December 23, 2007

Facing Christmas

Facing the Unexpected

Luke 1:26-38

Opening words: Advent is the beginning of the Christian year for the Western tradition. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day and ends on Christmas Eve. It is a time of preparation. It is a time to prepare for the great day of Christmas and a time to prepare for the second coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. It is a time to discover the person hiding in you. The person God intended you to be from the very beginning.

Four weeks ago I began a six part Advent/Christmastide sermon series called Facing Christmas. We have been preparing for Jesus by looking at various characters surrounding the nativity. On the surface that sounds harmless but it is really quite dangerous. The reason is quite simple. Within the lives of those Biblical characters you may find yourself. While technology has changed our world, the human condition remains the same. Jesus speaks to all generations. Let us continue our journey today by looking at Mary, in the very first chapter of Luke, verses 26 through 38. Let me call this message Facing the Unexpected.

Luke 1:26-38 ²⁶In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, ²⁷to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. ²⁸The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."

    ²⁹Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. ³¹You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. ³²He 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, ³³and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

    ³⁴"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"

    ³⁵The 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. ³⁶Even 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. ³⁷For nothing is impossible with God."

³⁸"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.

We find ourselves this morning in the first chapter of Luke, verse twenty-six through thirty eight. Verse twenty-six says it is the sixth month. What that means is that it is six months since John was conceived. What that really means is that it is the perfect time for God to make an announcement that will change the life of a young woman by the name of Mary and the world, itself. The church has made Mary into a super hero but through worldly eyes she is nothing special. Let us look at her for just a second. She was young. She may have been as young as twelve or thirteen years old. She was betrothed to a man by the name of Joseph. (The betrothal took place near puberty to insure her virginity.) Their marriage was arranged by a professional match maker or their parents. She was poor. She and Joseph took the smallest of offerings to the temple, two young doves or pigeons. She was from the wrong side of the tracks, Nazareth. Through the eyes of this world she was nothing special but God had big plans for her.

In the Bible angels are never used as guardians. That is something that has been created by Hollywood or spiritualists living outside the Christian faith. In the Bible angels are useful for only one reason. Angels are used to make great announcements. According to verse twenty-six Gabriel is sent to Nazareth to make a great-great announcement. Mary is going to be with child. The father of this child is not Joseph or any other mortal man. The father is God, the creator of the universe. Verse thirty-five says the Holy Spirit will come upon her. That verse may challenge your understanding of the trinity. She will have a boy and the boy will be called Jesus. He will save his people from their sins. That truly was a great announcement to the world but to Mary it must have been quite disturbing. Suddenly Mary was facing the unexpected. How would this unwanted pregnancy change her life?

When was the last time you faced the unexpected in your life? It may have been when you were transferred to a new community. It was a great opportunity but you were forced to leave family and friends. You were forced to leave what was familiar and comfortable. It may have been the time you lost your job. You have been faithful to the company but your faithful was never rewarded. It may have been when you graduated. You finally earned that expensive degree but the future was a great mystery. It may have been when the doctor told you something “looks funny” to him about your last test. It may have looked funny to the doctor but you are not laughing. It may have been when you were injured. It may have been when you lost your spouse. You are now forced to face the future alone. Or maybe your story is like Mary’s? A baby is on the way. You know your life is going to change and you are concerned you are up to the changes that a new generation brings. When was the last time you faced the unexpected?

On this day before the day before Christmas I want to give you three words that will help you the next time you are facing the unexpected. Each word begins with the letter P. These three words are really three divine truths. Each one is illustrated in this great announcement to Mary. So if you are ready say, “Amen!”

Purpose

The first word is purpose. Every life has a purpose. That is what the text tells us about Mary. Our world has promoted her to super hero status. In her world she was just another face. I want to say this with full respect. Look at her and you will see she was nothing special but God used her to do something great. God has always used ordinary people to do great things. God may use you to do something great. The faith has told us a million times. Every life has meaning and purpose.

It was on Monday evening at about 10:00 a van pulled into my drive. Inside of the van was a seventeen year old Russian boy. He was sleeping because he had been traveling for approximately 36 hours. He was physically tired but excited to be in America. Yes! Vlad has arrived, along with his translator named Yunnah and a Russian doctor by the name of Galina. On Tuesday morning the three of them went to the doctor to begin the process of receiving Vlad’s prosthetic legs. On Tuesday afternoon they were interviewed by a reporter from The Vindicator. The article will be in the paper on Christmas day. The reporter asked Vlad what he liked about America. He smiled and said, “Everything!” (He had been here about sixteen hours!) The reporter asked, the Russian doctor, Galina if she has any questions about the procedure. The Reporter meant medical questions. Galina took it more generally. She said, “Yes! Why would you Americans care about a Russian boy with no legs? Why would people give money? Why would people open their homes? Why do you care about him?” The answer is obvious to us but it is a mystery to her. We are products of the Christian faith. We have all grown so interested in Vlad because we know every human being is valuable. Every human being has a purpose. So many people have gotten involved in this project because we will not tolerate one life being wasted. Every life has a purpose. The first word is purpose. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

Problem

The second word is the word problem. Every life will be filled with problems. Chuck Swindoll once said, “Every problem is an opportunity to prove God's power. Every day we encounter countless golden opportunities, brilliantly disguised as insurmountable problems.” Let us be honest. Mary was a woman with a problem. Let us use modern language. She was carrying a child that was not her significant others. She was carrying a child that was both unplanned and unwanted. God put her in a difficult situation. If God will permit problems to filter into Mary’s life, then why would God let problems filter problems into your life and mine? What is the greatest problem you are facing on this fourth Sunday of Advent? What is your attitude about the problems in your life? Are you allowing those troubles to dominate your entire life? Consider this.

According to the Bureau of Standards in Washington DC, a dense fog covering seven city blocks to a depth of 100 feet is composed of less that one glass of water. That amount of water is divided into about 60 billion tiny droplets. Yet when those minute particles settle over a city or the countryside, they can almost blot out everything from your sight. Many Christians today live their lives in a fog. They allow a cupful of troubles to cloud their vision and dampen their spirit. Anxiety, turmoil and defeat strangle their thoughts. Their lives are being "choked by the cares of this world" (Luke 8:14). But "God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline" (II Tim. 1:7). Don’t let the fog in your life get you down! As disciples of Jesus Christ we need to live in the sunshine. Someday we are going heaven where there are no problems! And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

Promise

The third word is the word promise. Every life should cling to the promises of God. In Mary’s story the announcement came true. In time she would give birth to a baby boy. She didn’t named him Joseph but Jesus as the angel had requested. Through Mary’s eyes the birth of Jesus was a complex thing. He brought her both laughter and tears, joy and sorrow. Why we all marvel at Mary but none of us would trade places with her. The eyes that saw Jesus for the first time were the same eyes that saw him on the cross. The most amazing thing about Mary is she trusted God with her very life. She trust God to keep his promises. How far do you trust God?

Years ago, a young mother was making her way across the hills of South Wales, carrying her tiny baby in her arms, when she was overtaken by a blinding blizzard. She never reached her destination and when the blizzard had subsided her body was found by searchers beneath a mound of snow. But they discovered that before her death, she had taken off all her outer clothing and wrapped it about her baby. When they unwrapped the child, to their great surprise and joy, they found he was alive and well. She had mounded her body over his and given her life for her child, proving the depths of her love. Years later that child grew the be one of Great Britain’s finest prime ministers, David Lloyd George.

The story of that young mother is really the story of Mary. She too sacrificed her life. Her personal dreams and desires were dead. She sacrificed her will for the will of God. She faced the unexpected. However, there is one great difference between the young Welsh mother and Mary. Mary just didn’t save a single life. She did her part to have the multitude. She did her part to save your soul and mine. May we be as brave as her as we face the unexpected in our lives. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”