THE SERVANT OF THE LORD

George Butterfield
December 19, 1999

Our sermon text for this morning (Luke 1:26-38) is the beautiful story of the revelation of the angel Gabriel to Mary that she will bear the Son of God. It is worthy of more consideration than we can give it this morning. My sermon must be short and sweet. The simplest way I know of to present this word to you is to look briefly at the three main characters. These are: God who is represented by his messenger, Gabriel; the baby that is to be born; and Mary.

God is the main character in this story. He sends the angel to Mary. He reveals to her that she will conceive and that this will be a miraculous event. The Holy Spirit will come upon Mary and the power of the Most High, God himself, will overshadow her. Mary will become pregnant through God's intervention and not in the normal way. God also gives Mary a sign: her older relative Elizabeth, the barren one, has also conceived and will bear a son. Nothing is impossible with God. Nothing can stand in the way of his plans for the salvation of the world. Actually, this story and the one about Elizabeth and Zechariah go together. Both are stories of God's initiative of grace and power. The birth of these babies will express God's favor toward the world. They will also express God's ability to do the impossible. Elizabeth and Mary will have sons because God is able; they will have sons for our sake because God is gracious.

This passage is also about a baby who will be born. We Christians have heard the story so many times that I fear we sometimes miss the awesome nature of what was told to Mary about her future son. He is to be named Jesus, God saves. The following will be true of him. He will be great. Surely Mary would have called to mind the words of the psalmist who frequently uses this word for God himself. "Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; his greatness is unsearchable" (Psa. 145:3). The baby will be called the Son of the Most High, the Son of God. He will be a king and God will place him on the throne of his ancestor David. He will be different from David, though, for his kingdom will be forever. It will have no end. Finally, the child to be born will be holy from conception. He will come into existence through the work of the Holy Spirit and he will be consecrated from birth for a unique mission in the world. This is the heart and soul of our faith, brothers and sisters. Let us confess that these things are true.

The third character in the story is Mary, Miriam in the Hebrew. What a phenomenal woman. Her name means "Excellence" and she certainly lived up to her name. The text reveals that she is engaged to Joseph, a man from the house of David, but that they have not come together yet. She is still a virgin. The angel greets her with a word that means "Rejoice!" What would she have to rejoice about? She is among the most powerless people in her society. She is young, probably about 13, in a world that values age. She is female in a world ruled by men. She is poor in a stratified society. Furthermore, she has neither husband nor child to validate her existence. She is an absolute nobody. But what is the message of God for her? "Greetings, favored one. The Lord is with you." No wonder that Mary would be perplexed by this and ponder in her heart what this could mean. How am I favored? How am I full of grace? In what way is the Lord with me? In an age when Christmas has become a story about consuming and going into even greater debt to do it, this is a story about a God who chooses to work through the poorest of the poor. As we were making the pumpkin pies yesterday to be delivered on Christmas Day it just seemed appropriate that during this season of the year our focus would be on the poor here in Denton. Surely God, who began all of this by choosing to work through this poor, peasant teenager, would be pleased. But Mary wasn't simply a poor, young, peasant girl. She also demonstrates true humility. Perhaps the most famous words she ever spoke conclude this story: "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Mary is humble, obedient, strong, and good. She is a true role model. She is a breath of fresh air in an age that goes gaga over athletes, musicians, and movie stars. She's the real deal. She doesn't blindly accept even God's word. She's thoughtful. She ponders these words of God in her heart. But she is willing to cooperate with God and bring forth the Savior of the world. For this she deserves our thanks and praise. Elizabeth said it well in the text following this one: "Blessed are you among women. And blessed is the fruit of your womb" - Jesus.

Through the child she bore we, too, have been greatly favored. The Lord is also with us. Do you have the humility required to receive the grace of God? Will you, like Mary, humble yourself and allow Christ to be born in you today? Perhaps you consider yourself a nobody, like Mary. Why would God choose me? All I can say to you is, That's just who God is. To you the word of God is, "Rejoice, favored one. The Lord is with you." Is your response the same as Mary's? Would you this morning say to God, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word"? If you would come to receive baptism and to confess your faith in Mary's child or if you simply want to come to receive the prayers of the church, come now.