“Used”

4 Advent

December 21, 2008

 

Used

by John Christianson

 

Luke 1:26-36, 38

 

26In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him 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 ancestor David. 33He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 35The angel said to 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 holy; he will be called Son of God. 36And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

 

Back when I was a little boy, some of the young men were getting very important letters.  They started out, “Greetings from the President of the United States.  You have been selected. . .”  Today, I would be honored to get a letter like that.  Only thing is, that was a different age, and the stationery said “Department of War.”  It was a draft notice.  How many of you men here got one of those letters?  Raise your hand.  You didn’t seek it.  You couldn’t duck it like a shoe.  It meant all of your dreams and plans would be put on hold – maybe permanently.  Somebody else would be making decisions for you.  You were destined to be “used.”

 

That’s how it was for Mary too.  There wasn’t any advertisement posted on the bulletin boards in Nazareth and the other towns of Judaea. 

 

 

WANTED

Handmaid of the Lord.

Benefits:  “all generations will call you blessed.”

Liabilities:  “a sword will pierce your own soul also.”

Apply at your local synagogue.

 

 

Neither did God send a dozen angels to a dozen villages to collect résumés from a dozen virgins.  That’s not how it worked.

 

God sent one angel to one maiden with a draft notice:  “Greetings from the Lord.  You have been selected. . .” 

 

The Beatles made a big thing out of her agreeing.  “Let it be,” she said.  But that’s no great surprise.  This message wasn’t just from the President of the United States.  It was from the Lord himself and what Jewish girl would say “No,” to God?  And maybe you noticed, the angel only mentioned the good part of the job.  He 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 ancestor David.  Certainly we can excuse this young teen if it made her entertain some dreams of glory, like living in the royal palace, an honored Queen Mother.  Notice, the angel didn’t say anything about an urgent emergency stable, or standing under a cross or beside a tragic tomb.  No hint of that until forty days after Christmas when old Simeon uttered those bewildering words, “and a sword will pierce your own soul also.”  [Luke 2:35]  I wonder, what did old Simeon know?  Where did he learn it?  Certainly it’s good that Mary didn’t know it!  Maybe, momentarily, she would have thought about being a conscientious objector before she said “okay.”  I think she would have cried herself to sleep many times before she had to.

 

But Mary was “used.”  It sounds bad, but it surely was an honor!  She was used BY GOD!  Praise God that he condescended to use Mary. 

 

God has used many people.  He’s doing it all the time. 

 

Back in 1982 some of us were moved by people stealing food in Minneapolis, so we organized the Garden and Pantry Truck as a food sharing program.  We started planning a refrigerated semi that would run from Worthington to Minneapolis, pick up food all along the way, and bring it to the hungry.

 

            In Minneapolis a black Pentecostal congregation bought a used synagogue.  It had a huge kitchen.  No way could they use it, but Dolly, the pastor’s wife, thought about it for weeks.  She said she kept hearing this voice in her head saying, “Feed the hungry!”  Then she got an idea.  They’d feed the hungry.

 

            In Lake Lillian, Minnesota, an empty lot next to a church went up for sale.  The pastor lived in a parsonage.  He’d never owned real estate in his life, so he bought the lot.  Trying to figure out what to do with it, he came up with a project.  The Sunday School would grow vegetables to feed the hungry.  But they didn’t have that many hungry people in Lake Lillian, so he asked the bishop for advice.  He said, “Call John Christianson.”

 

            So we set up the route.  There were churches in fifteen communities, every denomination, collecting food from all the neighboring churches, and loading it into the refrigerated semi when Bernie and I came by.  It was a great trip!

 

            When we got home, Bernie and I were sitting in my kitchen telling my wife about it. 

 

                        So there we were, hauling food into this Pentecostal synagogue, and Dolly said, “Land sakes, where’d you get those cabbages.  I’ve never seen cabbages like that in my life?”  Well, those cabbages were from Lake Lillian.  So, here’s a congregation in Cottonwood planning to bring food to the hungry, but needing the food.  And here’s a Sunday School in Lake Lillian growing food to feed the hungry, and no hungry people.  And finally, here we are carrying that food into a church in Minneapolis with hungry folk and a kitchen to cook in, but no food! And nobody coordinating.

 

Bernie got a funny look on his face.  He said, “You know, I think we’ve been used.”  I had the same feeling. 

 

If God has a job to do, God sets out and finds the people to do it.  Didn’t he use Mary in a great way?  Surely God can use us in small ways.  And when you know you’ve been used by God, there’s no greater feeling!

 

I’ll bet many of you have similar stories.  I’m sure there are a hundred stories like that in this sanctuary.  Maybe we can start sharing them at the coffee pot after worship.

 

So we will bless Mary for being used and glorify God for using her and giving us a Savior.  That’s the big stuff!  But let’s not end there.  Let’s open our ears, look around, and see if maybe God isn’t looking to use us.  There’s nothing to compare with being “USED” by God.

 

Amen.

 

(Comments to John at john.christianson@comcast.net )