Date: 12/15/02

Text: Luke 1:26-38

Title: Mary—A Woman of Faith

Theme: God’s grace and affirmation to those who obey him.

Introduction:

According to the Roman Catholic calendar, 12/8 was Immaculate Conception Day. It is to celebrate the fact that Mary was without original sin. Both the Roman Catholic Church and the Greek Eastern Orthodox Church believed that Mary was sinless. Furthermore, the Roman Catholic Church teaches that one has to pray to Jesus through Mary. The protestants, including us do not believe in this. We believe that we, including Mary have all sinned and come short of God's glory.

Sometimes, in reacting to Roman Catholicism we may have deliberately played down the role of Mary. We teach about learning from Abraham, Moses and David. Yet seldom do we teach about Mary. We are not sure how to handle Mary.

This, being the Advent season, as we anticipate Jesus’ birth, I think it is appropriate for us to take a closer look at Mary, the mother of Jesus. In the passage we read, we’ll discover that Mary, though a person with a simple and an obscure background, yet had tremendous faith in God. She is truly a model for our faith. We also recognize that God is gracious and affirming to those whose faith is in him.

Let us first understand the background of this passage. Galilee was a very humble and unnoticeable place. Angel Gabriel is known as the chief angel. He appeared to Daniel in the OT. He appeared to Zachariah announcing the birth of John the Baptist. At the time of this story, Mary was pledged to Joseph. In the Jewish tradition, there were two stages in a marriage. First, the formal engagement which included a contract and exchange of bridal price. Secondly, about a year later was the wedding ceremony. During this time of engagement, if there was any immorality, the wedding would be called off. At this time we do not know Mary’s age. But again, according to their tradition, she could have been as young as 12 or 13. Taking this into consideration, we are even more deeply impressed by her faith.

I. Mary—an affirmation of humanness.

In vs28, Gabriel said to Mary, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”. What was Mary’s response? She was greatly troubled and tried to discern, to figure out what kind of greeting this was. This is quite natural, isn’t it? If you have an angel talking to you, you too would be wondering, what is this all about. This is a very human response. Gabriel then continued to explain to her, vs30, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name 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 the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.” With this, Mary asked, “How will this be, since I am a virgin.” Mary did not jump for joy at this. She knew what was at stake. How was she going to tell Joseph.

Can you imagine this conversation? “Joseph, an Angel talked to me.” “What? An angel appeared to you? Are you kidding? Are you OK?” “Wait, I haven’t finished yet. This angel also told me that I am going to give birth to the Messiah, the savior, that was promised in the OT.” “Mary, now, tell me the truth. What is going on here? Are you pregnant?” You see, later we are told that Joseph actually was considering canceling the marriage agreement. He had doubts about Mary’s story; he doubted Mary’s character. (only after the angel’s intervention, did Joseph continue with this engagement.) This is why Mary was troubled and dared to ask the angel how could something like this happen.

From her conversation with the angel, we see a very human Mary. And moreover, she was never rebuked. “how can you ask such questions, Mary. Don’t you know that I represent the most high God?” No, the angel, and God accepted Mary’s questions and doubts. The angel responded and explained to Mary about her concerns. To question and doubt is a very human thing to do. Mary’s conversation affirms her humanity.

One more note. She was told about her cousin Elizabeth’s pregnancy. What did she do after the angel left her? She immediately went to Elizabeth’s house. Again, this is very human, right? She must be thinking that only Elizabeth could understand her encounter with the angel. This is the first biblically recorded support group! A support group for mothers of crisis pregnancy!

You see, Mary being who she was, a human being just like us. To ask questions and to doubt is a part of being human. This reminds us that God always accepts us right where we are and what we are. He fully acknowledges and accepts our humanness.

II. Mary: A woman of obedience.

Mary asked, “how will this be, since I am a virgin..” vs.35, “The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon 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 barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.” Gabriel patiently explained to Mary about the work of the Holy Spirit. What was Mary’s response? V38, “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her. Mary obeyed. Once it was explained, she obeyed. There was no ifs, buts or ands. She simply obeyed.

What do we learn from this? First, Christian faith is never a blind faith. We are never asked to believe in something that we don’t understand. God communicated to us in written words; words that we can understand.

Second, Christian faith requires obedience. To Mary, this obedience is hard. She knew its consequences. Her marriage could have been derailed. Not to mention the shame of unmarried pregnancy in that first century culture. Yet once she understood the message, she obeyed. Please also note that Mary said, “…let it be to me according to your word.” She was obedient to the word spoken to her.

What are we to be obedient to? To the special experience we may have? No, it is to God's spoken word. If you are a Christian, or if you are here this morning, most probably you have heard and read portions of the Bible, which is God's spoken word to us. We know what God expects of us. Our recent Sunday sermons call our attention to need to develop characters like Jesus Christ. To be humble and gentle. To mourn over our sins and spiritual poverty. To be merciful towards others and to be pure in heart towards God. We are to be peacemakers, making peace between us and God and among ourselves. We also learn about the need to repent when we have sinned against God. One Sunday after the service, a person said to me, “Pastor, it is so hard!” Yes, God's word and teachings are hard to us most of the time. Yet this does not exempt us from obeying him. When we find ourselves crying its too hard, it may do us well to think of Mary and her obedience to God.

III. Mary: A woman of humility.

In her response to the angel, Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord…..” She knew that she would give birth to the Messiah. She knew that she was an instrument in God's hand to bring about salvation for man. She never considered herself as better or superior to any other women. She called herself the servant of the Lord. Later, when she visited Elizabeth, she repeated, v48, “for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.” V52, “He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.” Mary was a woman of humility.

The words that came out of her when she met Elizabeth were known as the ‘Magnificat’. It revealed how much she knew about the OT scriptures. She recalled God's great work of salvation and deliverance in the past. It is a passage that we need to pay attention and listen to. In it she repeatedly called herself the humble one. She knew where she stood before this God. She was uplifting and exulting God. She gave honor to God, and God alone. She did not claim any credit in what God has done and what he was about to do. It was all glory to God.

There is much we can learn from her. If we were in Mary’s shoes, what would we have said? “the angel spoke to me and I believed. Now, see what God had done through my faith in him.”We’ve prayed and see what God has done because of this. Yes, it was God who did the work. But we also claim some credit, right? My faith in God, my or our prayers. True humility means we give all the credits to God. Its his work, from the beginning to the end.

You see, Mary, at such a young age, was a person of faith. At great risk, she believed and obeyed the extraordinary words of God. Did God just leave Mary alone from here on?

IV. God's graciousness towards Mary.

Yes, Mary was a person of faith, but she was also human. She was a person with doubts and questions. It is interesting to see how this human aspect continued to play out in Mary’s life and at the same time see how God was leading and guiding her.

After Gabriel departed, Mary immediately went to visit Elizabeth. The moment she entered Elizabeth’s house, the baby in Elizabeth’s womb began to leap with joy and Elizabeth was filled with the spirit. One can imagine the affirmation Mary must have felt at that time. After all, she was not crazy. At least, the baby inside Elizabeth recognized what had happened to Mary.

Later, when the child was born in a manger or a cave, Mary must have thought, “you must be kidding. The son of the most high born in a lowly place like this?” Then the shepherds came and told her what the angels said. Luke wrote: Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

When Jesus was 8 days old, the parents took him to the temple for circumcision. When an old man, Simeon saw him, took him in his arms and praised God, saying, “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” Luke 2:29-32. And then a prophetess, Anna saw him and spoke about him to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. One can imagine the impact these words must have had on Mary.

Later, one day the three Magi from the east came looking for Jesus. When they saw him, they bowed down and worshipped him. Think of the effect of this on Mary.

When Jesus was 12 years old, his parents took him to the temple in Jerusalem. On the way home, the parents realized that Jesus was not with them. So they went back to the temple looking for him. When they found him, they kind of complained about what they had gone through. And Jesus responded, “Didn’t you know I had to be in my father’s house?” 2:49. He went home with them. Luke wrote, “…but his mother treasured all these things in her heart.” Mary must have been connecting these events with the words of Gabriel 12 years ago. As she was connecting all the dots, a clear picture of who Jesus really is began to emerge..

Of course Mary was the first hand witness of Jesus' public ministry. One time, with her other children they went and looked for him. Mary heard Jesus’ message about his being the son of God, that he was God. To Mary, this was just another confirmation of Gabriel’s message to her.

Then, Mary saw Jesus on the cross. During those painful last few moments, Jesus made sure that Mary was taken care of. He asked John to take of Mary from now on.

On that resurrection Sunday morning, Mary was among the first to learn from the angel that Jesus had risen from the dead.

Do we see what is happening here? Mary was a woman of faith. She believed in the words that the angel communicated to her. And after that, through circumstances and prophetic words, God was constantly there leading and guiding her. God did not say that now you have faith and believed, you are on your own. No, God was there constantly affirming her that what was said to her 33 years ago was truth. And throughout these years, God also continually demonstrated to her that he is truly the faithful one. He never left her alone on her own.

What a comfort this is to us. For we can also know for certain that when we obey his word, he will not leave us alone. Yes, sometimes the road of obedience is not easy. But he is always there encouraging us. His spirit is forever present within us. He also uses other believers to confirm and affirm us.

Conclusion:

Mary was a simple and rather obscure person. At the time of Gabriel’s appearance to her, she was also very young. Yet God's choice of Mary as the birth mother of Jesus revealed her inner quality. She was just as human as we are. Yet to the extraordinary task God gave to her, she was humble and obedience. Its almost a child-like obedience. Isn’t this what God expects of his followers? At the conclusion of his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus challenged his followers to be obedient to his word. Yes, it is difficult. It require extraordinary strength to obey such extraordinary expectations. Yet the promise to those who follow and obey him, is his presence with them.

About 25 years ago, Cynthia and I, with fear and anticipation, responded to God's calling of us into the full time ministry. It was a sometimes agonizing decision for me. Yet what amazed me were the affirmations I received from my mother, friends and those who knew me. As I reflect back, I see that during these years, through difference circumstances and individuals God was there encouraging me and affirming me that it was the right decision to obey his calling. At times we only saw dots all over the place. But when we paused and joined the dots together, we began to see the picture of God's grace and mercy toward us.

Some of us may be in a stage in life where you realize that God has challenged you to obey him. It could be one of the passages in the beatitudes, or perhaps a change in life direction. Certainly, such obedience is not easy. Yet remember his last words on earth, “….teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Mat 28:19)