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Sunday December 18, 2005 - Advent 4, Year B

She was only a teenager. Barely out of elementary school, still living at home with her parents,
in a small town
in the back of nowhere.
There was nothing special about her, nothing to set her apart
from hundreds of other girls like her.
She wasn't especially beautiful, or especially living, or even especially religious. Just an ordinary kid,
waiting
to be grown up.

She had relatives who were different,
Zechariah
and his wife Elizabeth,
righteous and blameless,
good people.
That's what everyone said, or at least until
Zechariah went into the temple to do his duty before God
and offer incense
and came out speechless.
Then people began to wonder. And they wondered even more, when Elizabeth
who was getting on in age
suddenly became pregnant.
But whatever you thought about all that, Zechariah and Elizabeth, were different.

But she was ordinary. Nothing to set her apart. Her parents weren't anybody anyone would know. There was no good reason
why Mary should have been the one.

Which is why it's such a shock
when suddenly an angel appears to her.
She's done nothing to deserve this, nothing at either extreme,
particularly good
or particularly bad
to draw God's attention.

"‘Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you"
is what the angel said to her,
and while she's still trying to come to terms with the fact that an angel is sitting across the table from her,
he gives his next bit of good news.
"Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus."

We know the story, and so it comes as no surprise.
Of course the angel comes to Mary, of course she's going to have a child.
But Mary doesn't know the story. All she has to go on
are a few tales from the Old Testament
of women well on in age being visited by God and finally conceiving, but nothing like this.
And think of what her fiance's going to say: "Um, Joseph, well, I saw this angel, and I did the pregnancy test, and like, I'm going to have a baby." Let alone her what her parents will do.
She is in BIG trouble.
This is not exactly
every teenage girl's dream
come true.

She tries to argue with Gabriel.
"Look, angel, this is not happening. I don't sleep around. It's not possible."

But the angel
doesn't agree.
"No problem. The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God."

"Okay, but..."

The angel interrupts again.
"And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God."

At that point, the angel hasn't left a whole lot of room for Mary. If this is just some elaborate joke, cooked up by her fiancé, then there's not point embarrassing herself by keeping going with an argument that no amount of logic could win.
And if, if it's true — and he's right about Elizabeth, Mary's heard that she's unexpectedly pregnant — if
it's true
then it doesn't really matter what she says, because it's not like she has the power
to stop God. If God has chosen her, then that's kind of the end
of the issue.

So she takes
what is perhaps the only action left to her. Gracious acceptance.
Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.' Then the angel left, and Mary rushed off to Elizabeth
to try to get some advice.

And when she gets there, Elizabeth gives her an enormous welcome
and suddenly all Mary's fears and shock
are overwhelmed with great joy
and out of her mouth pours
that great sone that we know as the Magnificat:
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.'

Mary is turned upside down, she is transformed,
from an ordinary
and very nervous teenager
to the blessed bearer
of the Christ.

And that's the beginning
of the grace
and the gospel
of Jesus Christ.
It's the first taste
of what this new thing that God is doing
will be all about.
Grace.

It's grace
that chooses Mary
for no good reason. Nothing that she's done
makes her worthy.
It's a gift, a blessing — even though it doesn't quite feel like that till later. It's grace.

And grace
follows us
through Jesus's life.
When he calls his disciples: they're ordinary hardworking folk. No great skills, no great courage. Just grace.
When he heals people: they haven't paid a fee, or proved themselves especially deserving. It's just grace.
When he teaches them: they didn't get extra high scores on some equivalent of the SAT, or earned the privilege of hanging out with him. It's just grace.
And when he dies on the cross, offering forgiveness, and rises again, bringing new life. None of us deserves that.
It's just grace.
God's free gift, an invitation
to blessing.

So what we do about it, this grace things that God offers us?
It was easy for Mary. She said yes. Okay. Whatever you say, God. I'll have this baby."
Easy at first.
But then she had to deal with the questions, the gossip, the uncertainty
of bearing this child.
And even beyond that. The prediction of Simeon
over the newborn infant
that a sword would pierce her soul.
And then those days of wondering if her son
was really from God
or just crazy
as he seemed.
And those final difficult hours
as she watched him die.
Mary's response to God's grace
went far beyond those first impulsive words;
it became her whole life.

It's hard for us
to imagine how it was for Mary.
It's a different world.
But God still comes to us
with grace. God still comes
offering blessing.
Baptism
is a visible sign
of that grace, that blessing.
And the question is
how will we respond?

Our prayer book
gives us some ideas on that. Especially in the five questions that form the baptismal covenant. And there's one in particular
that seems to me
to echo Mary's response.

We are asked,
"Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ?"

Mary proclaimed the gospel by word
in her wonderful song of praise, the Magnificat, and every time
she told people
about her son
Jesus.
Mary proclaimed the gospel by example
when she said yes,
and became the God-bearer,
and in the years that followed
as she stood by her son
even when it seemed like he was crazy.

"Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ?"

We are called, like Mary
to proclaim the gospel, the good news, of God in Christ
in our words and in our actions.

In the things we say
and the things we do.

St Francis
put it another way.
"Preach the gospel at all times. If necessary
use words."

What Francis was talking about
is that the way we live
says something
about what we believe.
How we spend our money, how we relate to other people,
all that reflects
on our Savior
Jesus Christ.
Preach the gospel at all times — in the whole of your life. Don't just think you can get away
with saying the words. You have to do more than say you're a Christian, you have to live as Christian, to put it in practice, to actually behaving
like your Savior has come and turned the world
upside down. Words can be cheap; actions can be costly.
Honesty, generosity, commitment, love. Those are the hallmarks of Christian living. Making decisions
about what we do
that reflect the fact
that our highest loyalty
is to God,
that God has blessed us
and we are thankful.
That's preaching the gospel
at all times.

And use words if necessary. Of course, they're always necessary. Because how else will people know
that it is the grace of God
that inspires us, that drives us, that gives us life.
Without words,
we are just another bunch of nice, well meaning, good people.
But with words,
it's clear that we are the people of God
who have received grace and blessing,
followers of Jesus.

"My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name."

Sermon ©Raewynne J. Whiteley 2005