Sermon from the Fourth Sunday of Advent – December 22, 2024, at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church – Buffalo, NY .
Sermon Video | 8:30am worship & 10:30am worship
Sermon Text | Luke 1:39-55
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!
Do you believe that God works through you? That God works through your words, your actions, your work, your hobbies, your sense of humor, the way you interact with strangers?
When I talk with people about these things, their demeanor often changes and they respond almost apologetically with some variation of “I hope so” … “I do my best” … or “I don’t think I’m good enough.”
Throughout the Bible, we see that God most often works through very ordinary people. In fact, we know that God often accomplishes extraordinary things through these ordinary people.
In the reading from Luke 1, we hear intimate interactions among three ordinary people whose lives were changed because God worked through them.
The first two people the gospel of Luke introduces to us are Elizabeth and Zechariah. According to Luke, they hadn’t had children because Elizabeth was considered to be “barren”. I suspect that a couple’s infertility was considered the woman’s “problem” as opposed to considering the role of male infertility. At any rate, they were old and past childbearing years. Zechariah was a priest in the temple in Jerusalem. He was alone in the temple carrying out his priestly duties when the angel Gabriel came to him announcing that Elizabeth would have a son. And, sure enough, she got pregnant!
You may recall that their son was John the Baptist, and the Bible says that John is “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord’” (Luke 3:4).
The third person we meet is Mary. The Bible only tells us that she is a virgin and that she’s engaged to be married to Joseph. As best we can tell, she was probably only about 14 years old. The angel Gabriel also appeared to Mary and said that she, too, would have a baby. Side note here: if you are ever approach by an angel named Gabriel, just be prepared!
Unlike what happened with Elizabeth and Zechariah, which they felt was amazing … wonderful … an answer to prayer for them, it was different for Mary. Even if the baby was Joseph’s, the fact that she was pregnant before the marriage would have been scandalous. But, because they were engaged, if the baby was from anyone other than Joseph, Mary’s baby would have been considered the result of her adultery, and she could have been stoned to death as an adulteress.
It must have been very hard for her to believe what the angel was saying was true, but he told her that her cousin, Elizabeth, was also pregnant. The angel concluded by saying: “for nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:37)
And Mary … this 14-year-old girl who just received news that would completely change her life and would scandalize her family, her friends, her neighbors, not to mention her fiance! Mary’s heart was probably pounding out of her chest and her mind was undoubtedly racing as she tried to process what she was seeing and hearing. Then she responded clearly and strongly saying “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). What a brave response!
In our gospel reading today, we heard the joyful greeting exchanged by Mary and Elizabeth. Mary … who has heard this unbelievable – seemingly impossible – news about the child that she is to bear. Mary sho then saw before her very eyes that what the angel told her was true: her cousin who wasn’t supposed to be able to get pregnant was, in fact, very pregnant! Proof that “nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:37)
If such an impossible thing was true for Elizabeth, could it also be possible that God would do the promised extraordinary thing through … her … an ordinary person? Could it be possible that she was really going to give birth to one who would be on the throne of his ancestor, David … yes, that’s king David!? Could it be possible that her baby would be the Son of the Most High God? Could it be possible that God would do this extraordinary thing … through her.
We already heard Mary’s amazing “let it be with me” response to the angel. Her response to Elizabeth’s greeting truly deserves much more time than we can give it this morning. Just her opening words are extraordinary as she said: “My soul magnifies the Lord” (Luke 1:46).
Mary is saying: my soul – my breath, the essence of myself, my life, my mind and my heart, my whole everything magnifies and amplifies God … so that others can see the work and the presence of God. Not only did she answer “yes” one time to God, but she lived her yes! She lived her “yes” when Jesus was doing amazing and powerful things. She also lived her “yes” when Jesus was being mocked, when His life was in danger, when He was hung on a cross, and laid in a tomb.
So, you see, Elizabeth, Zechariah, and Mary were all ordinary people, and, through them, God did extraordinary things. It started with God’s invitation. What followed was their “yes” … their “let it be with me according to your word.”
As we conclude this Advent season, we continue preparing to welcome Jesus into our hearts and our lives whether for the first time or welcoming him in new ways. Preparing the way for the Lord enables us to hear God’s call and be ready with our own “yes”.
We probably won’t hear direct instruction or guidance from the angel Gabriel, but just as God accomplishes extraordinary things through ordinary people, God also transforms ordinary circumstances. This week let’s pray for the Holy Spirit to help us see those ordinary circumstances as opportunities for us to live our “yes” and, for our souls as ordinary people to magnify the Lord.
In the name of Jesus. Amen.
Epicurious Lutheran 