Sermon, Advent 4

            Advent is a great season to pause, reflect, pray, prepare. It's also a season where things can happen very, very quickly. We're jumping from story to story, trying to fit it all into these 4 weeks. There are beautiful themes and messages this season, and trying to apply these messages to our own lives - well that's part of the challenge, isn't it? That's why we have to dedicate time and energy and prayer to fitting ourselves into the message of Advent.

            And so we try to understand the message of the scriptures, and think of how it fits in our own contexts; we think of how we fit into the story to make it our own, to embrace it fully. For if we do not make the story our own, how on earth can we live it out in our own lives and ministries?

            So today we have the great story of the Annunciation. It all starts off with Gabriel showing up for a little conversation with Mary. There she is, young girl, in pops a celestial being who tells her that she is VERY special, VERY important - so much so that the favour of the Lord is upon her.

            Yowsers. This is huge! This is astonishing! This is perplexing! Gabriel, with his long history of revealing and explaining God's word to humankind, says that Mary is the chosen girl. I'd be slack-jawed, silenced, barely able to keep it together. Possibly, Mary was too. It's no wonder that Mary "pondered what sort of greeting this might be."

            Of course, we know that it will be good news - because we know the story. But imagine yourself, at the time, being visited by a messenger of God, who tells you he's got some big news for you. Would you listen? Would you interrupt with questions? Would you run away in terror? Would you even notice the gift of good news being brought?

            There's a challenge - acknowledging the good news that is right before us. Because there IS good news - all around - when we're willing to hear it. Yet how often do we in our lives hear good news, and stop to think about it? How often do we see the opportunity to receive a message of God - or let's go one step further, to share a message of God - and we just reject it in order that we can go along our day? When was the last time that we saw something, or someone said something to us, that seemed to strike a chord in our hearts, and decided to ponder on the greeting? I wonder if sometimes we disregard messages from God because we're so busy with other things, our lives are so filled with other noise, that we simply block out the capacity to listen and hear.

            So maybe that's the first message from Mary today: that there are always messages coming to us from God, that we can hear new things, if we are willing to.

            Then - the ball drops. The messenger announced, he now announces the message. MARY IS PREGNANT.  Mary: a young girl, unmarried, virginal, is pregnant. Expecting. Mother-to-be. Now, that in and of itself is a miracle. Every pregnancy, every new life, every anticipation of a new beginning: that's good news. That's life-changing news.

            Now add to that the weight of the child she is carrying - not pounds and ounces, mind, but the ancestry and responsibility of this tiny, not-yet-bump of a baby. "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. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."

            Admittedly, I think every mother-to-be believes (rightly so!) that their child is the most spectacular, best, most amazing child ever. As they should. But imagine having that opinion confirmed - right from day one - and not just by a spouse, sibling, best friend - but by God. Gabriel has barely reached punctuation in telling her that she will conceive this child, and he's now telling her that the child is to fulfill the scriptures, be known as God's own child, that he will be the chosen one, the messiah, the salvation for the people of Israel. That's what was understood by the people when they spoke of the throne of David and the House of Jacob. So Mary knew full well the implications of this pregnancy even as Gabriel was announcing it to her.

            And so, our story continues with Mary's response to the heavenly messenger. A very lovely, calm, statement: "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"  But what if Mary was not, in fact, calm and composed. What if her tone was more frantic: "HOW CAN THIS BE?!?!? I AM A VIRGIN! Let's unpack that into a modern (censored) teenager. My father will kill me just for being pregnant! My fiancé will reject me for being unfaithful! I'm not ready for this! I haven't got what it takes to do this! I haven't done what I would need to! That's NOT my plan! There's no way I can do this! NO!"

            I'd imagine that's something like what I might have said if I had been in Mary's place.

Putting myself into the story here, I imagine that's what I say sometimes when God is giving me a new opportunity for ministry. 'Try something new?! Nope, I'm sure I couldn't. Be a part of something exciting but challenging? Nope, that's outside my comfort zone. Change my life because God has decided my circumstances should change? Nope, pick someone else, someone better, someone holier. I'm not ready, I'm not able, I don't want to.'

            Aside from sounding like a petulant child, it also sounds horribly unfaithful, doesn't it? Yet time and again I can recognise in my own life   opportunities that I have walked away from, that I have felt unworthy or unable to attempt. I wonder if we all have done, at some point: individually and collectively. Are we letting earthly fear hold us back? I'll let you ponder that as Gabriel rebuts Mary.

            He says: "the Holy Spirit will come upon you." Obviously Gabriel has said this with more than human words, because that really sounds like a terrible pick-up line. And so - with that divine authority, let's be honest: that's a great way to end a debate. 'Sorry, Mary, love, it's just how it is. This is holy; this is decided; this is happening. No amount of your arguing, denying, debating, is going to get you out of this. It's God's will. It's a work in progress. You're part of that work. You'll be moved, challenged, stretched beyond your previous bounds. And it will be good, and you will thrive - if you accept this as your ministry.'

            Phew! what could a girl say to that? This is holy. This is happening. She can either accept it, embrace it, live it - and celebrate it for the new and exciting possibilities that it offers - or she can sulk, and it will happen anyway.

            This story reminds us that we too, when faced with change, have the same options. We can fight against it, but if it is God's will, it will happen. And how we respond to that is our choice: but who among us would want to still fight? Who among wouldn't rather look joyfully into the vibrant life God is bringing to us and through us? When God says to us that the Spirit is present, that the opportunities are fantastic, that the reality is Holy, wouldn't we too delight in accepting this news, knowing that God's love and grace will direct us and comfort us even through the earthly difficulties we might face?

            Then we hear such wondrous words of comfort - presumed, assumed, known - spoken aloud: "nothing is impossible with God." Nothing! The darkest times will come to light - because God wills it. The tears on earth will be wiped away - because God wills it. The limitations of this life, of this situation, of this reality - they're not limitations to God; when God wills it, it will happen. Gabriel is wanting Mary to hear this truth so much so that he shares an example: even her cousin Elizabeth, who is old and barren, is 6 months pregnant. Old and pregnant! Because nothing is impossible with God. And no one doing God's work is alone. Mary will have Elizabeth, Elizabeth will have Mary.

            And Mary believes. Yet another great lesson for us: to believe that nothing is impossible with God. How might our lives be different if we believed that? What opportunities might we engage in if we truly believed that? How could we reach out to our communities if we trusted in that? What challenges would we overcome if we embraced the truth in those words: NOTHING is impossible with God. Stressed? Hopeless? Troubled? Trust that God will look after you, that God will send you the messages and supports that you need: nothing is impossible with God.

            So our announcement story today is exciting. It's engaging. It's a story that begs to live in our hearts and our minds, to be lived out in how we connect with the world around us. It's a story that wants for us to listen to what God is speaking to us; it invites us to walk toward opportunities in faith, rather than away from them in fear. It's a story that compels us to seek the Holy in our lives and be guided by the movement of the Spirit. it's a story that assures us that though change is intimidating and overwhelming, it can bring forth new life to the world, when we trust in the promise of God's amazing power and lean on the supports that God has given us (both to use, and to be). It's a story that inspires us to go bravely into the world, accepting and embracing our ministries, saying boldly to God and to the world: "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word."