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Fourth Sunday in Advent
Light of Christ Anglican Church
The Rev. Michael Moffitt, December 20, 2020


The Response of Faith


Text: Luke 1:26–38

Like many boys in my generation, I was a Boy Scout. The motto for Scouts is “Be Prepared.” The founder of the Boy Scouts was Robert Baden-Powell. He was once asked about the motto and the inevitable question that is: “Be prepared for what?” He replied, “Why for any old thing.” In his book “Scouting for Boys” Baden-Powell wrote that to "Be Prepared” means, “you are always in a state of readiness in mind and body to do your duty.”

When I was driving a truck one of the things I used to haul was simulators for the military. During the Gulf War and Afghanistan, many National Guard units were called up and deployed. It became too expensive to send them all to places like Fort Hood in Texas to be retrained and made ready for combat support. Instead, the Army sent simulators to the National Guard units in various towns. It was usually 4–6 trailers that were placed together in precision to become a realistic simulator for the M-1 Abrams Tank, the Huey Helicopter, or the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. That way the guard units could be made ready without sending them to a military base for 2–3 months.

I imagined that those kids who grow up playing sophisticated computer games were well equipped to be trained in that way. But does it prepare them for the day when they use the real equipment in combat? Does it give them the grit to hang in there and fight? I called George Beckett, who was a chopper pilot in Vietnam. I asked about how he was trained, and he said that flight school then was hands-on training. They had simulators but they weren’t very good back then. I asked him what it was like to leave flight school and enter into real combat, not simulated. He admitted that he was scared but his training enabled him to do the job required of him. He was shot down twice and wounded, but thankfully he lived through it. Thank you, George, and for all of you who served this country for our freedom and protection.

I know about being trained to drive a tractor-trailer, but that training didn’t prepare me for every situation. It didn’t prepare me for driving in a blinding snowstorm, where the only way I knew where the road was was seeing the posts along the highway. It didn’t prepare me for an air brake line coming apart and losing my brakes going down a steep mountain in California. I made it through many different dangerous situations where the only explanation for surviving it was the hand of God. Sometimes God places us in situations that we are not prepared for so that we find out that he is.

This truth means that whatever God is calling us to do, or wherever he is calling us to do it, he will make a way in spite of the seeming impossibility of the situation. There are many stories throughout God’s word and a lot of books recounting the miraculous ways that God moves in and through his people for his own glory. Sometimes God moves in ways that are hard to explain and often, this is how he trains us to follow him. Sometimes He puts us in situations where only He can rescue us, and sometimes he is calling us home. In each and every circumstance we are to learn to trust him more and more. He is never arbitrary but he is always intentional in fulfilling his sovereign will, whether we understand the full implications or not.

I remembered the examples that I began with as I considered our Gospel reading for today. There is no way that a 12–14 year-old girl was equipped to handle the message from the angel Gabriel over 2000 years ago, but she made it through by faith that God would be with her all along the way. Did this mean she would have an easy life full of blessings and wonderful provisions? No, but it did mean that she would live a life focused on the God who she encountered as a young girl, and he would take her places that she would never have dreamed of. Over 2000 years later we still remember her and how understanding the angel’s greeting was such a mystery to her. Today, I want us to consider the lesson to be found in this story. How does it equip us for the plan that God has for our lives?

Today is week four of the Advent season which is the beginning of the new year for the church. In these four weeks our reflection is on the birth of Jesus Christ and the promise of his return in his second coming. Our focus of the last three weeks was the certainty that Jesus will indeed return for his church because he fulfilled the promise to come as the Messiah many, many years ago. In that coming he came as a newborn baby, lived among us into manhood, and paid the price for our sins upon the cross. Today, we will focus on the coming of the Messiah the first time, and we will primarily focus on the message given to Mary by the angel Gabriel.

Let’s look again at Luke 1:26–29,

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”  29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.

I think it important to note that Luke began his Gospel by letting his reader know that he had thoroughly investigated the story.

In Luke 1:1–4,

Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. 3 With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.

It’s unlikely that Luke ever met Jesus and he was not one of the Apostles but did travel extensively with the Apostle Paul. It is clear from his writing the Book of Acts that he knew the Apostles quite well and likely learned from them the eyewitness accounts of the beginning and the end of Jesus’ ministry on earth.

Luke writes details not available in the other gospels. He gives us a precise recounting of the birth of Jesus: the Roman census, the journey to Bethlehem, the visit of the shepherds—even the intimate moment of the child being wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. He also tells of Jesus’ circumcision as an infant and his parents finding him in the temple speaking with the religious leaders at the age of 12. Where did Luke get all of this extraordinary detail? Some writers have suggested that the key is in Luke 2:19 & 51, “His mother treasured all these things in her heart.”

Luke tells us that he has talked to those who were the key eyewitnesses of Jesus’ life. And the closest witness, the chief witness, the only one who would be able to tell all of these stories from Jesus’ childhood and before, would be Mary, the Mother of Jesus. This is why many saints and theologians throughout the centuries have believed that St. Luke consulted with Mary, the mother of Jesus in the writing of his gospel. One of those is Dr. J. I. Packer who explained his reasons in a very compelling article he wrote for First Things in 2007 entitled, Mary: Mother and Disciple of Christ Jesus Our Lord. I won’t comment further here but you can read the article on-line.

Luke writes that in the sixth month the angel Gabriel came to Mary with his amazing announcement. This was the sixth month since he had announced to the Jewish priest, Zechariah, that his aged and barren wife would give birth to John, the forerunner who would announce the coming of the Messiah and the kingdom of God. The entire story up to this point was God moving in ways that only he could. Humanly speaking Elizabeth was well beyond childbearing and Zechariah was well beyond the age where he could help her with that.

Now the angel Gabriel came to the city of Nazareth which is the first time that it was mentioned in the Bible. It was never mentioned in the Old Testament, in the Apocrypha, or in the writings of the Jewish historian, Josephus. Nazareth was approximately 15 miles from the Sea of Galilee and six miles from the nearest road. It did not have a good water supply, only one weak well in the center of the village. It was not an especially good place to be from, but Jesus would always be referred to as Jesus of Nazareth, and in Acts 24:5, his followers are called Nazarenes.

The angel comes to a virgin, who was betrothed to “a man named Joseph, of the House of David.” We have talked about the process of marriage in the Jewish culture before, so I will only briefly mention it here. First, there was the engagement, which was a formal agreement made between the fathers. In some cases, it was arranged during the childhood of the man and woman.

Second, there was the betrothal which was a ceremony where mutual promises were made. One which was moral fidelity. When a couple was betrothed they were under the promise and obligation of faithfulness, and only a divorce could break the betrothal. This was serious business, and both the family and community honor were at stake. In the first century, betrothal could take place starting at the age of twelve. Mary's age is unstated but it is during this betrothal stage that Gabriel breaks the news.

Third, the marriage which happened approximately one year later, when the bridegroom would come for his bride at an unexpected time.

It’s also very important to make note to whom the Angel comes. New Testament scholar Darrell Bock writes in his Commentary on the Gospel of Luke,

Mary's chaste character is highlighted by the description of her as a virgin. It is clear that the account attributes Jesus' origins to the Holy Spirit (vv. 34–35). But the human Davidic connection, the tie to the royal line, is also noted in verse 27. The point is important, for it seems that this connection is attributed to Joseph and comes to Jesus through him. Joseph need not be the biological father in order to pass such lineage on to Jesus (Schweizer 1984:27–28). The virgin birth is one mark of superiority for Jesus over John the prophet. It makes Jesus totally unique.

The name “Mary” is the Greek form of the Hebrew name “Miriam,” like the sister of Moses. It means “exalted one” and shows us an example of God’s sovereign hand over her life. Even her name was a fitting description of the mother of our Lord. We should understand that even though Mary was chaste and had kept herself pure, God’s choice of her was because of his unmerited favor and not because of anything that she possessed. The fact that she had found “favor” with God, which actually should be translated “full of grace” indicates that she was the recipient of grace, not that she was the source of grace to others.

God was acting on her behalf. She was totally surprised by the angel’s announcement and tried to understand “what sort of greeting this was.” She was a young girl and would likely have never thought to ask for or seek this role in God's plans. God had simply stepped into her life and brought her into his service. The beautiful and touching part is that she is so humble and faithful to God. She should be honored for her model of humility, faithfulness, and willingness to serve God, but that does not mean she is to receive prayers. Luke wants us to identify with Mary's example, not to unduly exalt her person.

Let’s continue with Luke 1:30–33,

And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name 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 father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

The angel's announcement would have likely been familiar to those who knew the prophets. Isaiah 7:14,

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (Which means “God with us.”)

The announcement points out three things about who the child will be:

1. He is the Son of the Most High God and the ruler.
2. He will forever reign upon the throne of his father David, and his reign will be eternal.
3. He was to be the divine King who is God with us.

All of the promises of God revealed through the prophets would be fulfilled through the birth of this child that Mary would carry in her womb. There could not be a higher honor bestowed upon her. She was the one chosen by God to begin the undoing of the tragedy of the disobedience of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. In Genesis 3:15 God cursed the serpent who had deceived Eve in the Garden,

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.

It would be the offspring of the woman who would bruise the head of the serpent. Even though it would be a long time before Mary would realize the implications of what the angel Gabriel announced to her, in essence, she was to give birth to the only one who could overcome the damage done in Eden and restore things to what they were originally intended to be.

Adam and Eve had been commanded to be fruitful and multiply so that those born in the image of God could join their parents in subduing the earth and having dominion over it. They were to make it a place where God would dwell with them in harmony and fellowship.

This child would be the firstborn Son (second Adam) who lived a perfect life, without sin. The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:45,

Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.”

Even though Mary wasn’t sinless she was chosen to give birth to the Son of God through the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit. She modeled the faithfulness that should have been the response of Eve, but wasn’t.

The Jews did not expect a "divine" Messiah, as the Gospels themselves make clear. God had promised David that the king would be God's son since Yahweh would be the son's Father. This birth would be the first step in bringing the promise to David to its permanent, ultimate fulfillment. This long-held Father-son relationship was to reach unique heights in Jesus. It is clear from Mary's reactions to Jesus in his early years that she did not understand the angel's promise to be a declaration of Jesus' divine nature- his being (2:41–52) Her song of praise- the Magnificat in Luke 1:46–55 and those songs that follow it in the stories of Jesus’ infancy stress his royal and delivering role. Jesus is the holy one; he is begotten of God, but the full implications of these statements will not be realized for some time.

Luke chooses to present Jesus from the "earth up"—that is, showing how, one step at a time, people came to see who Jesus really was. He starts with Jesus as the promised king and teacher who reveals himself as Lord in the context of his ministry. Only very slowly do most people grasp all of what is promised by God through the birth of Jesus. This approach matches how most people today come to see who Jesus is.

Drawing on two thousand years of theological reflection about Jesus, the church often tells the story from heaven down, but there is merit in Luke's path. It is the path of our experience, a path we can relate to.

Luke's approach is different from that of the Gospel of John, which presents Jesus as sent from heaven to earth, as the “living Word” who was with the Father in the beginning. At the start of John's story there is no doubt that Jesus was the incarnate God who came to dwell in the midst of us, as one of us.

Both approaches are true; they are just different ways to consider the person of Christ. The church has tended to emphasize John's approach, because it is the full story, but there is also value in unfolding the story gradually as Luke does. Luke presents Jesus in such a way that the reader slowly sees the love and mercy of God who came to bring salvation in the only way possible.

Finally, let’s read Luke 1:34–38,

And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 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. 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. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

As you would expect Mary has difficulty comprehending the announcement. She asks, "How will this be?" She knows she cannot yet have conceived a child, since she is a virgin. The answer comes in terms of God's creative overshadowing power. Mary's faith is put to the test from the very beginning of the angel’s arrival. At 12–14 is she supposed to accept the word of the angel? This is going to be a very difficult time for her within her family, community, and what will Joseph say? She surely knows how children are conceived but what does it mean that the Holy Spirit will overshadow her. That’s what we would expect her to think but she decides to believe that God has the capacity to create life within her? In case she needs to feel confident Gabriel tells her about the life that is stirring within the womb of an elderly barren woman, Elizabeth, Mary's relative. God’s plans are so amazing and usually lead us to greater revelation than we even seek. Think about this, even before his birth, John the Baptist serves as one who points to Jesus not only in his preaching but also in his birth.

The angel then encourages Mary to understand who it is that is doing all these things as he says, "Nothing will be impossible with God." Mary simply responds in humble acceptance, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

When taking the time to investigate the Jewish culture around the time of Mary and the birth of Jesus, we can imagine what this announcement required of Mary, especially as her pregnancy became obvious. A glimpse of the issue is raised in the story of Joseph's dilemma in Matthew 1:18–25. Would God create a situation without exercising complete sovereignty over it? This is a question Jesus' birth should raise. Would people believe the claims surrounding Jesus? Are they willing to believe them now? This is a story of Mary’s faith in God’s announcement and her willingness to allow herself to be put in such a difficult position, and frankly one that followed her the rest of her life. Mary, the mother of Jesus, should be a wonderful example of faithful obedience and the blessings that can attend that obedience.

Let that be true of us.

Let’s pray.


©2020 Rev. Mike Moffitt

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