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^[a] 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.

I love the story of the identical twins. They were alike in every way but one. One was a hope-filled optimist. The other was a dark pessimist. The parents were so worried about the extremes of optimism and pessimism in their boys they took them to the Doctor. He suggested a plan. "On Christmas give the pessimist a shiny new bike, but give the optimist only a box of manure." That is exactly what they did. When Christmas arrived they gave the pessimist the most expensive, top of the range, racing bike a child has ever owned. When he saw the bike his first words were, "I'll probably crash and break my leg." To the optimist they gave a carefully wrapped box of manure. He opened it, looked puzzled for a moment, and then ran outside screaming, “You can’t fool me Where there's this much manure, there's just got be a pony around here somewhere!" It is all a matter of perspective. Hope is a powerful thing!

Can I state the obvious? There seems to be a shortage of hope this Christmas season. The problems our world is facing are so large and our resources seem so limited. Let me make it a little more personal. Are you feeling a little hopeless this Christmas season? Are you hopeless this Christmas because for financial reasons? You see all the potential Christmas gifts being advertised but you really can’t afford a single one. You are forced to choose. Will you disappoint your loved ones or will you charged that gift? Let me be honest. If you can’t afford it in December then you won’t be able to afford in January. Are you hopeless this Christmas because of the relationships in your life? Have you recovered yet from your family’s Thanksgiving visit? Are you really looking forward to seeing them again on Christmas? Are you hopeless this Christmas because of your well-intended dreams? You had such big plans as a young person, but to date you have done nothing? Are you hopeless this Christmas because of a lack of power? Do you feel like your life is in neutral and everyone else is just pushing you around? There seems to be a shortage of hope this Christmas season. Clare Booth Luce once wrote,”There are no hopeless situations; there are only people who have grown hopeless.”

What I would like to do today is help you recover the power of hope for your life. We are going to do that by looking at someone who had hope in the face of hopelessness. She was facing some incredible problems but she remained hopeful. Now, let me say something clearly. If this sermon is going to speak to you then you must demote Mary. Take that untouchable label off of her and let her be a normal person. Let her be one of us. She was a young woman, who was facing a mountain of problems, yet she remained hopeful. How did she do it? What she did then we have to do today. Hope can be a powerful thing. So if you are ready to reclaim some hope for yourself, say, “Amen!”

Heard God’s Voice

Mary remained hopeful because she heard God’s voice in Gabriel’s announcement. That was a hard thing for her to do because so many other people were talking. They were talking about her. They were not saying kind words. They were critical words. She found herself in an unwanted pregnancy. The women were talking about her at the well. Her world was laughing at her. It is hard to hear the voice of God, when the world is filled with empty chatter. Are you able to distinguish between empty chatter and words that are really valuable? How many examples do you need?

In 1870 the Methodists in Indiana gathered at a small college for Annual Conference. The president of that college spoke to the lay and clergy delegates. He told them they lived in incredible times. They were on the edge of revolutionizing their world. He caught the imagination of everyone present. The bishop of that Annual Conference asked the president later about what changes were coming? The president said, “Someday man will be able to fly!” Bishop Wright dismissed those words as idle chatter. He said flight was reserved for the angels in heaven. He returned home to his wife and two sons, Orville and Wilbur. He heard but he didn’t hear what was really important.

It was on Thanksgiving last year we gathered at my sister’s house. Everyone was there. My niece Emily was there. She and her husband, Peter, brought their newborn daughter, Lily. She was only two months old. Emily put her down in the back room for a nap. When dinner was over everyone went to a different corner of the house. Some watched a football game on television. (The Browns played the Lions. They both lost!) Some sat in the front room and talked. Some played a game or looked at old photographs in the dinning room. The house was jumping. In the middle of the noise Emily got up and walked into the back room. She walked out with Lily. I said to her, “How did you know she was awake?” She said, “I heard her.” Did you hear what she said? She heard her through all the noise because she wanted to hear her. That two-month-old baby had top priority.

In the middle of those empty words, Mary heard God because she wanted to hear God. God, Himself, was a top priority to her. Maybe that is why there is a lack of hope in our time? We don’t hear God because He is no longer a priority to us? If you hear a little truth in that statement then say, “Amen!” Hopeful people hear God’s word.

Obeyed God’s Word

Mary remained hopeful because she obeyed God’s word. When she heard the angel’s announcement she accepted it. Verse thirty-eight is crucial. It says, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.” In other words, when Mary heard the announcement she accepts it and is ready to face the future. Her personal goals became secondary to the divine plan. She wasn’t going to take the easy way out.

When David Livingstone was serving in Africa he sent a letter back to England requesting help. A missionary society wrote back and asked, "Have you found a good road to where you are? If so, we want to send other men to join you." Livingstone wrote back, "If you have men who will come only if they know there is a good road, I don't want them. I want men who will come if there is no road at all." David Livingstone was looking for committed men. That is what God is looking for.

Have you seen the Peanuts cartoon? The baseball season is over and the team statistician, Linus, brings in the final report to Charlie Brown. He said we almost won twelve games. In nine games the other team almost didn’t score the first run before the first out. Our right fielder, Lucy, almost caught three fly balls and she almost made the right play once. Linus ended his report by saying, “Charlie Brown we lead the league in almosts.”

Maybe that is why there is a lack of hope in our society today? We are almost doing God’s will, but not quite. Mary obeyed God’s word. Her plan for her life became secondary to the divine plan. If you find a little truth in that statement say, “Amen!” Hopeful people hear God’s word and obey it.

Trusted God’s Power

Mary remained hopeful because she trusted God’s power. There is a blessing and a curse to being the mother of Jesus. On the one hand, she will always be remembered by the church for her special place in the divine plan. On the other hand, she was forced to experience the hardships of being the mother of Jesus. That baby grew up and made some powerful enemies. In time he would die on the cross. She had a front row seat to the ugliness because she was the mother of our lord. Yet through it all she trusted God’s power. She remained a person of hope.

It will be twenty-five years ago tomorrow that Terry Anderson was released. You remember his story. He was Chief Middle East Correspondent for the Associated Press. He was kidnapped in Beirut on March 16, 1985. He was a hostage for nearly seven years. It was an extremely difficult time. He showed some amazing strength. Interviewed countless times Anderson was asked countless questions. One of those question asked the most was, “Did you ever loose hope?” He answered, “I had some blue moments. However, I will always be thankful for my Bible. I read it everyday. It is a book of hope. It taught me so much about hope. It taught me to do the best I could do that day and trust God with the future.”

Maybe that is why there is a shortage of hope in our society today. We spend so much time worrying about the future and no time trusting God, who is writing the future. Mary had hope. Mary did the best she could do everyday and trusted God with the future. If you find a little truth in that statement say, “Amen!” Hopeful people hear God’s word and obey it. Hopeful people trust God with the future. Will you please pray with me?