December 18, 2005

(Jimmie Johnson)

Luke 1:26-38

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He 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. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The 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. And 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. For nothing will be impossible with God.” Then 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.

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Most of us struggle to believe that God would have any interest in using us to partner with God to do something important. We have issues of worthiness, questions about our ability, perhaps our past, and our doubts. We assume we aren’t the type God would prefer. This is the point where Mother Mary can help us. She has no idea that God would be interested in using her. She has no thought of being involved in anything truly extraordinary, much less Holy.

So when she hears the message of the angel, she is stunned by the impossibility of it, not only the physical impossibility, but more than that I suspect she thought it would simply be impossible that God would call someone like her, so ordinary and usual. She is not from an important family. She has no money. She has no influence. She is young at a time in the world when age was prized. She was a woman and not a man. She wasn’t even seeking a job from God. But, over and over, God always surprises. God’s activity prefers to reverse our normal expectations.

My preacher daughter emailed me about a beautiful painting of Mary and the Angel Gabriel that dates from 1333. The painting depicts this very scene we heard from the gospel lesson. The Annunciation it is called. In the painting a golden angel kneels down on the ground, his wings still up in the “ready” position, his crown glowing, his face so serious. He is gently holding out an olive branch, a symbolic peace gift, the sign of no intended harm. With one hand the angel offers this branch to the young girl, while his other hand points up to heaven
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My daughter writes about Mary’s face. She says, “Dad, her face is priceless in the painting. She is sitting down. She has one of her hands atop a book. (The artist imagines she was reading when the angle surprises her.) The other hand clasps her robe around her, in what looks like a move of self-protection. She is looking at the golden glowing angel, but her look is one of grave concern, even fear. She is painted as being on the edge of her seat–as if she is about to bolt out the door at the first opportunity.”

I thought about Shannon’s notes to me as I read this passage. She is preaching on it this morning to her congregation as I am with you. I am sure she is going to tell her congregation that scripture always records fear as accompanying all heavenly visitations. Everyone in the Bible is scared when coming face to face with an angel. Christian book and trinket stores like to make angels look so sweet and friendly. That way they can more easily sell you one. Real angels, the angels in Scripture, frighten everyone they visit. For heavenly visitations in scripture are always about a job, not a reward, about something God wants us to do.

Then, too, if an angel spoke to you, you would never be the same. If an angel speaks to you, your whole world is changed whether you choose to be God’s helper or not. You could never be your old self again. Even if you decided not to second the angel’s motion, you would be forever changed. You would never have the safety of doubts again. Doubts give you a little distance, don’t they? Doubts provide a little cushion from the pressure of making a life- changing decision to partner up with God. So, yes, angels initially frighten everyone in Scripture.

The angel says to Mary, “Greetings, grace-gifted girl. God is with you.” I bet as the angel spoke, the angel blew the breath of wonderment upon the girl. I believe the angel was doing all he could to put her mind at ease. But Mary was clearly terrified. Our Scripture says she was “much perplexed.” Our word “astonished” would be accurate. At first glance Gabriel sees fear upon Mary’s face. So, he quickly blurts out the most stated command in the whole Bible: “Do not be afraid.” “Mary, please, don’t be afraid. Give me a chance. Let me tell you something absolutely incredible,” says Gabriel.

Perhaps it was the way he said it or the angelic breath of wonderment. Maybe Mary simply was a bit of a risk taker and experienced the jolt of adrenaline kick in. We don’t know. But something in Mary kept her from bolting out that door. She might have been sitting on the edge of her seat, but she remained there. I bet that angel was a fast talker, spitting his words out far more quickly than he planned. “Listen, grace-gifted girl,” Gabriel said. “God has chosen you for something I can barely even put into words.” And he does his best to tell her. We know the impossibility of what he tells her.

Gabriel finishes his prepared and well-rehearsed speech. He waits for her response. Gabriel is at least a tad hopeful. After all, she is still sitting there. And then, the so called “grace-gifted girl” speaks. Mary tells the truth of her faith. I love these words, for they are words that characterize all us believers, words we should memorize and cling to, words that shine brilliantly with her beautiful humanity and her blessed ordinariness. “How can this be?”

Despite all the reassuring theology Gabriel had promised, Mary was stumped by the biology. “How can this be?” “How?” In the face of this huge promise regarding what God desires to do, in the face of the wonder and the mysterious presence behind it all, she simply is caught up in the human question of “how.” Practical, simple, beautifully human, it is a question to which we all can relate. “How is this possible?” “How?”

What Gabriel says is something like this: “Mary, I knew you would ask. Mary, it will be a holy doing, not a human doing. It will be the blessing of God. The child will be God With Us. The child will be God’s proof that God doesn’t want to harm us. Mary, God has the game to pull it off.” He doesn’t really say “how” God will do it. Scripture really never does. Scripture simply bears witness that God acts with love. “Mary, what do you say?”

Then Gabriel couldn’t say anymore. He had said all he could say. Gabriel had to wait. Heaven paused. Now this would be the interesting painting, wouldn’t it? A painting of the waiting moment. Had Gabriel’s wings relaxed and drooped a bit? Was Mary sitting more back in the chair?

Shannon and I are both saying the same thing in our sermons this morning. We believe if we could paint the moment of waiting, it would be of Mary deep in thought, fully aware of the risk and fear, and awed by the impossibility of it, Mary looking intensely at Gabriel and wondering about the issue of his trustworthiness. Gabriel would be staring at Mary’s face, scanning for any sign of trust overcoming fear. Both in a different way would be looking for a reason to trust.

Shannon and I believe Mary’s hands will move to her belly, her hands unconsciously moving to her belly as if to try and feel a bit of the promise already coming true. And then with her hands on her belly, and her eyes focused on Gabriel, and her posture and face now more contemplative than alarmed, she says the greatest words earth can say to heaven. “Okay." “Okay,” she nods. “Let it be with me, according to your word.”

Now, listen, this is crucial. She says, “Let it be done with me.” The most accurate translation is not “Let it be done to me.” Rather, it is “let it be done with me.” Mary could have said “No.” Mary could have completely closed her eyes to the wonder of it. And our God of grace would not have forced her to have this child. God would never have done this to Mary. God doesn’t do things to us. This is one reason we don’t have to be afraid. We are used to people doing things to us. God loves us so much God only wants to do things with us. The only way this was going to happen was if Mary would say, “Yes” to doing this with God as a partner, as a willing disciple.

Now there is one other scene to be painted. It is this moment. This wholepromise of God’s impossible offer is being put to you. Gabriel is hovering above us. Heaven is promising that no harm is intended on God’s part; heaven is inviting us to participate; heaven is waiting for our response. Heaven wants to know if you will partner up?

Our whole life is this story of Gabriel announcing God’s favor upon us and a desire from God that we partner up. Will you and I, this day, choose trust over fear? Will we say each day of our lives from this day forward, “I will be honored to work with you, God”?