WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.080 We hope that you enjoy this teaching from Christ Church. 00:00:05.459 --> 00:00:09.519 This material is copyrighted and no unauthorized duplication, 00:00:09.880 --> 00:00:15.280 redistribution, or any other use of any part is permitted without prior consent from Christ Church. 00:00:15.280 --> 00:00:22.660 Please consider donating to this work in the San Francisco Bay Area online at ChristChurchEastBay.org. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:34.700 Hi, my name is Sitara, and I'm part of CC Kids. 00:00:35.299 --> 00:00:38.560 A reading from the Gospel according to Luke. 00:00:39.240 --> 00:00:42.100 Luke 1, verses 26 to 38. 00:00:42.100 --> 00:00:51.179 In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 00:00:51.980 --> 00:00:58.579 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. 00:00:58.579 --> 00:01:01.079 The virgin's name was Mary. 00:01:01.659 --> 00:01:03.379 The angel went to her and said, 00:01:03.780 --> 00:01:08.079 Greetings, you who are highly favored. The Lord is with you. 00:01:08.620 --> 00:01:13.719 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 00:01:14.280 --> 00:01:15.659 But the angel said to her, 00:01:15.799 --> 00:01:19.060 Do not be afraid, Mary. You have found favor with God. 00:01:19.840 --> 00:01:23.920 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 00:01:24.560 --> 00:01:27.780 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. 00:01:27.780 --> 00:01:38.099 The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever. 00:01:38.579 --> 00:01:40.200 His kingdom will never end. 00:01:40.420 --> 00:01:43.980 How will this be, Mary, asked the angel, since I am a virgin. 00:01:43.980 --> 00:01:51.579 The angel answered, The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. 00:01:51.900 --> 00:01:55.280 So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God. 00:01:55.740 --> 00:02:01.180 Even Elizabeth, your relative, is going to have a child in her old age. 00:02:01.180 --> 00:02:08.659 And she who was said to be unable to conceive in her sixth month. 00:02:08.980 --> 00:02:11.280 For no word from God will ever fail. 00:02:11.560 --> 00:02:13.640 I am the Lord's servant, Mary answered. 00:02:13.900 --> 00:02:15.879 May your word to me be fulfilled. 00:02:16.260 --> 00:02:17.500 Then the angel left her. 00:02:17.780 --> 00:02:19.360 This is the gospel of the Lord. 00:02:19.920 --> 00:02:21.620 Praise to you, O Christ. 00:02:21.620 --> 00:02:25.860 Thank you, Sitara, for that scripture reading. 00:02:26.379 --> 00:02:27.060 Good morning, everyone. 00:02:27.140 --> 00:02:28.819 My name is Andrew, one of the pastors here. 00:02:28.960 --> 00:02:30.480 And I know what many of you are thinking. 00:02:31.080 --> 00:02:32.680 I've heard it three times already today. 00:02:33.159 --> 00:02:34.879 A lot of Jonathan vibes, right? 00:02:36.560 --> 00:02:38.000 I just want to set the record straight. 00:02:38.080 --> 00:02:39.300 I got mine first. 00:02:39.980 --> 00:02:41.920 And he liked it, so he got one of his own. 00:02:42.360 --> 00:02:45.140 And the truth is, my shirt was just really wrinkled today. 00:02:45.140 --> 00:02:47.219 So I had to cover that up to not distract you. 00:02:48.400 --> 00:02:49.379 Let's get into God's Word. 00:02:50.140 --> 00:02:50.719 Let's pray. 00:02:51.620 --> 00:02:56.460 Father, we want to hear from you. 00:02:56.800 --> 00:02:59.000 We thank you that you're a God who speaks to us. 00:03:00.099 --> 00:03:04.099 And we just ask that you would fill us with your Spirit such that we would listen and obey 00:03:04.099 --> 00:03:08.040 and trust and live the way that you want us to live. 00:03:08.500 --> 00:03:10.819 The way that Jesus has set before us. 00:03:12.200 --> 00:03:13.819 Fill us with your Spirit, we ask. 00:03:14.580 --> 00:03:16.700 Make that change happen in our lives. 00:03:17.099 --> 00:03:17.960 For all of us. 00:03:18.740 --> 00:03:19.759 For all of us, God. 00:03:19.819 --> 00:03:20.879 To walk in the way of Jesus. 00:03:21.620 --> 00:03:25.020 To know the way of the blessed person. 00:03:25.700 --> 00:03:26.560 In his name we pray. 00:03:27.080 --> 00:03:27.360 Amen. 00:03:28.300 --> 00:03:29.759 So, happy Thanksgiving, everyone. 00:03:30.060 --> 00:03:34.500 And if you're new today or just visiting with family and friends for this holiday weekend, 00:03:34.599 --> 00:03:38.340 we want to welcome you to Christchurch on this first Sunday of Advent. 00:03:38.340 --> 00:03:48.280 You know, here at Christchurch, typically for Advent, we preach through the prophets for the four weeks of Advent leading up to Christmas. 00:03:48.280 --> 00:03:53.759 We want to hear from the voices that foretold the Advent, the arrival of the Messiah. 00:03:53.960 --> 00:03:56.759 And then at Christmas Eve, that's when we open up one of the Gospels. 00:03:56.759 --> 00:03:59.459 We're in one of the Gospels every year from Christmas to Easter. 00:03:59.699 --> 00:04:02.459 But we usually don't open that up until Christmas Eve. 00:04:02.599 --> 00:04:04.699 But this year we're doing something different. 00:04:04.939 --> 00:04:08.879 Since we're in Luke's Gospel this year, we're, again, we're doing something a little bit different. 00:04:09.259 --> 00:04:11.439 You know, there are four Gospels, right? 00:04:11.479 --> 00:04:13.060 Four Gospel accounts in the New Testament. 00:04:13.060 --> 00:04:17.920 And there are three of them in which Jesus is born in chapter 1. 00:04:18.759 --> 00:04:23.220 But in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus actually isn't even born yet until chapter 2. 00:04:23.780 --> 00:04:33.500 So, instead of preaching from the prophets this Advent, instead of giving our attention to God's words to His people 400 plus years before the birth of Christ this Advent, 00:04:34.000 --> 00:04:40.060 we're giving our attention to the first words that God spoke after 400 years of silence. 00:04:40.060 --> 00:04:49.620 This Advent, we're starting right here in Luke chapter 1, which is the story of the last 15 months before the long-awaited Advent of the Messiah. 00:04:50.560 --> 00:04:56.259 And in particular, we're going to be looking at some songs that are sung in the beginning chapters of Luke's Gospel. 00:04:56.800 --> 00:05:00.480 One, the song of an inconspicuous teenager from a no-name town. 00:05:00.620 --> 00:05:03.519 Mary's song is also called the Magnificat, right? 00:05:03.519 --> 00:05:10.279 The song of an infertile priest who'd spent his life serving a God whom his people hadn't heard from for centuries. 00:05:10.979 --> 00:05:14.079 Zechariah's song, the song of John the Baptist's dad. 00:05:14.919 --> 00:05:20.279 And then we're going to look at Simeon's song in chapter 2, the song of a man very much near his expiration date, 00:05:20.319 --> 00:05:27.539 yet who'd been waiting his entire life believing that he'd get to see God keep His promise to send a Savior. 00:05:27.540 --> 00:05:30.819 So those are the three songs we're going to start looking at next week. 00:05:31.080 --> 00:05:34.319 Mary's song, Zechariah's song, and Simeon's song. 00:05:34.439 --> 00:05:40.220 And for the third through fifth graders out here, if you can remember what those three songs are and find me in the next three weeks, 00:05:40.520 --> 00:05:42.520 I might just have a prize for you, alright? 00:05:42.660 --> 00:05:48.879 But I want to know what those three songs are, the names of them, and also where you find them in the Bible, alright? 00:05:49.439 --> 00:05:50.180 And I'll give you a clue. 00:05:50.259 --> 00:05:51.879 It's here in Luke chapter 1 and 2, alright? 00:05:51.960 --> 00:05:53.439 I want the verses too, alright? 00:05:53.439 --> 00:05:56.660 Mary's song, Zechariah's song, and Simeon's song. 00:05:57.580 --> 00:05:59.580 Three songs, really, that are songs of faith. 00:05:59.780 --> 00:06:08.840 Songs of hoping against hope, celebrating the unlikely, unexpected, world-changing thing that God was finally about to accomplish through His Son, Jesus Christ. 00:06:08.900 --> 00:06:10.140 So that's our plan this Advent. 00:06:10.660 --> 00:06:17.020 And as we're going through these songs, the question I want the rest of us to really think about is this. 00:06:17.640 --> 00:06:24.960 How could Mary and Zechariah sing with such joy and confidence before the Messiah was even born? 00:06:24.959 --> 00:06:33.439 And even after Jesus was born, how could Simeon hold baby Jesus in his arms and be at complete peace and say, 00:06:33.560 --> 00:06:41.679 I can die happy now just by setting his eyes on this baby who had at this point accomplished literally nothing for the world? 00:06:41.680 --> 00:06:52.759 This Advent, starting today, as we enter into this magical, musical Christmas season and hear and sing and enjoy the songs that we've sung for centuries about Jesus, 00:06:52.759 --> 00:06:55.120 I want us to consider the question. 00:06:56.180 --> 00:06:58.259 What is it that makes the heart sing? 00:06:59.120 --> 00:07:10.279 And especially under unfavorable, undesirable, and uncertain circumstances like Mary's, like Zechariah's, like Simeon's, and maybe like yours today. 00:07:10.279 --> 00:07:12.859 This is the personal question that I'm asking. 00:07:13.000 --> 00:07:19.119 What is it that could possibly make your heart sing in a broken and fearful world like ours? 00:07:19.199 --> 00:07:25.239 What reason is there to sing the songs of Christmas or any songs of love, joy, hope, and peace at all? 00:07:26.339 --> 00:07:34.899 I imagine for many of us it's probably very hard to sing with real hope and joy when we consider the state of the world or even just the state of our own personal lives. 00:07:34.899 --> 00:07:43.319 Have you ever tried to sing and make joyful music when you're just down and crestfallen and when your heart isn't in it? 00:07:44.259 --> 00:07:49.519 Either you can't do it, or if you do pull it off, it's just super inauthentic, right? 00:07:49.779 --> 00:07:51.379 It doesn't hit, it's poorly done. 00:07:52.099 --> 00:07:59.819 Years ago I remember watching this TikTok video of this little boy who was holding up a sheet of music to his face like this. 00:07:59.819 --> 00:08:05.839 And there's someone playing a piano in the background, probably his mom, and the caption of the video reads, 00:08:06.300 --> 00:08:09.459 Asian mom forces son to join church choir. 00:08:11.180 --> 00:08:16.740 And in this video the little boy is there, and he's weeping, and he's sobbing, and he's angry. 00:08:17.439 --> 00:08:23.959 And at the same time he's standing up straight, dutifully practicing the song, Jesus Loves Me. 00:08:23.959 --> 00:08:34.860 So picture this little Asian boy weeping and sobbing and like occasionally growling at his mom and trying to sing Jesus Loves Me at the same time. 00:08:35.319 --> 00:08:39.120 And it's actually quite impressive and super hilarious. 00:08:39.120 --> 00:08:48.440 But what makes it so funny is that you just know that Jesus Loves Me is like the furthest thing on this kid's mind, right? 00:08:49.000 --> 00:08:58.200 He can't sing Jesus Loves Me with any kind of passion or authenticity because all he can think about is how he hates practicing this song and how frustrated he is with his mom. 00:08:59.360 --> 00:09:00.700 And see, that's the thing about singing. 00:09:00.899 --> 00:09:05.259 Singing is best performed when our hearts are attuned to all the things that we're singing about, right? 00:09:05.360 --> 00:09:08.480 The best kind of singing is from the heart, from our core convictions. 00:09:08.480 --> 00:09:14.659 The best kind of singing happens when a song expresses our inner feelings and commitments in more than just words. 00:09:14.820 --> 00:09:19.899 And when that's missing, when your heart is nowhere close to the heart of a song, man, it's hard to sing. 00:09:20.279 --> 00:09:24.580 It's hard to sing for joy when you feel like you have no hope and thus no reason for joy. 00:09:25.620 --> 00:09:29.779 And yet this Advent, what we're about to see are three people who did just that. 00:09:30.580 --> 00:09:32.680 Mary, Zechariah, and Simeon. 00:09:32.680 --> 00:09:37.460 They sing with hope and with joy when hope and joy seem incredibly elusive. 00:09:38.360 --> 00:09:41.340 And you know, that is precisely the spirit of Advent. 00:09:42.180 --> 00:09:48.240 Advent is a season for us to acknowledge the real darkness surrounding us while still testifying in song. 00:09:48.320 --> 00:09:52.340 We will sing here every week about the light that's coming back into the world. 00:09:52.800 --> 00:09:58.180 We will sing of our unforeseen yet confident hope, the coming of Jesus to make all things right again. 00:09:58.179 --> 00:10:08.039 And here at Christ Church, what you will hear again and again in this place is that Jesus, the maker of our hearts, is the one and only one who can make our hearts sing. 00:10:08.879 --> 00:10:14.079 If you love the music here, if the week in and week out singing of our congregation, 00:10:14.080 --> 00:10:22.020 if it does something for you, if you've noticed that we keep on singing here regardless of what else is going on in the world, 00:10:22.100 --> 00:10:28.860 if that's made an impression on you, you need to know that Jesus is the inspiration of our songs in this place. 00:10:29.560 --> 00:10:33.300 Just as he was for Mary, Zechariah, and Simeon. 00:10:33.400 --> 00:10:36.639 That is how amazing this Messiah is to us. 00:10:36.639 --> 00:10:44.240 Now, of course, we realize that just as Jesus hadn't yet arrived or accomplished anything for those three singers at the beginning of Luke's gospel, 00:10:44.879 --> 00:10:48.559 he also is yet to come to us, yet to make all things right and new, 00:10:48.639 --> 00:10:51.639 yet to bring the story of the world to its perfect consummation, 00:10:51.759 --> 00:10:56.399 yet to bend the moral arc of the universe back toward justice once and for all. 00:10:57.080 --> 00:11:01.939 So when we sing our songs of hope and joy here, we're singing also by faith. 00:11:01.940 --> 00:11:07.840 Faith in God's promises, faith in God's word, and that's where we're starting our series today. 00:11:07.960 --> 00:11:11.020 The title of the sermon this morning is The Word Before Our Songs. 00:11:11.600 --> 00:11:14.880 We're looking at what theologians have called the Annunciation. 00:11:15.500 --> 00:11:20.540 The word from God through the angel Gabriel announcing the birth of Christ to Mary. 00:11:20.920 --> 00:11:23.740 An announcement, a word from God that's been turned into a song of its own. 00:11:23.800 --> 00:11:27.040 You may have heard of it in Latin, Ave Maria, or in English, Hail Mary. 00:11:27.039 --> 00:11:30.120 The annunciation, the announcement of the birth of Christ. 00:11:30.599 --> 00:11:36.480 This is the inspiration for all our Christmas songs, and certainly for Mary's and Zechariah's and Simeon's. 00:11:36.519 --> 00:11:42.360 And if we are willing to join them in faith and trust this word from God, this word that can make our hearts sing, 00:11:42.620 --> 00:11:43.579 we will know His joy. 00:11:44.339 --> 00:11:47.740 And I'm pretty sure that every single person in this room wants that. 00:11:47.799 --> 00:11:50.199 Whether you believe the story about Jesus or not, 00:11:50.200 --> 00:11:58.879 I'm pretty sure that deep down you at least believe or you want to believe that your heart was made to sing for joy 00:11:58.879 --> 00:12:00.860 from the inmost part of your being. 00:12:01.840 --> 00:12:05.540 And I know that you want to believe that there is a way that that can happen. 00:12:06.060 --> 00:12:10.940 As Buddy the Elf said, right, the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear. 00:12:11.020 --> 00:12:11.840 We all want that. 00:12:12.840 --> 00:12:14.160 The question is, how do we get there? 00:12:14.960 --> 00:12:16.560 Who can inspire such a song? 00:12:16.559 --> 00:12:20.159 I want to argue it's only God, and it's only His word. 00:12:20.219 --> 00:12:22.559 It's only the word of God that points us to Christ. 00:12:22.639 --> 00:12:28.279 So let's look at that word that God sent after 400 years of silence to Mary in Nazareth. 00:12:28.739 --> 00:12:29.859 So here's some context. 00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:31.019 Look with me at verse 26. 00:12:31.199 --> 00:12:37.359 In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee. 00:12:37.439 --> 00:12:39.919 So we're not starting all the way at the beginning of Luke chapter 1. 00:12:40.179 --> 00:12:42.739 There's a passage that's come right before the text that you heard read. 00:12:42.740 --> 00:12:47.700 And in that passage, the angel Gabriel had already just visited someone else. 00:12:48.039 --> 00:12:51.980 He'd visited the high priest in the temple at Jerusalem named Zechariah, 00:12:52.320 --> 00:12:55.440 the husband of Elizabeth, who was a relative of Mary's. 00:12:55.980 --> 00:13:02.500 And Gabriel let Zechariah know in that temple that even after many years of their family's barrenness, 00:13:03.320 --> 00:13:04.779 they were going to have a son. 00:13:05.360 --> 00:13:09.299 And he was going to be a prophet, and he was going to prepare the way for the Messiah. 00:13:09.299 --> 00:13:11.840 We know this prophet to be John the Baptist. 00:13:12.740 --> 00:13:14.700 So that's just what's happened right before our text. 00:13:14.980 --> 00:13:16.139 And now we're here in verse 26. 00:13:16.259 --> 00:13:19.000 We're here six months after that announcement about John the Baptist. 00:13:19.500 --> 00:13:22.440 And now we're looking at another announcement from Gabriel. 00:13:22.560 --> 00:13:26.080 But this time, not down south, not in the great city of Jerusalem, 00:13:27.039 --> 00:13:32.620 but in the least expected little podunk village of Nazareth, up north in Galilee. 00:13:32.620 --> 00:13:41.799 And not only is the location of this word unexpected, but so also is the recipient of this word incredibly unexpected. 00:13:41.940 --> 00:13:42.799 Verse 27 says, 00:13:43.019 --> 00:13:48.139 This word from God came to a virgin, pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, 00:13:48.600 --> 00:13:49.600 a descendant of David. 00:13:49.879 --> 00:13:51.419 The virgin's name was Mary. 00:13:52.259 --> 00:13:55.120 So here the word is coming not to this girl's soon-to-be husband, 00:13:55.460 --> 00:13:57.680 not to the patriarch of her soon-to-be family. 00:13:57.679 --> 00:14:00.939 No, the main character in this scene is just a little girl, Mary, 00:14:01.459 --> 00:14:06.179 who many commentators think could have been as young as 12 years old. 00:14:06.659 --> 00:14:09.459 Think like Dorothy or Halen, right? 00:14:09.559 --> 00:14:10.679 Or Aidy, right? 00:14:11.099 --> 00:14:12.919 Just a teenager, if that. 00:14:13.139 --> 00:14:17.079 A little girl who no one expected to play much of a role in history. 00:14:17.159 --> 00:14:20.539 A little girl merely pledged to some ordinary Jewish carpenter, 00:14:20.539 --> 00:14:25.819 also whom no historian would have ever known to include in their telling of world history. 00:14:25.919 --> 00:14:29.719 But here she is, a key and main character in this passage. 00:14:30.639 --> 00:14:33.639 So what you have here is after 400 plus years of silence from God, 00:14:33.719 --> 00:14:37.839 not just a word from God to the high priest in the temple as you might expect in Jerusalem, 00:14:38.000 --> 00:14:39.579 but just as importantly, if not more, 00:14:39.679 --> 00:14:45.379 a word from God to an otherwise unknown teenage girl from a no-name town called Nazareth, 00:14:45.519 --> 00:14:49.839 all the way on the other side of the map, which no one would have expected. 00:14:50.539 --> 00:14:54.539 And this is the unexpected word that God communicated to her, verse 28. 00:14:55.360 --> 00:14:56.679 The angel went to her and said, 00:14:56.799 --> 00:14:58.639 Greetings, or Hail, or Good Day. 00:14:58.659 --> 00:14:59.679 You can also read this as a command. 00:15:00.139 --> 00:15:00.620 Rejoice! 00:15:01.079 --> 00:15:01.860 Mary, rejoice! 00:15:02.539 --> 00:15:05.740 You who are highly favored, the Lord is with you. 00:15:06.339 --> 00:15:09.000 The word for favored here is from the same root as grace. 00:15:09.599 --> 00:15:13.179 So after 400 plus years of silence, God's first words are, 00:15:13.279 --> 00:15:15.939 Zechariah, do not be afraid, and Mary, rejoice! 00:15:15.939 --> 00:15:20.519 For I'm about to lavish my grace upon you, and that is your identity now. 00:15:20.819 --> 00:15:23.339 That is who you are in the eyes of God, and I will be with you. 00:15:23.399 --> 00:15:25.240 The Lord, Yahweh, is with you. 00:15:25.639 --> 00:15:30.860 The same words that were spoken to the ancient patriarchs that Mary grew up learning about, 00:15:31.439 --> 00:15:35.699 to Abraham, to Isaac, Moses, Joshua, and Gideon, God said, I will be with you. 00:15:35.899 --> 00:15:39.719 He is saying those same words of comfort and courage to her. 00:15:40.039 --> 00:15:43.459 He is saying these same things that He's always said to people when He was about to accomplish 00:15:43.459 --> 00:15:45.539 something great in and through them. 00:15:45.539 --> 00:15:48.599 He says that now to Mary of Nazareth. 00:15:49.299 --> 00:15:53.019 The very presence of God is going to come upon you, Mary, and protect you, and bless you, 00:15:53.079 --> 00:15:57.519 and honor you, and fill you, and accomplish through you the greatest thing that has ever 00:15:57.519 --> 00:15:59.799 happened in the history of the world. 00:15:59.899 --> 00:16:03.659 This was an incredible honor and encounter, a stunning greeting. 00:16:04.439 --> 00:16:09.939 As one commentator put it, greetings like hail were normal, but rank and status within 00:16:09.940 --> 00:16:13.560 society determined whom one should greet and with what words. 00:16:14.140 --> 00:16:18.860 As both a woman and a young person, perhaps 12 or 14 years old, not yet married, Mary had 00:16:18.860 --> 00:16:24.660 virtually no social status, and neither the title favored or grace won, nor the promise 00:16:24.660 --> 00:16:31.460 the Lord is with you were traditional in greetings back then, even if she were a person of status. 00:16:32.140 --> 00:16:35.900 And yet this is precisely how God chooses to address Mary. 00:16:35.899 --> 00:16:42.019 Our God is a God of grace, who loves to honor the lowly, who loves to accomplish the impossible 00:16:42.019 --> 00:16:49.179 and turn upside down the ways and the values of the cities of men in His perfect, everlasting 00:16:49.179 --> 00:16:49.600 kingdom. 00:16:50.980 --> 00:16:53.319 Now, verse 29 says, Mary was greatly troubled. 00:16:53.679 --> 00:16:55.699 I think a better translation is perplexed. 00:16:55.720 --> 00:16:57.899 She's confused, even curious and reflective. 00:16:57.980 --> 00:17:01.819 She isn't skeptical so much as she's curious to understand more. 00:17:01.820 --> 00:17:06.660 Verse 29 says, Mary was greatly perplexed at his words and wondered or inquired or sought 00:17:06.660 --> 00:17:09.779 to better understand what kind of greeting this might be. 00:17:09.860 --> 00:17:12.559 So Gabriel says there, verse 30, do not be afraid, Mary. 00:17:13.120 --> 00:17:15.180 You have found favor with God. 00:17:15.279 --> 00:17:17.340 Again, that word favor, Gabriel is saying, don't be afraid, Mary. 00:17:17.420 --> 00:17:18.600 This isn't a scary greeting. 00:17:18.940 --> 00:17:23.759 This is a gracious greeting toward you from the word of God. 00:17:24.500 --> 00:17:26.160 This is a word of grace. 00:17:26.539 --> 00:17:31.299 Contrary to what many people believe about this, you know, magical Hail Mary prayer where people 00:17:31.299 --> 00:17:36.859 say this prayer to Mary as if she has this kind of special grace and power to bestow on 00:17:36.859 --> 00:17:38.940 those who pray this formulaic prayer to her. 00:17:39.039 --> 00:17:44.259 No, Mary isn't full of grace because of anything magical about her, but because of the grace 00:17:44.259 --> 00:17:46.359 of God that is lavished upon her. 00:17:47.200 --> 00:17:51.279 This gracious greeting from God to Mary is not on the basis of Mary's merits, but solely 00:17:51.279 --> 00:17:53.680 on the basis of God's gracious pleasure. 00:17:53.680 --> 00:17:58.180 Not because of anything Mary's done, but simply because she is God's chosen vessel for the 00:17:58.180 --> 00:17:59.779 demonstration of His sovereign grace. 00:17:59.779 --> 00:18:03.059 She brings no outstanding credentials to this task. 00:18:03.119 --> 00:18:05.059 In fact, she's a person living just out on the margins. 00:18:05.639 --> 00:18:10.279 She brings nothing on her resume other than her availability and her willingness to serve. 00:18:10.319 --> 00:18:12.039 She has no training or preparation. 00:18:12.619 --> 00:18:19.180 All she has is this gracious promise from God and an invitation and challenge to trust what 00:18:19.180 --> 00:18:20.759 He says, to trust His word. 00:18:21.119 --> 00:18:23.859 And this is the promise she has challenged to trust, verse 31. 00:18:23.859 --> 00:18:30.159 Verse 32. 00:18:30.199 --> 00:18:33.699 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. 00:18:33.799 --> 00:18:38.099 The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over Jacob's 00:18:38.099 --> 00:18:39.199 descendants forever. 00:18:39.599 --> 00:18:41.199 His kingdom will never end. 00:18:41.200 --> 00:18:45.700 So basically, He's saying, Mary, even as a virgin, you're about to conceive. 00:18:46.360 --> 00:18:49.220 And the son you have, you don't even get to name Him. 00:18:49.420 --> 00:18:50.319 I'm going to name Him. 00:18:50.720 --> 00:18:53.880 And the name's going to be Jesus, which means Yahweh saves. 00:18:53.960 --> 00:18:55.420 That's going to be the purpose of His life. 00:18:55.980 --> 00:18:58.779 And this isn't going to be just any son, Mary, but a son who saves. 00:18:58.840 --> 00:19:03.120 And He's not even going to be primarily known by people as the son of Mary and Joseph. 00:19:03.119 --> 00:19:07.939 He's going to be known as the Son of the Most High, a divine son who will restore David's 00:19:07.939 --> 00:19:11.199 throne and kingdom forever and ever. 00:19:12.159 --> 00:19:14.899 So these are some radical claims, right? 00:19:15.299 --> 00:19:16.219 Some radical claims. 00:19:16.299 --> 00:19:21.819 In one sense, they're even kind of undesirable, definitely unexpected, even if in another sense, 00:19:21.899 --> 00:19:24.339 they're almost too good to be true at the same time, right? 00:19:24.979 --> 00:19:29.139 Is Mary just supposed to believe this perplexing word from God? 00:19:29.199 --> 00:19:29.519 Would you? 00:19:29.519 --> 00:19:29.559 Would you? 00:19:30.799 --> 00:19:33.759 How would you, how do you think you'd respond? 00:19:34.160 --> 00:19:39.539 How do you think you'd respond to an angelic messenger like this with such a message as 00:19:39.539 --> 00:19:40.139 this, right? 00:19:41.059 --> 00:19:44.859 Well, notice how Mary responds to this word, this announcement of good news. 00:19:44.940 --> 00:19:45.740 Look at verse 34. 00:19:46.859 --> 00:19:50.339 She's actually attentive, and she's curious, and she's eager to understand more. 00:19:51.019 --> 00:19:55.720 Verse 34, how will this be, Mary asked the angel, since I am a virgin? 00:19:55.720 --> 00:20:00.680 And listen, this is different than the way Zechariah previously questioned Gabriel when 00:20:00.680 --> 00:20:01.799 he came to him at the temple. 00:20:02.279 --> 00:20:06.259 Zechariah was asking, how shall I know this will happen? 00:20:06.420 --> 00:20:09.039 How can I know that this is going to happen? 00:20:09.779 --> 00:20:11.779 Zechariah was asking, how can this be? 00:20:12.539 --> 00:20:14.960 Mary's asking, how will this be? 00:20:15.460 --> 00:20:16.259 By faith. 00:20:17.019 --> 00:20:17.620 By faith. 00:20:17.720 --> 00:20:20.620 She believes it will happen, but she wants to understand more how it's going to happen 00:20:20.620 --> 00:20:21.920 even though she's a virgin, right? 00:20:21.920 --> 00:20:26.960 So Mary responds with faith and curiosity, even with all the question marks that surely 00:20:26.960 --> 00:20:29.380 would have been swirling around in her head. 00:20:30.279 --> 00:20:34.840 And even when the angel answers the question, there are still a ton of question marks left, 00:20:34.920 --> 00:20:35.100 right? 00:20:35.140 --> 00:20:39.900 The response that Gabriel gives Mary in answering this question, how will this be, it's honestly 00:20:39.900 --> 00:20:44.539 just as curious and mysterious as the announcement of her virgin pregnancy. 00:20:44.740 --> 00:20:46.000 In verse 35, Gabriel says, 00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:57.140 So in response to this question, how is this going to happen? 00:20:57.200 --> 00:21:00.240 The answer is simply, well, it's going to be a Holy Spirit miracle. 00:21:01.099 --> 00:21:05.519 The holy, eternal Son of God is somehow just going to be born from you, Mary, through the 00:21:05.519 --> 00:21:06.700 working of the Holy Spirit. 00:21:06.779 --> 00:21:08.000 That's all she's given. 00:21:08.140 --> 00:21:09.400 That's all she's told. 00:21:09.400 --> 00:21:14.080 All Mary is told is that she's going to conceive as a virgin somehow through the power of the 00:21:14.080 --> 00:21:19.120 Holy Spirit, and that her son will be the son of God and reign over an eternal kingdom 00:21:19.120 --> 00:21:19.519 forever. 00:21:20.120 --> 00:21:21.280 She won't get to name him. 00:21:21.540 --> 00:21:26.300 His name's going to be Yahweh saves Jesus of Nazareth, and that she's supposed to just 00:21:26.300 --> 00:21:30.620 rejoice because this is God showing grace and favor and giving his presence to her. 00:21:31.220 --> 00:21:35.000 And then the other thing that Gabriel mentions to her in verse 36 is, even Elizabeth, your 00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:37.060 relative, is going to have a child in her old age. 00:21:37.059 --> 00:21:43.240 And she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month, for no word from God 00:21:43.240 --> 00:21:43.960 will ever fail. 00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:51.740 Now again, can you imagine having this kind of encounter with an angel as a 13-year-old? 00:21:52.619 --> 00:21:55.599 How would you receive a message like this? 00:21:56.019 --> 00:21:59.279 Like, I know the story for many of us who've been in the church for a while or celebrated 00:21:59.279 --> 00:22:00.059 many Christmases. 00:22:00.299 --> 00:22:05.639 I know it's very familiar, but I really hope you can see how strange this episode is and 00:22:05.640 --> 00:22:13.220 how much reason Mary had not to believe, not to trust in this word from God, not to rejoice. 00:22:13.320 --> 00:22:18.240 How much reason Mary had to be afraid and feel defeated as a teenage Jewish girl from Nazareth 00:22:18.240 --> 00:22:21.180 under the occupation of the Roman Empire. 00:22:22.120 --> 00:22:26.400 We shouldn't take it so easily for granted that, oh, of course Mary believed this word 00:22:26.400 --> 00:22:28.640 from God through the angel Gabriel. 00:22:28.640 --> 00:22:33.140 Her faith was just as miraculous as what was predicted to come. 00:22:34.060 --> 00:22:39.380 It's not like she was just some ancient, superstitious, naive little girl who could just believe anything 00:22:39.380 --> 00:22:44.759 from anyone, you know, in comparison to us, you know, modern, sophisticated, enlightened 00:22:44.759 --> 00:22:46.180 Western scientific people. 00:22:46.300 --> 00:22:51.820 No, Mary had just as little reason to believe that a virgin or like a post-menopausal woman 00:22:51.819 --> 00:22:53.939 could be pregnant as any of us. 00:22:54.439 --> 00:22:59.119 Just as little reason to believe that she of all people would have a son who would be 00:22:59.119 --> 00:23:04.000 the son of the Most High God and who would reign over a kingdom that would outlast the Roman 00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:04.879 Empire. 00:23:05.399 --> 00:23:10.319 And if she knew anything as a faithful Jewish little girl, it was that God, God isn't born 00:23:10.319 --> 00:23:11.740 of a human person. 00:23:11.899 --> 00:23:12.980 God isn't born of a woman. 00:23:13.759 --> 00:23:19.079 She had tons of reasons not to believe this word from God, and yet everything she was supposed 00:23:19.079 --> 00:23:23.019 to know about the world and about herself and about her village and about God and about 00:23:23.019 --> 00:23:28.460 the Messiah, all of this was turned upside down by this word, this announcement from God. 00:23:28.500 --> 00:23:29.839 And my question is how then? 00:23:30.480 --> 00:23:31.500 How could she believe? 00:23:32.559 --> 00:23:33.539 Why did she believe? 00:23:34.579 --> 00:23:38.859 And maybe that's a question you have this morning as you're wrestling with who Jesus is 00:23:38.859 --> 00:23:39.720 and why He came. 00:23:40.419 --> 00:23:41.259 Why should I believe? 00:23:41.980 --> 00:23:43.279 How could I believe this? 00:23:43.799 --> 00:23:48.519 How could I believe in God's words about Jesus as the King and as the Savior of the world? 00:23:49.919 --> 00:23:54.659 Well, the answer is not that God has a logical, rational, all-satisfying answer for you. 00:23:54.720 --> 00:23:56.179 He didn't give that to Mary. 00:23:56.960 --> 00:24:01.659 He didn't give her complete certainty about the future and all the outcomes and all the 00:24:01.659 --> 00:24:03.679 mechanics of how everything would play out. 00:24:03.759 --> 00:24:04.879 No, far from that. 00:24:04.960 --> 00:24:11.699 All He gives her is a one-of-a-kind promise and the opportunity to trust His word and play 00:24:11.699 --> 00:24:13.960 a part in His incredible story. 00:24:13.960 --> 00:24:19.799 A choice to trust what He says about Jesus as the Savior and King of the world or to 00:24:19.799 --> 00:24:23.579 trust what others say about what is possible in the world. 00:24:24.480 --> 00:24:25.840 I want you to look again at verse 36. 00:24:25.980 --> 00:24:27.079 God's word to her is this. 00:24:27.740 --> 00:24:32.500 Even Elizabeth, your relative, is going to have a child in her old age, and listen to this, 00:24:32.500 --> 00:24:43.140 Did you hear that? 00:24:43.640 --> 00:24:45.559 She who was said to be unable. 00:24:45.640 --> 00:24:48.359 There's a contrast here that Luke is bringing up to us. 00:24:48.420 --> 00:24:52.640 A contrast between the words of people who think they know what is possible and what is 00:24:52.640 --> 00:24:58.720 impossible and the word of God that never fails, the word of God that actually defines what 00:24:58.720 --> 00:24:59.320 is possible. 00:25:00.280 --> 00:25:04.880 Mary had the option of believing what everyone else said about Elizabeth's pregnancy, what 00:25:04.880 --> 00:25:10.460 everyone else was about to say about her pregnancy and about her son, or she could believe what 00:25:10.460 --> 00:25:14.080 God said about her and her pregnancy and her son. 00:25:14.140 --> 00:25:18.360 She could trust in the words of her fellow humans, or she could trust in the word of her 00:25:18.360 --> 00:25:19.380 Father in heaven. 00:25:19.380 --> 00:25:23.520 The word that spoke, let there be light, and there was light. 00:25:23.680 --> 00:25:28.020 Those were her two options, and she wisely chooses the latter. 00:25:28.860 --> 00:25:33.160 For no matter what Mary thought she knew about the realm of pregnancy possibilities and the 00:25:33.160 --> 00:25:39.540 likelihood of an eternal divine king somehow coming from her womb, her first and foremost commitment 00:25:39.540 --> 00:25:44.520 was to the certainty of God's infallible word. 00:25:44.640 --> 00:25:46.400 The word of God will never fail. 00:25:46.400 --> 00:25:51.259 That was her first commitment, and that is how she was able to bless the world. 00:25:51.700 --> 00:25:52.820 That's what she held on to. 00:25:52.900 --> 00:25:56.080 She held on to this word from God, even if she couldn't understand it. 00:25:56.440 --> 00:26:00.980 Even if she hadn't experienced God do anything like this before, she held on to this word 00:26:00.980 --> 00:26:03.580 of God by faith against all hope she hoped. 00:26:04.080 --> 00:26:09.060 Not because God's word made perfect, complete, logical, or even theological sense to her. 00:26:09.059 --> 00:26:14.859 Not because she knew with any kind of verifiable certainty about the future, but because she 00:26:14.859 --> 00:26:21.319 knew and trusted in the power of God and His word, just as the faithful people of God always 00:26:21.319 --> 00:26:25.119 have, particularly the mighty women of God of old, right? 00:26:25.179 --> 00:26:30.700 Putting aside all her reasons to doubt, Mary recalled the power of the word of God and the 00:26:30.700 --> 00:26:35.640 faith of those who went before her, particularly the women who advanced God's redemptive history 00:26:35.640 --> 00:26:39.860 through unlikely birth after unlikely birth, right? 00:26:40.120 --> 00:26:44.660 Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Hannah, and now Elizabeth, and now her. 00:26:45.600 --> 00:26:49.660 And not knowing exactly how this would all work or happen or come to be or what it would 00:26:49.660 --> 00:26:53.980 look like for the Son of the Most High to come forth into the world and reign forever in 00:26:53.980 --> 00:26:58.700 the line of David with tons of question marks, tons of unknowns, Mary, the highly favored 00:26:58.700 --> 00:27:07.460 one of God, full of His grace by faith, says in verse 38, I am the Lord's servant, Mary answered. 00:27:08.200 --> 00:27:11.720 May your rhema, may your word to me be fulfilled. 00:27:12.240 --> 00:27:13.259 Let it be, Lord. 00:27:13.860 --> 00:27:15.039 Let your word be. 00:27:15.140 --> 00:27:16.500 That was her prayer of response. 00:27:16.620 --> 00:27:21.400 Lord, just as at the beginning of time and just as it has always been for your people, 00:27:21.400 --> 00:27:26.780 for Sarah and Abraham and all the rest of your faithful people, let your word be no matter 00:27:26.780 --> 00:27:28.700 what your word says. 00:27:29.340 --> 00:27:32.620 No matter what your word is, I trust it because it's your word. 00:27:33.440 --> 00:27:35.180 Leave my home to follow you. 00:27:35.700 --> 00:27:38.060 Offer up my only begotten son to you. 00:27:38.180 --> 00:27:42.560 Carry the stigma of being seen in my village as the promiscuous teen who got pregnant before 00:27:42.560 --> 00:27:43.560 my marriage to Joseph. 00:27:44.100 --> 00:27:46.840 Bring that kind of shame upon my household, my father and my mother. 00:27:46.840 --> 00:27:51.060 Have a child who I don't even get to name and whose life trajectory plan I don't really 00:27:51.059 --> 00:27:55.460 get to have a say in and probably raise him as a single mother since Joseph's of course 00:27:55.460 --> 00:27:56.539 going to want to call off the wedding. 00:27:57.200 --> 00:27:59.639 And of course, no one in the village is going to want to help me. 00:28:00.159 --> 00:28:04.039 And then have this child who will be a daily reminder to me that my life is not my own 00:28:04.039 --> 00:28:08.019 and that my life is not about me but about him and someone else. 00:28:09.039 --> 00:28:11.460 She says, okay, sure. 00:28:12.619 --> 00:28:13.399 Let it be. 00:28:14.059 --> 00:28:15.399 I am the Lord's servant. 00:28:15.399 --> 00:28:18.679 May your word be fulfilled in me. 00:28:18.680 --> 00:28:22.700 Mary trusted God's word with an incredible faith here. 00:28:23.080 --> 00:28:27.980 An incredible faith knowing that it would cost her being willing to enter into tons of uncertainty, 00:28:28.180 --> 00:28:33.580 being willing to subject her story to God's grander story, the more central story of his son. 00:28:33.840 --> 00:28:39.200 This is a truly remarkable picture of faith in God's story, in God's word. 00:28:40.400 --> 00:28:44.259 But listen, the point of this sermon isn't simply to say, hey, be more like Mary. 00:28:44.259 --> 00:28:46.259 Have more faith. 00:28:46.700 --> 00:28:47.599 Trust God more. 00:28:47.759 --> 00:28:49.559 Try harder to believe. 00:28:49.720 --> 00:28:53.619 No, if you think the point is about Mary, then you're missing the point of Mary. 00:28:54.660 --> 00:28:55.400 Think about it. 00:28:56.059 --> 00:28:58.180 Do you realize what Mary is doing in this passage? 00:28:59.559 --> 00:29:01.039 Think about what she is illustrating. 00:29:02.119 --> 00:29:02.740 What is she doing here? 00:29:02.740 --> 00:29:05.900 She is laying her life down for the Son of God. 00:29:05.900 --> 00:29:08.740 She is saying, I am not my own. 00:29:09.620 --> 00:29:10.980 My life is not my own. 00:29:11.660 --> 00:29:16.060 But I am going to give myself fully to the story of God and unto the service of the Son of God. 00:29:16.340 --> 00:29:17.600 He can even use my body. 00:29:17.700 --> 00:29:18.820 He can change my life plans. 00:29:18.900 --> 00:29:22.640 He could jeopardize my reputation, my life, my body, my reputation. 00:29:22.940 --> 00:29:25.980 They are not mine, but all of me is all for him. 00:29:26.220 --> 00:29:29.360 And this, this is meant to point beyond Mary. 00:29:29.359 --> 00:29:33.079 This is a picture of the gospel. 00:29:33.939 --> 00:29:44.539 It's a picture of the gospel before the gospel, even before knowing that her son would lay his life down for her in the most ultimate way on a shameful, bloody cross to conquer sin and death. 00:29:44.539 --> 00:29:48.979 For her and the rest of the world, Mary prefigured the Messiah. 00:29:48.980 --> 00:30:02.160 By faith and even without knowing it, she was demonstrating to the world and to us 2,000 years later the beauty and the honor and the goodness of serving the unseen Son of God by faith. 00:30:02.500 --> 00:30:06.420 And laying our lives down for the one who laid his life down for us. 00:30:07.339 --> 00:30:10.579 And this is what this Advent story is calling us to. 00:30:11.799 --> 00:30:13.099 To trust this word. 00:30:13.759 --> 00:30:16.120 To trust this word that can and will make us sing. 00:30:16.119 --> 00:30:19.879 To surrender our stories to the story of God's Son. 00:30:20.539 --> 00:30:21.699 And to do so in faith. 00:30:22.039 --> 00:30:23.279 By faith in his promises. 00:30:24.500 --> 00:30:26.939 You know, at least for us, we have far more reason than Mary. 00:30:27.059 --> 00:30:30.599 Far more inspiration to submit ourselves to God's word and faith, right? 00:30:30.599 --> 00:30:33.779 She had no idea how her son would serve her. 00:30:33.899 --> 00:30:35.339 But we, we know. 00:30:36.059 --> 00:30:38.699 We will celebrate it here at this table what he has done. 00:30:39.819 --> 00:30:42.079 In the same way that Jesus' mother said, 00:30:42.079 --> 00:30:44.559 I am your servant, may your word to me be fulfilled. 00:30:44.559 --> 00:30:47.359 We know that Jesus said the same to his father in heaven. 00:30:47.440 --> 00:30:49.220 Not my will, but yours be done. 00:30:49.379 --> 00:30:50.339 And he went to the cross. 00:30:50.399 --> 00:30:53.759 And then from that cross he said, into your hands I commit my spirit. 00:30:53.859 --> 00:30:56.839 Jesus was pleased to say, I am your servant. 00:30:57.559 --> 00:31:00.839 To his father and not only to his father, but to us. 00:31:01.619 --> 00:31:08.480 The king of heaven came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for us. 00:31:08.480 --> 00:31:13.279 This, this is why we can trust the word of God. 00:31:13.660 --> 00:31:16.920 Because the word of God is Christ unto us. 00:31:17.759 --> 00:31:19.220 It's the word of Christ unto us. 00:31:19.299 --> 00:31:24.759 We trust the word of God, not because it always makes sense according to the worldly wisdom of human logic, 00:31:24.880 --> 00:31:26.539 but because of a higher logic. 00:31:26.680 --> 00:31:30.860 The logic of Christ's cruciform love and resurrection power. 00:31:30.940 --> 00:31:33.920 The logic of faith in his goodness and beauty. 00:31:33.920 --> 00:31:41.180 So this Advent, whatever words, whatever logic, whatever ideologies you might be entertaining you, 00:31:42.759 --> 00:31:44.860 that lead you to doubt. 00:31:45.580 --> 00:31:50.380 That lead you to think that certain things are impossible for God. 00:31:50.900 --> 00:31:54.519 That lead you to doubt the possibility of hope and joy and light in Christ. 00:31:54.660 --> 00:31:57.000 God wants us to remember his word to Mary. 00:31:57.720 --> 00:32:01.220 This word that made her into a servant and singer unto God. 00:32:01.220 --> 00:32:06.339 This word that didn't ask anything from her, but that spoke a gracious word to her, 00:32:06.819 --> 00:32:09.740 inviting her to rejoice in faith. 00:32:10.519 --> 00:32:11.799 Even in the darkness. 00:32:13.100 --> 00:32:15.680 That's the invitation to us this Advent. 00:32:15.779 --> 00:32:22.779 An invitation to rejoice by faith and to submit ourselves as servants unto the story of the servant, 00:32:22.940 --> 00:32:26.279 Savior, King, Son of God, Jesus Christ. 00:32:26.920 --> 00:32:27.579 Let's pray. 00:32:27.579 --> 00:32:27.600 Let's pray. 00:32:31.220 --> 00:32:33.500 Lord, we ask for this kind of faith. 00:32:34.220 --> 00:32:36.640 This kind of Holy Spirit-inspired faith. 00:32:37.259 --> 00:32:41.779 To believe your words, to trust your words, and to live out of your words as servants, 00:32:41.980 --> 00:32:44.519 just like our servant Savior, Jesus. 00:32:45.900 --> 00:32:49.240 And as we go forth in faith, filled with your Spirit, 00:32:49.380 --> 00:32:50.940 oh God, make a difference in this world. 00:32:51.079 --> 00:32:53.360 Bear witness to your everlasting kingdom. 00:32:54.059 --> 00:32:54.940 Your better kingdom. 00:32:55.600 --> 00:32:58.480 The kingdom that all of our hearts long for. 00:32:58.480 --> 00:33:02.019 Make us your witnesses, oh God, in Jesus' name. 00:33:02.579 --> 00:33:02.819 Amen.