Receiving Christ
Luke 1:26-38
Most, if not all of us, have been receiving Christmas cards in the mail in the last few weeks. We have certainly been receiving last minute catalogs and flyers trying to convince us that the best gifts of Christmas come from their store. Many have received invitations to Christmas parties to celebrate the season. Many have received invitations to give to help those less fortunate have a happier holiday, or to support a charitable organization so they can continue their important work. In many ways, we are asked over and over again to participate in Christmas.
With so many offers and expectations and obligations, it can be a bit overwhelming to take in the holidays. And I imagine that “overwhelmed” is how Mary felt at her invitation to participate in the very first Christmas. Except that, instead of being asked to bring a fruitcake to the company party, or to give a few coins for the local homeless shelter, she was asked to become pregnant. Instead of being asked to decorate the house with lights and tinsel, or to bake a few dozen cookies to be shipped to soldiers overseas, she was asked to be the mother of Jesus.
Mary was asked to receive Jesus before anyone else knew there would be a Jesus they needed to receive. Let me say that in another way: the first person to receive the Christ into her life was Mary. And, as Mary learned and we should know, receiving Christ into our lives means more than a simple acknowledgement that God is good and we are forgiven. Receiving Christ changes your life.
In the gospels, Mary’s story begins with her being engaged to be married to Joseph. This was a common enough circumstance, but then she was visited by the Angel Gabriel. In the Bible, names have meaning. Gabriel means “God is my strength.” The message that Gabriel brings, therefore, carries the force of God.
Gabriel brings a powerful message from God, just for Mary. You would think she would be excited about that. But we know that most of the time, when someone in the Bible gets a message from God – whether through an angel or a burning bush or a prophet – “excited” is not the word they would use to describe how they feel. No, “excited” is not the word we would use.
The word “reluctant” comes up a lot, as does confused, terrified, and anxious. Throughout the Old Testament, to be in the presence of God was to be close to death. It was believed that you could not look upon the face of God and live.
That is why, when Moses was on the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments, Moses was not allowed to look at God directly. That is why, in the Temple, the Holy of Holies was behind curtains, and only the high priest was allowed to go behind the curtain, and at that, only once a year after being purified and prepared for the encounter.
This is also why in John’s letters to the early church we are encouraged to test the spirits by checking with others. If we think an angel is calling us to something and it makes us bold or arrogant, then it probably isn’t the spirit of God that is calling you. If, instead, it makes us humble so that we seek an outer confirmation of this inner calling, then it may be the voice of God calling us. If we must depend on God to have any hope of completing what God is calling us to do, then it is likely the true voice of God.
When I received my calling to ministry, I was on the university campus, sitting under a tree, studying. For several weeks I had been arguing with God about the path for my life. I didn’t know I was arguing with God until it was settled, but I was irritable to be around – probably because deep down I knew I was going to lose the argument.
I was convinced, as were so many others in my life at the time, that I had a calling in a different area of service. But when you want to do one thing and God wants you to do something else, if we are trying to be faithful, there is going to be an argument. During this particular argument, I decided to pray, “Thy will be done.” And in the stillness of that moment of concession, I heard a voice say, “I want you to be my minister.”
There was an immediate release of tension, segueing into peace, followed closely by fear and trembling. At first, I thought it was just my imagination seeking a way to quit a difficult path, and I had never quit anything before. I decided not to say anything to anyone about what I had just experienced, and went back to studying under the tree.
But the next day, someone I hadn’t seen in over a year approached me and said that she had heard I was going to be a minister. I asked her where she had heard that, and her answer indicated she had heard it from another friend at about the same time I had heard it. Sometimes, God give us that outer confirmation, even before we have sought it.
I excused myself, went to my car, and immediately drove to my home church to talk with my pastor about becoming a minister. He apparently wasn’t in the same loop as my friends, because he kept asking me if I was sure about this. But before the week was up, I had changed majors, and was set on a new course. Answering the call of God changes your life.
In our story, Mary gets visited by Gabriel. And in this visit Gabriel invites her to accept the calling of God to bear Christ into the world. And Mary responds like any one would when confronted with an actual visit from God. She is perplexed and afraid. Why me? Why now? Why not someone else?
Gabriel assures her that she had found favor with God. In other words, God has God’s reasons, and that it all you need to know about it. There is no mention as to what is the basis for finding favor with God. So this favor isn’t something we can work towards, as if we could save ourselves. Nor is it something we can try to avoid, as if we could hide from God.
We may never know why God chose Mary. And we may never know why God calls us. When my son Wesley was a small boy, one night after prayers he asked me why I was a minister. I told him because God had called me. He said, “I know that, Dad. But why you?” I’m not sure there is a satisfying answer to that question. But I said that I thought it was because God could use someone who knew what it meant to be left out, to be overlooked, to be on the fringes, so that other people like that could be brought in to God’s kingdom.
Mary listened to the calling, considered it, and immediately has questions about the calling. This plan of God is not a plan she can do all by herself. And this is true for anyone else who is called by God to any task. None of us is strong enough, or has enough resources, to do all that God calls us to do. To say “yes” to God because we think we are up to the challenge is the surest way there is to become burned out, and filled with doubt. To say “yes” to God when we know that we can’t do it on our own is to trust that God will work through us to do the good.
The angel assures Mary that God has a plan, and that God can make all things possible. And that is all that Mary needs to hear so that she can say “yes.” Mary says “yes” to bearing Christ into the world.
There is a calling for each of us today. It begins when we humble ourselves and listen for the voice of God. It likely will cause us to experience a little fear and trembling at first, but a calm assurance comes with a genuine calling. This assurance is that God has a plan for us, and that God will provide all that we need to make it possible. When we can do that, we affirm that we are the Lord’s servant. Let it be with us just as God has said. And then we will know that Mary’s story is our story, as we bear Christ into the world.
UMH 215 “To a Maid Engaged to Joseph”