Christmas Day Message 2008 - "The Angel Speaks" (Luke 1:26-38)

It was time for an angel named Gabriel to speak to reveal the purposes of God. There had been 400 years of prophetic silence in Israel. Throughout this time, with the lack of such dissenting voices, the religious law under which these people lived had become complex and unhelpful in the hands of their leaders. However, the whole of history was now about to turn. The world was crying out for reform, and God would answer in the most dramatic of ways. First the great prophet John the Baptist would be born, and then six months later, the prophet beyond all prophets would arrive. This would all certainly pan out in the “fullness of time” of which Paul speaks.

God entering the world to bring about personal transformation and salvation would not happen in the way people might have expected (with a lot of pomp and pageantry). It would all begin with the quiet voice of an angel to a young girl from Nazareth. The name of the angel was Gabriel, such a name signifying the active presence of God. And Nazareth would be one of the last places you would expect anything significant like this to occur in; yet, initially it would here, that the ancient visionary promises concerning the everlasting nature of David’s kingdom were realised. The young girl’s name was Mary, and she was betrothed to Joseph (meaning that they were legally promised to each other, yet had not been sexually intimate yet).

Mary was probably looking forward to an uneventful life as Joseph’s husband, rearing whatever children God happened to bless them with along the way. All what she was being told would surely be too much for such a young girl to bear, and we read here of Mary’s apprehension; yet we also read that having been reassured by the angel, Mary was able to say: “Here I am … the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word” (v.38). Mary chose to accept any inconvenience, accusation and danger involved – in faith. Indeed Mary was chosen because of the committed availability to God’s purposes she would show.

So what was it that the angel Gabriel revealed that was so reassuring, that was so remarkable, that was so convincing? God’s approach to Mary was so thoroughly personal – “Greetings favoured one, the Lord is with you”, was so beautifully accepting – “Do not be afraid Mary, for you have found favour with God”, and was so impactingly significant – “You will bear a son, and name him Jesus (meaning ‘the Lord is salvation’)”! God encountered Mary in such a personal, comforting and affirming way, that she was assured that it was her Loving Creator God. Hopefully today, in the celebration of Jesus’ birth, we can all at some stage hear that same soft voice of God in our ear … saying something thoroughly personal, beautifully accepting and impactingly significant.

[We would have to say that Mary was told the absolute truth … she was not in any way being deceived – unlike a guy I heard about recently.
There was a young man shopping in a supermarket.
He noticed a little old lady following him around a bit.
And she kept staring at him.
Later, this old lady called him over to the checkout line she was in, and said to him, 'I hope I haven't made you feel ill at ease; it's just that you look so much like my late son.' The young guy answered, 'That's okay.' The lady continued on … 'I know this might sound silly, but if you'd call out “Goodbye, Mum” as I leave the shop, it would make me feel happy.' So she went through the checkout, and as she reached the doorway, this guy called out, “Goodbye, Mum”. The little old lady waved and smiled back.
Pleased that he had brought a little sunshine into someone's day, the guy reached for his wallet to pay for his groceries.'That comes to $121.85,' said the cashier. 'How could it be that much? ... I only bought 5 items!' The cashier replied: 'Yes, but your Mother said you'd pay for her things too.']

No, Mary was not being deceived. Through the words of the angel, Mary would come to understand that this event, being initiated within Mary’s own very body, would have nation-wide and world-wide significance. The child that would be born to her would take up the spiritual implications of the throne of King David and inaugurate a new kingdom of which there would be no end. This child will demonstrate once and for all how to live as a human according to God’s ways and how human affairs should be conducted. If the people of the world would just look and listen, what change could be experienced!

Mary would be giving birth to the very Son of God, the bringer of salvation. Yes, okay, but how is it that I as a virgin can conceive such a child, asks Mary! This is because, replies the angel, “nothing will be impossible for God” … “the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of God will overshadow you”. Hopefully today, as we seek to follow Jesus, we can all hear that same clear voice of God reminding us, in the face of all the burdens we are carrying … that nothing is impossible for God, and that the Holy Spirit overshadows us (meaning that we having the covering of God as we walk the journey of life). With this, the angel Gabriel had said all that needed to be said, and thus departed.