AND MARY SAID
Micah 5:2-5; PSALM 89:1-4, 19-26; Luke 1:26-38
4th Sunday of Advent, December 24, 2023
Pastor Ritva H Williams
On this 4th Sunday of Advent we ponder the Angel Gabriel’s birth announcement to Mary. This gospel reading is very, very familiar to us. It forms the center of our midweek Advent worship. Each Wednesday evening, we have heard a cantor sing to Marty Haugen’s beautiful melody, “an angel went from God to a town called Nazareth to a woman named Mary.”
This morning we look at how Luke tells this story. Notice the very first words of the reading: “in the sixth month.” In the sixth month of what? the sixth month after what? It turns out that Mary was not the only person to receive a visit from Gabriel. Six months earlier the angel had appeared to the priest Zechariah while he was performing the incense offering in the Jerusalem temple (Luke 1:8-11).
Luke tells us that when Zechariah saw the angel, he was terrified — overwhelmed by fear (1:12). How would you react if an angel showed up at your work place? As God’s angels always do, Gabriel said, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, I’m here to tell you that your prayers are going to be answered. You and your wife Elizabeth are going to have a son, whose name will be Jochannan. He will bring joy and gladness to you and to many in the community (1:13-14). In Hebrew Jochannan means “God is gracious.” This child grew up to become John the Baptist.
Zechariah is an old man, married, the head of his household, a person of privilege, a hereditary priest serving in the great temple in Judea’s capital city. Startled by Gabriel’s appearance inside the Temple in an area reserved for priests alone, he is overwhelmed by fear. His mind goes blank. He forgets every biblical story about aged parents and infertile couples having children. Or, maybe he thinks the biblical stories are just that — stories of things that happened a long, long time ago but don’t anymore. Disbelief is his response to the angel’s message. He wants proof and demands a sign, “How will I know that this is so? For I am an old man, and my wife is getting on in years.” (1:18).
Gabriel seems almost insulted by Zechariah’s disbelief and distrust, “Don’t you know who you’re talking to, old man? I am Gabriel, the angel with perpetual face-to-face access to God. You want proof that I’m telling the truth, you want a sign do you? Well, here it is — you will be mute, unable to speak, from this moment until the day your son is born. (1:19-20). And Zechariah gets exactly what he asked for.
Six months later, Gabriel is sent to Galilee to deliver a birth announcement to a teenager living in Nazareth, a small, rural village with dirt roads, simple dwellings surrounded by vineyards, olive groves, and fields. It’s about as far from the wealth and power of Jerusalem as one can get. A would-be disciple of Jesus is remembered as once asking, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth? (John 1:46). But Nazareth is the home of Anne and Joachim and their daughter Mary. Her parents betrothed her at the age of twelve to Joseph, a scion of an ancient royal family fallen on hard times. Joseph makes his living as a builder working on Herod Antipas’ construction projects, hoping to earn enough to set up house and make Mary his wife in a year or two.
Gabriel encounters Mary at her parent’s home and calls out, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” (1:26-28). Mary is perplexed and puzzled. Of this scene, Professor Karoline Lewis imagines Mary wondering: “‘Me? Why am I favored? How can the Lord be with me?’ Mary knows her place in her world. She knows who she is. And this should not be happening. She’s a she, a teenager, and from the wrong side of the tracks. (2011, workingpreacher.org)
Gabriel assures Mary, “Do not be afraid. You have found favor with God.” Then comes the birth announcement. She will conceive and bear a son whose name will be Jeshua (in Hebrew that means “God saves,” and is translated in Greek as Iesous, in Latin as Iesus , and in English as Jesus). Gabriel goes on to deliver five grand promises about Mary’s Son: he will be great. He will be called the Son of the Most High. God will give him the throne of David. He will reign over God’s people forever. His kingdom will have no end (1:30-33). But Mary pays no mind to these, instead zeroing in on what matters the most, “How will this be? I am not knowing a man” (1:34).
Gabriel explains that the conception of this child will be achieved through the Spirit and power of God. Her child will be holy and called the Son of God. Her relative, Elizabeth in her old age is already six months pregnant. Nothing is impossible with God. It is the news about Elizabeth that satisfies Mary; she asks no more questions. As one commentator states:
It was the assurance that another woman, someone she knew well, would walk with her during this uncertain journey that convinced Mary. Elizabeth likely understood Mary’s predicament more than anyone else, and it was the prospect of a shared experience that mattered to Mary more than any of the grand promises from Gabriel. (Raj Nadella, 2023, workingpreacher.org)
In contrast to Zechariah’s fear filled demand for proof, Mary, an adolescent-just-emerging woman without independent status or means, ponders the angel’s message, asks clarifying questions, and when satisfied with the answers, gives her consent. “Behold God’s servant, let it be according to your word” (1:38).
This gospel reading reveals not only the origins of Jesus, but also some very important things about how God operates in the world. God sends angels with messages to human beings. Sometimes God’s messengers show up in the middle of our daily work, at other times in dreams at night. Humans find these messengers and their messages disturbing even terrifying, especially when they upset the way we think things ought to be. God’s consistent and persistent message to humans is “Do not be afraid.” God has no qualms about silencing the privileged and powerful especially if by doing so the lowly ones overlooked and marginalized in human societies are empowered. God sees all of us and loves us just as we are in this moment, but God has no intention of leaving us just as we are. God is determined to nurture and nourish us to become the persons God knows we can be. Yet God does not run roughshod over us either. God waits for our consent. Zechariah’s yes is conditional on getting a sign. Mary’s yes is unconditional. God works through both, giving Zechariah what he asks for and letting him experience the consequences which finally move him from terrified sceptic through silence to priestly prophecy and blessing. Mary’s consent leads her to Elizabeth and the Holy Spirit’s empowerment to magnify God and proclaim her unborn child’s mission to turn the world upside down. We are all invited into similar journeys of faith.
“Blessing for After” (Jan Richardson)
This blessing is for the moment after clarity has come, after inspiration,
after you have agreed to what seemed impossible.
This blessing is what follows after illumination departs
and you realize there is no map for the path you have chosen,
no one to serve as guide,
nothing to do but gather up your gumption and set out.
This blessing will go with you.
It carries no answers, no charts, no plans.
It carries no source of light within itself.
But in its pocket is tucked a mirror
that, from time to time, it will hold up to you
to remind you of the radiance that came
when you gave your awful and wondrous,
yes.
