December 9, 2018 Advent 2C

This year’s Advent and Christmas and Epiphany season sermon theme is “At the Manger.” We will look at the people and the actions that happen at the manger where Jesus was born. We will go to the manger and see Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the Shepherds, the Angels, the Wisemen and ourselves. But today we will see Mary who laid Jesus in that manger at Bethlehem.

However, Mary’s story begins in her hometown of Nazareth, a small village in the northern province of Galilee. As far as we can know, she was just an ordinary young woman who was engaged to marry Joseph. Of all the countries in the world, why Israel? Of all the towns in Israel, why Nazareth? Of all the young women in the world, in Israel, in Nazareth, why Mary? We are not told, but I think that maybe it was because she was engaged to Joseph, so that her child would be legally registered as his child. Joseph was a descendent of King David and so Jesus would be legally registered as a descendent of King David whose town was Bethlehem. We will talk more about Joseph next week.

Luke 1:26-39
LK 1:26 In the sixth month, 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. 28 The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
LK 1:29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name 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 the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
LK 1:34 "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
LK 1:35 The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. 37 For nothing is impossible with God."
LK 1:38 "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.
LK 1:39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"

The most wonderful thing about Mary is when she accepted the mission given to her by God. She said, LK 1:38 "I am the Lord's servant, may it be to me as you have said." These are words of faith and trust. She had been given an impossible mission, to become with child without a human father. We call that the “virgin birth.” It is impossible and Mary knew that. And yet she believed and trusted the word of angel and agreed.

Now if it were me and an angel gave me a mission that I knew to be impossible, I would have laughed like Abraham’s wife Sara. If it were impossible, then I would not want to do something I thought foolish. I would be afraid of the work. I would want to reject the task. For example, if I were told to “start a new church out in the countryside of Japan where everyone is Buddhist.” I know that I could not do that. I do not have the skills nor wisdom nor the patience. For me it would be impossible. When Mary thought it would be impossible, the Angel said, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” And this is the key that we all must learn. If it is the Lord’s work, then the Lord will be doing the work. If it is the Lord’s work, then the Lord will give me and you the skills or resources to do his work. Furthermore, the Angel said the words that sum it all up, “37 For nothing is impossible with God.”

Mary said, “1:38 I am the Lord's servant, may it be to me as you have said.” Mary seems to accept her task without any hesitation. Not me. Not some of the other men and women in the Bible. Look at Jonah. He got on a ship that was headed for the other side of the Mediterranean Sea. And God did the impossible. He sent a large fish to swallow him and bring him safely to the place in Nineveh where God had sent him to proclaim the Word of the Lord. Jonah could not escape the will of God. I realize I cannot either. So, I give in and let God’s will be my will. T

hen we remember Jesus who also had a humanly impossible task given to him by God his Father. That task was to take the sin of the world upon himself, to suffer and to die for that sin. If he had wanted to, he could have escaped, but he followed the Will of God his Father. To die is human; to rise on the third day is humanly impossible. But as the Angel said, “nothing is impossible with God” and Jesus did rise again, proof that sin was forgiven: proof that resurrection on the Last Day is possible through Jesus Christ our Savior.

After the Annunciation by the Angel, the next scene with Mary is at the home of Elizabeth who is pregnant with John the Baptist. I love this story. She entered Zechariah’s home and said, “Shalom, hello, Elizabeth.” And without Mary saying another word, Elizabeth knew everything about Mary and her Child because Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She knew that Mary was carrying the Christchild. She said, “43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.” The expression “mother of my Lord” means that Elizabeth knew that Jesus was the Messiah, her Lord. The birth of the Messiah meant the fulfillment of the promises of God. It meant salvation and peace. And that is why Elizabeth was happy and even the yet unborn John the Baptist was filled with joy that made him leap as if dancing for joy. And so through the words of Elizabeth, the words of the Angel were made more sure. Mary’s faith was affirmed and confirmed.

Then at the manger, Mary laid her child. And we have received the invitation to come and worship him.

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church

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