’s God’s bill.
If it’s God’s will, it’s God’s bill.
That is what Gabriel meant when he said:
37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”
God can do anything God wants to do. He isn’t limited to human biology, he’s not limited to earthly economics. God can do what I can’t
What is it that you can’t do? Can God?
Maybe you can’t make that change.... Can God?
You need healing, but you can’t heal, Can God Heal?
Maybe you need to restore a relationship, but you can’t.... Can God?
Seminary Story
What is it that God is asking to do with or through you?
What is it that God is asking to do with or through you?
Start something? go back to college - live a healthier life
Change something? career - down size your home -
Stop something? an unhealthy relationship - a destructive habit
As followers of Jesus, when he calls us to something, God is responsible for outcomes, we are responsible for obedience.
God is responsible for outcome, I’m responsible for obedience
God is responsible for outcome, I’m responsible for obedience
Our goal is to follow him. That’s all disciples are focused on. Not how comfortable our lives are.... but how close we are to Jesus.
Look at Mary’s response to what Gabriel asked of her:
38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
Go, remember who and whose you are - this Christmas and beyond.
Mary is alone in this story… but in vs 39 she leaves at once to go to her cousin who is also pregnant by way of a miracle. She went there for support as she was going to live out this new life.
As disciples we need support as well. Find someone. Ask me and I’ll help get you connected. This life of faith is not meant to be traveled alone.