Sermon Videos

Tidings of Great Joy: He is Here

Written by Teresa Barrington

Presented on 12-17-2023 at the Christian Church of Windsor

THREE WOMEN

It was several years ago when I learned the amazing connection between Jesus and baby lambs.  When shepherds chose a lamb without spot or blemish for the Passover lamb, they would wrap the lamb in swaddling clothes – strips of cloth – and, as a protective measure against injury, they would put the lamb in a manger.  Isn’t that an amazing correlation?  Jesus is our Passover Lamb – the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

In our Christmas series, we revisit the time when God became a human by focusing on three women who played vital roles in the Messiah’s birth: Elizabeth, Mary, and Anna. Elizabeth was married, settled, mature. Her kinswoman Mary was young, still living at home, and engaged to a carpenter. Anna was an elderly widow whose every waking hour was wholly dedicated to God. Last week, we heard from Elizabeth, as she told her story of the miracle child who would prepare the way for the Messiah.  She felt favored, but knew that someone else was going to be most highly favored.  Another woman was going to be the mother of the Christ child.  Lo and behold! She would find out that this highly favored one is none other than her relative, Mary, a young girl with a destiny yet unknown to her.

Note: Today, I’ll be quoting excerpts from the book “The Women of Christmas” by Liz Curtis Higgs. This is a lovely book full of lovely words. I wove my thoughts in with hers.  So what shall we say of Mary today?

Mary, the Maiden

“Her name is synonymous with innocence, purity, and devotion. And her calling was like no other woman’s before or since: she gave birth to the Savior of the world.”

“In Mary’s time barely one hundred people called Nazareth home. The were hardworking folk. Laborers, shepherds, tradesmen, farmers. Some lived in limestone and clay-walled houses with flat rooftops, inner courtyards, and small square windows high above the dusty street. The poorest families dwelled in caves.

“Little wonder that when he first met Jesus, Nathaneal scoffed, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Yet, God considered this insignificant village worthy of his attention. He sent His angel Gabriel there, bearing good news for a girl who stood on the cusp of womanhood.

She was a maiden, meaning she was a virgin. “Even so, a future husband waited in the wings for Mary. She was pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a carpenter in Nazareth.  They were as good as married,” since a betrothal in those days could only be broken by divorce, which was uncommon.   Remember how Joseph pondered if he would quietly divorce her before the angel told him she was pregnant not of a man but of the Holy Spirit? 

Mary was very young – perhaps as young as twelve. “Girls were betrothed as soon as they could bear children, both to protect their innocence and to allow many healthy years of childbearing.”

Joseph, the Carpenter

And what of Joseph?  “Young men waited to marry until they were capable of supporting a wife and so were usually several years older and established in a trade. A carpenter like Joseph would have spent his days making doors and shutters, cartwheels and plows for his neighbors while preparing a home for Mary as she readied her wedding clothes.

“They were not yet living under the same roof – a full year often stretched between engagement and marriage. To protect her reputation and Joseph’s, Mary had to steer clear of any social gatherings and behave as a chaste and proper bride-to-be. 

Joseph was of the house of David, in the lineage of the king.  In addition to his royal roots, he had a loyal heart.  After the angel told him not to be afraid to take Mary for his wife, he did exactly that.  He married her despite the scandal and wagging tongues, despite the mystery and the hardship. Like his wife-to-be, and later shepherds in the fields, Joseph knew to listen to an angel sent by God.

Why Mary?

Throughout the centuries of church history, Mary has been venerated. No doubt, she was important. No doubt she was chosen. But we must not lose sight of how normal she was. It’s easy to think when you’re normal that you’ll not be able to accomplish anything significant for God.  This is not true.

“God didn’t choose Mary because she was unique. Mary was unique because God chose her. He knew her tender heart, her trusting nature, her abiding faith, her humble spirit. He who formed Mary in her mother’s womb would soon form His Son in Mary’s womb.” (pg44)

“What made her worthy of her calling was not her virtue, it was God’s virtue. That’s why her story gives every woman a generous measure of hope. God takes us as we are and uses us as He wills, for our good and for His glory.

“For centuries Jewish women had hoped that one of them would become the mother of the Messiah.”  And now here she stood in the presence of the angel Gabriel being told that she was the one, the chosen one, to bear the honor, to bear the Messiah, and to bear the misunderstanding of the people around her.

Yet, she did not fully understand what Gabriel was saying.

How Can This Be?

In verse 34 of Luke 1, Mary asks, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”  She was not asking for proof like Zechariah.  Mary did not doubt God could manage this miracle. She just wanted to know “how.”   Clearly it’s okay – more than okay – to ask God how he will accomplish something. Even if his answer is “Trust me,” we can be sure he hears us. (g 51)

“To her credit, Mary didn’t ask for clarification or press for details” when Gabriel told her how it would happen. In verse 35, he said, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power fo the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.”

She believed the angel because she believed in the One who had sent him.

Connection to Elizabeth

Surely God knew that this whole situation was going to be difficult for this young girl, not only to grasp, but to walk out.  So, Gabriel makes a connection between her and another woman, someone she knows and loves, to help her through the process.

Gabriel said, “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.” (vs. 36)

“Elizabeth’s conception was remarkable because of her advanced age, but at least her husband was involved in the process!  Still, the unexpected news about Mary’s kinswoman must have comforted her as she realized that if the miracle of Elizabeth’s pregnancy could happen, maybe her own conception wasn’t so far-fetched. It also meant Mary would not have to face this nine-month journey alone. She would have a confidante, a listening ear, and experienced woman who could help her.   Let this connection encourage you – at any age, we can serve the Lord and we can do it with younger people if we are older or older people if we are younger. God calls certain ones of us into the same space to serve Him.

God’s Word is Unfailing

“The angel’s next words ring through the ages, having empowered not only Mary but also everyone who has ever read them on a page or heard them spoken: “For no word from God will ever fail.” Luke 1:37

“There it is: the splendid banner flying over this scene. A truth that answers every doubt, every fear, every question, every concern and is “one of the most reassuring statements in all of scripture.   Nothing is impossible for God.  God can do anything! (pg 54)

“Sometimes we whisper to ourselves, ‘No way. That’s impossible.’  For us, perhaps, but not for our heavenly Father. As an angel once said within Sarah’s earshot, ‘Is anything to hard for the Lord?’ The obvious answer is no.

“Then why do we throw up roadblocks when God drives a tank?  He can remove any obstacle, overcome any challenge, mow down any opposition. He is the very definition of trustworthy. And he can do anything. Anything.

“Mary carried Jesus in her body. By the same Holy Spirit we ‘carry the risen Lord in our hearts.’ Nothing is impossible with God residing in us and working through us.

The Lord’s Servant

Mary heard loud and clear, “No word from God will ever fail.” What was her response? Have you considered that she had a choice?  She didn’t have to do it.

God would not force her to do what Gabriel spoke.  Mary had a choice in the matter. Just as each of us has a choice in the calling on our lives that God has revealed to us. 

May we be like Mary and say, “I am the Lord’s servant.”

“Her first response was to humble herself. Mary knew her place, but even more she knew God’s place; all-powerful, all-seeing, all-knowing, and all-loving.” (pg 55)  “Think of this young maiden consciously and willingly joining with the purpose of God to bring salvation to the world. Only God could have provided the faith necessary to take such a huge leap.  And leap she did.

Verse 38 records her statement of compliance, “May your word to me be fulfilled.” 

“God knew she would say yes. God did not have a Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C.  Mary was The Plan. (pg 56)

Lest we raise Mary up to preside over humanity just under Jesus, consider that when “Gabriel was no longer there to comfort her, she must have felt overwhelmed with the secret she carried inside her heart. How would she explain what she had seen to her friends, to her parents?  No one in Nazareth has encountered an angel How would she make them understand? What if they didn’t believe her?” 

In the end, their opinions did not matter. She knew the truth.

Mother Mary

Then, she would give birth to the Truth.  “The miracle was accomplished, all because an ordinary woman clasped hands with an extraordinary God.” (pg 57)

Closing Prayer

Adonai, our Great God, we can rest in Your providence, Your ability to know the start from the finish. You are the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Your plan to counteract sin and bring life back into the world was accomplished through the most unlikely people. Elizabeth and Zechariah were unlikely.  Mary and Joseph were unlikely. May we, who feel just as unlikely, be willing to accept whatever role you would have us fulfill in your great plan of salvation. Help us in our ponderings this season to see through the eyes of the people who lived the first Christmas. Keep our focus on the Christ Child who died to be our Savior. In that dying, He bought us eternal life. We could never thank You enough for this precious gift, Your only Son sent to the world through a young woman’s willingness to say, “Yes.”  Empower us by Your Holy Spirit to say “Yes,” too, no matter how difficult, humbling, or impossible the assignment. In the name of the Son You sent, Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.

©2023 Teresa Barrington