Advent . Mary’s Four Surprises
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The Birth of Jesus Foretold
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”
38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
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Advent calendars are full of surprises. You open one door, and there's chocolate, open another, and what have you got? Surprise, surprise, chocolate! We used to get a different aspect of the Nativity in each box, but commercialism has changed all that!
Today we read about the unexpected visit of Angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary, during which he told her that she would be the Mother of the Son of God.
We'll never know whether she understood what Gabriel was foretelling. She knew the immediate implications the surprise would have on her, shame, end of a relationship with Joseph and possible death by stoning for adultery.
The surprise was not just Gabriel's visit but the message itself. Naturally, Mary asks how she will become pregnant as a virgin. The simple answer is "nothing is impossible for God." And Mary moves from surprise to trust, to say "yes" to God, despite not knowing how things would develop.
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The Birth of Jesus Foretold
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”
38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
There are at least four surprises in today's reading.
Gabriel's first surprise to Mary — 30 “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God.”
Think of the fear that must have gripped Mary — what was it that troubled Mary at first? There is a clue in verse 29, Mary is troubled by what she hears, not what she sees:
29 ‘Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.'
It doesn't seem that she was startled (not like when someone jumps out on you). Here are the words:
28 ‘'Greetings you who are highly favoured,
the Lord is with you.'
How would you react if a stranger came and said that to you? Reading between the lines, it seems her modesty and humility was the reason she was greatly troubled. Mary considered herself to be insignificant. Her reaction is, “Why me, why should I find favour with God? Why should I be greeted in such an exalted way?”
From Mary's first surprise, we can learn that God looks for ordinary people, that he favours humility. The “Who me?” type of people, people who will trust Him and readily do whatever he asks. Even when others seem more qualified, God will favour a less significant person who will not take glory for themselves. It's an encouraging surprise for any of us who are being called to trust God in a new way of serving.
Gabriel's second surprise is in the detail
31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.
Her first reaction was to ask, ‘How will this be since I am a virgin?’ and Gabriel assured her it would be the work of the Holy Spirit. It would be a miraculous conception, not of husband or human father; the Holy Spirit would impregnate her. This child would be fully human (of Mary) and fully divine (of Holy Spirit).
I want to labour the point (excuse the pun) the bible is clear, this child is not Joseph's Son. I labour the point because today, there is a progressive attack on the traditional reading of the Scriptures. The virgin gives birth to a sinless child who one day would lay down his life and 'atone' for the sins of the world. It is crucial to Christianity.
If you are inclined to be sceptical about this second surprise, 'the virgin will conceive', let me emphasise that the writer of this Gospel is Luke, who is both a doctor and a historian.
Luke records this detail because he would have interviewed Mary, and to Luke, it is fact (miracles can be factual). Two Thousand years later, it is an unalterable integral pillar of Christianity. As Luke says in Acts 4:12, ‘There is no other name under heaven given to humanity whereby we can be saved.’
Which leads us to the Third surprise...
The third surprise to Mary was Gabriel's message
32 He will be great and be called the Son of the most high. The Lord will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, his kingdom will never end. 35 The Holy One will be called 'the Son of God.'
Sticking to these few verses alone, we learn so much about this child in Mary's womb:
His name is Jesus, meaning Saviour. We learn he is fully human, born of Mary, fully divine. Son of God (1:35).
He will be great - the greatest the world has ever seen(1:32).
Fully royal (1:32) God will give him the throne of David; he is King of Kings (Revelation 19:16).
He is Fully Forever, his kingdom will never end (1:33).
Fully pure, Holy One (1:35).
The Fourth Surprise — Mary's response to Gabriel's message
38 'I am the Lord's servant; may it happen as you have said.'
Mary's response to the Angel's greeting, the detail and the message was not one of understanding. She didn't say: 'that makes sense, Lord.' Mary's response was child-like trust, obedience and acceptance of God's word. 'May it happen as you have said.' Friends, let nothing keep you from responding like Mary this Advent – the way of faith, trust, belief in Jesus Christ as your personal Lord, Saviour and friend.
Martin Luther said,
'there are three wonders here: one that God should become man, another that a virgin should bear a child and third that Mary believed and this is the greatest of the three.'
This was the very first Christmas gift – Mary's boy child. Take time this Christmas to appreciate the gift God has given you – his name is Jesus' for he will save his people from their sins' (Matt 1:21). Receive him with joy, like Mary. She wrote a song (Luke 1:46) 'My soul magnifies the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.' The angels brought tidings of great joy. John the Baptist leapt with joy in his mother's womb. There's a lot of joy going on here!
Will you respond with joy, saying yes to the Lord, do whatever you wish with me, Lord I am your servant Lord?
Kelvin first preached on this topic at St Andrews in Wakefield in 2001 and more recently developed the idea at St Paul’s Barton, Isle of Wight 2020. While he never preaches the same sermon twice each new engagement with the passage builds on the previous reflections. The bible is truly the living Word!
