Luke 1:26–38

²⁶In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,

²⁷to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary.

²⁸And he came to her and said, "Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!"

²⁹But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.

³⁰And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

³¹And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.

³²He 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,

³³and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."

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

³⁵And 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.

³⁶And 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.

³⁷For nothing will be impossible with God."

³⁸And 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.

(Rejoice, O Lady, for Blessed Is the Fruit of Your Womb!)

Sermon

"In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came to her and said 'greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!'. . ." (Lk 1:26–28).

Good morning, I am the angel Gabriel. You don't often stop to think about me when you read this text, do you? Your attention is mostly on the Young Lady, but as you can see, ...

"Here I am standing before this Maiden, a young woman named Mary, and she looks in amazement at me. She is amazed because I am appearing to her, for it is not often that an angel from heaven appears to a mortal. She is amazed at my appearance, for I am a heavenly being and there is a radiance about me that immediately shows I am not a normal, earthly man. I see she is frightened. As would you be if one of God's ministering spirits would suddenly appear before you, a sinful human being.

Ah, but my amazement is even greater than hers. She is amazed at my appearance, but I am amazed at the tidings I bring her. Tidings of great joy to all men, but nonetheless, tidings almost too good to be true. For the news I bring is that she shall be a mother, even though she knows not a man. She shall conceive in her womb and bring forth a son, though a virgin she yet remains.

But there is something even more amazing than that;... it is who her Son will be that fills me with the greatest wonder and awe. For this Child that shall be born of her shall truly be hers. A human being exactly as she is a human being. A creature of flesh and blood. A creature that grows from childhood to adulthood. A creature that eats and sleeps and breathes and does all that comes with being human. Such a creature will her Son be.

And that is why I stare at her in awe. For the little Child that shall soon be conceived in her womb and that she shall feed at her breast is none other than the Son of the Highest. He is God the Son, the eternal Word of the Father, through whom I was made, through whom she was made, through whom you were made, and through whom all things are made. She shall be mother of the Maker of heaven and earth. She shall be mother of the Eternal One who was before the stars began to shine or the planets began to dance. She shall be mother of him whom it is our delight to serve and worship and praise, world without end.

The Child she bears shall reign over King David's house forever. The promise of the Kingdom that has no end is fulfilled in him. A forever Kingdom!

O Lady, do you know what that means? He will reign through endless days and those over whom he reins will live in endless life, eternal life. Lady, do you really understand all that is happening to you? Do you know that you will carry in your womb him through whom death itself will be destroyed? Lady, do you know that through the deeds of your Son the sin that separates the human race from the all-holy Father will be covered, atoned for, pardoned? Yes, and that is the most wonderful news of all. This Son you shall bear will wipe away all sin from before God's eyes. The sin which separates you from God; which separates you from your fellow man; which is the cause of all war and hatred and violence and oppression; it shall be cast into the deepest part of the sea; it shall be removed from the world as far as the east is from the west. All sin shall be atoned for and the wrath of God toward sinful man will be turned away. God shall be appeased and reconciled to man and once again the two shall live in peace. The war the rages between God and man shall cease. The wars that rage between men and nations will one day cease. On that day men will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. On that day the lion and the lamb will lie down together in peace and the little child will put his hand into the nest of the cobra without injury. The anger and punishment of God shall be turned to love and blessing. Death shall be turned to life and corruption to purity.

But, Mary, do you know how your Son will do all this? No. I can see that you do not know. That is best for now. The day will come when you stand on a darkened hill and see a sight of love so grievous that it will tear your soul in two as if rent apart by a sword. Soon you will gaze on his face lying in a manger, but on that latter day you will gaze upon his countenance suspended midway between heaven and earth. Soon you will see him lying in a crudely built wooden manger, but on that latter day you will see him suspended on a crudely made wooden cross. But it will be his love for you and for your fallen race that drives him to it, Mary. So rejoice!

And do not worry yourself over how this promise I bring you will be fulfilled. God knows that you are a virgin. But his Holy Spirit will overshadow you and fill you and change you, and inside of you Life himself will begin to grow. The very one who gave life to men; the very one who made your body in such a way that it could bear children; will now become himself your child.

So the Holy One born of you will indeed be my Master, my Lord, my God. It is impossible for any word of God to fail. His promises are more certain than heaven and earth. He said it, and so, it shall be so. Rejoice and be glad.

Meekly do I see you bow your head. Meekly do I hear you utter these words: "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord" (v 38). Meekly do I hear you say, "Let it be to me according to your word." And so the moment has come, and the great time of God's keeping all his promises has begun. Begun in you, Mary. Begun in your womb, which he shall make his holy temple and his home for the next nine months, during which his tiny infant heart will beat beneath your own, until that moment when the Lord blesses you and keeps you and makes his face shine upon you and gives you peace. Until that moment when your baby looks at you and nestles at your breast and closes his eyes in the peace and the warmth of your embrace. As you will hold him, so even now, does he hold you.

(Rejoice, O Lady, for Blessed Is the Fruit of Your Womb!)

Farewell, then, Mary, until we meet once more, until together we bow before the Child you will bear and worship at his feet and give him eternal praise in the Kingdom he comes to prepare, in the presence of all who have trusted in your Son for forgiveness and salvation, in the life that has no end, where the joys are eternal and where the sorrows are forgotten. Farewell, vessel of his grace! Farewell, temple of the presence! Farewell, Mary, child of David, child of Abraham, mother of God! Farewell.

"And the angel departed from her" (v 38).

Amen.