12-20-20 "Waiting with Mary" Luke 1:26-38 Central Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) David A. Shirey

Have you ever noticed how the angels in the Christmas story scare the living daylights out of the people they greet? The angel says to Mary, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you" (Luke 1:28) and the Favored One nearly faints. Says Luke, "Mary was greatly troubled1 at the saying, and wondered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be." (Luke 1:29, RSV). And she wasn't alone in her angel-induced anxiety. Zechariah was in the Temple when an angel appeared to announce John's birth. His reaction? "He was terrified and fear overwhelmed him" (Luke 1:12). And how about those shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night? The angel appeared to them, the glory of the Lord shone 'round about them, and "they were filled with fear" (Luke 2:9). What do you make of the fact that the recipients of the angels' messages were "greatly troubled" by their visit? I've come to the conclusion that Mary and company's anxiety is perfectly understandable. After all, it's the case throughout the Bible that whenever God draws near to greet someone it's never just to chit-chat. No, it's usually to make a request of that person-- and a humdinger of a request at that! Think about it. Abraham and Sarah were happily retired when God beat a path to their tent and said, "Pack your bags. I've chosen you to leave this place and follow me on a trip, destination to be announced" (Genesis 12:1-8). Nothing like a blind date with destiny to send shivers up the spine. Moses was minding his own business tending his father-in-law's sheep when from a fire God said, "Greetings! I've chosen you to lead slaves to freedom first thing in the morning. You'll be wandering around the desert for forty years, the people you'll be trying to lead will moan and groan and call you names behind your back, and when all is said and done you won't even get there." (Exodus 3:1-10). It never fails. Whenever God greets mortals it’s never just to exchange pleasantries. It means God has plans and the recipient of the greeting is part of them. Witness Mary. After the greeting came the request: "You will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be the Son of the Most High" (Luke 1:31-32). No wonder Mary was thrown into such a tizzy when the angel came a-callin’. Which brings me to you and me. If we say we believe the story of that first Season's Greeting, then we have to consider that it would be just like God to send another Season’s Greeting-- this time to us. And the purpose of that greeting would be to inform us that we've been chosen to fulfill a special role in the unfolding of God's purposes for our day just as Mary was chosen to be an instrument of God's purposes for her day. The story of the annunciation begins with the phrase, “In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary” (Lk 1:26-27). Notice how that line is filled with specifics as opposed to generalities. There are specific dates, places, and names. Specific dates: “The sixth month” Specific names: the angel Gabriel. A man named Joseph. The virgin’s name was Mary. Specific places:

1 This is the only time the word translated “greatly troubled” is used in the entirety of the NT. Nazareth, a town in Galilee. I mention this so that you might believe God still comes to specific people and invites each of them- each of us – to play a specific role in God’s eternal purposes in our specific time and place. The Christian faith isn’t about a Divine Being (so to speak) who invites people (generally speaking) to join in his redeeming work (speaking broadly). No, it’s about the God of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, who deals personally with specific people— the virgin’s name was Mary pledged to be married to a man named Joseph. God is still calling ordinary Marys and ordinary Joes. God wants to conceive in us, too-- wants our lives to be fertile ground for specific work God yearns to do in our day and time through your particular life and mine. Mary received the angel’s greeting and bore the Christ child. In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, Mary is called by the Greek name Theotokos (thee·uh·tow·kows) which means God-bearer. Likewise, we’re each called to be Theotokos: people who are willing and ready to bear God’s purposes into our world just as Mary bore God’s Son into hers. And here’s the thing: if you assent to the angel’s greeting and become a Theotokos- a God-bearer- you will be stretched, stretched beyond your comfort zone. I think the metaphor works: to bear and birth a child stretches a body, does it not? You want to bear the Christ Child into this world? Can you say stretch marks? On the body, mind, and soul? Seriously! Jesus was all about stretching people. Why, he stretched those first disciples beyond their comfort zones did he not? In the three years they followed Jesus, the first disciples went places, met people, and were challenged by new perspectives they never would have had they spent the duration of their lives as fishermen on the Sea of Galilee. Think of the places they went. Follow Jesus’ ministry on a map some time and you’ll see that Jesus led them far out of their comfort zones. With him at the helm of their lives, they criss-crossed the Sea of Galilee. He led them to places rural and urban, mountain to desert to sea. To the north, south, east, and west. Think of the people they encountered. Jesus stretched those male Jewish fishermen’s social circles by introducing them to people they wouldn’t otherwise have had anything to do with. Samaritans (whom Jews loathed). A host of women (whom as Jewish men they weren’t to be in the company of, let alone converse with or be taught by). Pharisees and Sadducees (religious leaders representing the liberal and conservative wings of Judaism). Tax collectors (whom they would have liked to have done away with. Apparently, some things never change!) Following Jesus, they went to peasants’ huts, Pilate’s palace, and other places in between peopled by all kinds of folks. Jesus also stretched the disciples’ perspective on life. Challenged their worldview. He did things and people said “We’ve never seen anything like this before.” (Mark 2:12) He said things “And they were amazed at his teaching” (Mark 1:22). Jesus stretched those first disciples by taking them places they never would have gone, introducing them to people they never would have sought out, and challenging them to look at life in new ways by his words and deeds. Can you identify? If you’ve been a Christian for any length of time, can you name some ways you’ve been stretched as a result of following Jesus? Be specific! It’s one of the laws of spiritual physics that in order for our souls to grow, we have to get out of our comfort zones. And I think that in order to grow us and use us to do specific things in this world through our lives as Theotokos-- God-bearers-- the Holy Spirit of the Living God takes up residence within us and stretches us. Or not. Contrary to Mary, we can say, “No thanks” to God. “I’m good.” “I’m stayin’ the way I am.” “Go find somebody else to do your bidding.” Mary said, “Let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). The late Eugene Peterson said that is the most profound prayer any disciple can pray. Upon reading a scripture passage: “Let it be to me according to your word.” Upon hearing a promise of God: “Let it be.” Upon hearing one of God’s commandments: “Let it be to me according to your word.” Upon seeing God’s vision for this world-- as one person put it, “Remembering the future” -- Let it happen! And let it happen with me. Don’t miss the power of Mary’s “Yes” to God. She’s saying, “God I want what you want for this world. Conceive your plans through me. Stretch me, mold me, fill me, use me.” Be forewarned. If I were you this week, I'd keep my door shut and bolted because it’s getting close to Christmas and angels are on the prowl. God is looking for an inroad into your life and if you but open the door a crack, God will slip in and try to bless you with a child. Before you know it, the Holy Spirit will come upon you, the power of the Most High will overshadow you, and you'll be expecting-- expecting that God has God’s sights on doing something new and unexpected in your life that will stretch you, make you uncomfortable... and make you a blessing! I came home on a late-December day a couple years ago and saw the answering machine flashing. I played the message and a peppy voice said, “You’ve got a surprise coming. Somebody somewhere thinks you’re mighty special. So special they’re sending you a package you can expect on Wednesday, December 23rd. Please be watching for your special delivery. When it arrives bring it inside, unwrap the package, take out your holiday gift-wrapped Omaha Steaks and refrigerate them until you can enjoy them. It was my mother’s annual Christmas present. I pressed delete and then got up and wrote on the dry erase board on our refrigerator: 23rd-- Steak. What would you do if you got a voicemail this week that said, “Hail, O favored one. The Lord is with you. You’re going to bear a son. The Holy Spirit will come upon you and overshadow you. Be expecting. Nothing is impossible with God.” Would you hit delete? Or would write somewhere: 25th -- Jesus. You bearing the Christ child. Theotokos. You. Stretched to bear God in some specific way into these times. “Be not afraid.” “With God all things are possible.” “Lord, let it be to us according to your word.” Let all God’s people say: AMEN