For God so Loved...

Love Motivates

For as much life as most of us have been through I am sure we can all think of a time that love motivated us to do something that seemed hard, full of trials, or even impossible.

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Today on the fourth Sunday of Advent 5 days before Christmas we hear the grand announcement of the Angel Gabriel to Mary, that our long expected Jesus is coming into the world. Sometimes overlooked in this grand announcement are the hardships, trials and impossibilities that Mary will face as she carries and bears Emmanuel, God with us, into the world. Despite the hardships, and trials Mary’s response to Gabriel is “I am the Lord’s servant...” Why? Because of love.

Today we are going to see how God’s love for the world motivated him to choose Mary to send his one and only son into the world. We’ll see how Mary the recipient of God’s love responds to the work of the Holy Spirit growing in her, and ultimately we’ll see how decisions based on love have made the impossible possible because nothing is impossible with God. How do we the church respond to the love of God, and how do I, you respond individually to God’s gift of love? How are you like Mary carrying the work of the Holy Spirit in you, to others?

Love’s Chain Reaction

MARY what do we know about Mary? We know Mary was engaged to Joseph. Matthew’s gospel covers his encounter with the news Gabriel shares with Mary.

-We know from today’s passage that Mary is the object of God’s love and grace. Greek word translated favor is the same word that is commonly translated grace.

Luke doesn’t tell us much about Mary. Yet he spends lots of time explaining Zechariah and Elizabeth John’s parents and even spends more time introducing Joseph than Mary. All we get about Mary from Luke is that she was a young girl engaged to be married. There is nothing special about Mary, and that is the point God extends his love and grace to ordinary everyday people, because he is God. Mary didn’t do anything to earn God’s love and grace God freely gave it to her.

*What the Angel tells Mary

*It is wonderful news

*It is news full of hardships and trials for Mary, for Joseph and ultimately for Jesus himself.

-Mary’s marriage is on the line.

-Mary risks becoming a family embarrassment. Being pregnant outside of marriage was frowned upon then as well. We can see this from her 3 months she spent with Elizabeth and Zechariah.

-Mary risks being shunned, avoided and rejected in the community. People would find her virgin birth story hard or more likely impossible to believe, branding her with a scarlet letter much like the one the woman at the well carries from John chapter 4.

*Mary’s Response

*I am the Lord’s servant...

-Despite the hardships, labels and humiliation that certainly awaited her, Mary, because of God’s love and grace that has been extended to her, her only response is I am the Lord’s servant let it be as you said. Another way to put this is not my will but yours be done. Experiencing God’s love, grace, and favor, Mary could only respond favorably.

The love of God for Mary, and Mary’s love for God started a chain reaction that makes the impossible possible. Because of Mary’s response the work of the Holy Spirit began in her and grew to completion. Because of the hardships, trials and sacrifice of Jesus Christ that same work can begin in us. How have you responded to the love, grace and favor God has extended to you?

For God so Loved the world

John 3:16–17 NLT

16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

Romans 6:23 NLT

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Alleluia because of God’s unfailing love and faithfulness for the world he created he embraced the hardship of our humanity, he embraced the hardship of sacrificing his one and only son, that you and I can have the work of the Holy Spirit growing in us! While we are not physically pregnant like Mary we still carry the work of Christ to others, the chain reaction of love started by God, growing in Mary, completed in Christ, continuing in you through the work of the Holy Spirit.

In Emmanuel God with us we see how God extends love, grace and favor to common, ordinary, everyday people. How do you respond to that love?

Love embraces the will of God despite hardships. Love carries the work of the Holy Spirit within amidst trials, hardships, even ridicule. We find ourselves this Christmas to be playing the part of Mary of carrying Jesus Christ, the free gift of God, to the world. May we the church and individually respond like Mary, “We are the Lord’s servant, not my will but yours be done.” Let us be a people that continue God’s chain reaction of love and invite others to join in the work of the Holy Spirit.