Luke 1:26-56
“In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s
pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a
virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s
name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly
favored! The Lord is with you.”
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and
wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do
not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give
birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 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, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom
will never end.”“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
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. 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. For no word from God will ever fail.”
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”
And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.”
Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.”
That’s quite a lengthy reading, but it is a wonderful part of the Christmas story we hear every year…and should never get tired of hearing. The final line of Mary’s Song is “He has helped His servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers”…What she is saying is “God remembers His promises!” That is our theme as we look at the “Songs of Christmas” as recorded in the Book of Luke.
Because of Christmas, something wonderful happens to the world. Most of us have known this from childhood when we saw our first string of colored lights or heard the sounds of Carols on a wintry night. When we saw our first nativity, something told us that God is real and life is good, no matter how bad things may seem.
Until the angel Gabriel’s unexpected visit, Mary’s life was really quite normal and things were looking good. She had recently become engaged to a young carpenter named Joseph, and was probably anticipating the normal joys of married life…But, her life was about to change forever.
I want you to realize that four times in scripture, Gabriel leaves the heavenly presence of God to come to men and women uniquely chosen and blessed by God…and He always bears a message of hope. He came twice to the prophet Daniel to assure him in the dark days of Israel’s captivity that the Lord had not forgotten His people or His promises. Five-hundred years later he appears to Zechariah and Elizabeth, to tell them that they would have a child in their old age, who would be called John – who would “go before the Lord to prepare the way” and the people for the coming Messiah. Now, six months later, Gabriel is sent to a little town in Palestine to announce to a teenage girl name Mary that she has been chosen by God to bear in her body His holy Son…and she was to call his name Jesus.
Gabriel’s first words to Mary are “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you!” Was it because Mary was perfect? (No) Was she favored because she was the most beautiful girl in town? (No) Was she favored because she attended church and taught Sunday school? (No) God is God and He can show favor to or choose anyone He wants…But, I think God gave his favor or approval to those who had faith and were faithful and righteous. Another example might be Noah, of whom it says was a “righteous man of God and also found favor with God. And there were others like Mary and Noah, who were sure and certain of God’s promise even if they did not see it. The Bible says “it is impossible to please God without faith.” God continues to give his favor to those who have faith and trust in His promises today. We talk a lot about faith in the church, but what is faith?
Faith Is believing that what God says will happen – will happen! After the angel visited Mary and told her she would bear God’s Son, she went to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who herself was pregnant with John the Baptist. Listen again to Elizabeth’s response during Mary’s visit with her…In verse forty-five Elizabeth said: “Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!" That’s Faith! Faith is believing that what the Lord has said will be accomplished, or that God will do what he said he would do!
We have to remember that the angel Gabriel told her something which was totally impossible! One, she would have a baby even though she was a virgin; and two, that she - a human woman – would bear God’s Son, a divine being! Impossible! Gabriel told her that the Holy Spirit would come upon her and the power of the Most High would overshadow her. Not a lot of details there… but, Gabriel then reminds her and us, “With God nothing is impossible.” In other words the angel was telling her God can and would do the impossible if she had faith. And Mary believed. She said, “I am the Lord’s servant, may it be to me as you have said.” In other words, “I don’t understand it; but I choose to believe it, because God can do it.
What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see. But faith is more than believing something to be true with my mind. Faith must also impact how I live my life. My life should reflect what I believe. Faith is active. I must do things differently and behave differently because I believe that what God said is true. To believe something is true in your head, and to act as though it is true are two different things, and yet faith incorporates both of these. So, let me ask this question; how are we living our lives in light of God’s promise that Jesus is coming again?
In Matthew chapter 1 we are given Joseph’s view of all this. At first, divorce seemed the only option, but God opened up another option…it was the option of faith! An option that Joseph accepted. Then Matthew reaches back into the ancient prophecies of Isaiah and adds “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said”…You see, God remembers His promise!
Let’s go back to Mary’s song; It would seem that Luke had a deep appreciation for hymns or Psalms of praise and adoration, because he saw to it that these were preserved for our enjoyment and blessing. As I read through this song, I am impressed with Mary’s knowledge of the character and the work of God. Mary not only knew her scripture, she also knew her God. Her song rings with pure adoration and praise as she exalts and honors God for who He is and What He has done. Mary’s song links the ancient promises of God with the fact that “He has” – which is used over and over – “He has” fulfilled His promises!
The faith and the hope of hundreds of generations were being satisfied in a moment of time when a baby’s cry broke the silence of that first Christmas. When the time had fully come, God sent His Son”… When will He come again? “No one knows the day or the hour, only the Father knows”…In God’s time, according to His eternal plan…God will keep His promise!
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