God acts in your life
Preacher: The Rev. Heidi Haverkamp
Preached on: December 18th, 2011
Audio:
No recordingScripture Text:
Luke 1:26-38 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, "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. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" The angel said to her, "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. 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." Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.
Sermon:
This isn’t really a sermon, just a few words about Mary, since we’re celebrating Lessons and Carols today.
Do you believe that God is an active character in the story of your life?[1] Sometimes, it can seem like God was only active in the lives of people in the Bible – like Mary or Isaiah and that today, God is mostly in the background of our lives, a little distant or abstract. But the reality is, that God acts in our lives, too. And not just to keep us safe or through uncanny coincidences. Unfortunately, God isn’t always able to keep us safe or to make things happen the way we hope they will. But God is always acting through our lives to bring greater health and well-being and love into the world. God is always working through us for the salvation of the world around us.
Mary wasn’t ever supposed to be the only person God ever to came to and asked to say “yes” to bringing Christ into the world. What if we are all God’s “favored ones.” You! You are loved and favored by God, even though, like Mary, you might not think you deserve it.
“Greetings, favored ones. The Lord is with you and intends to do great things through you.
And you might say: “How can this be? I’m just an ordinary, everyday person.”
And I say back to you: “But you have found favor with God! The Holy Spirit will come upon you, guide you, and work through you to care for this world and people God loves so much. For nothing is impossible with God.”
And I hope as you go through your life and your days, that like Mary, you will see that God wants to act through your life, working to save the world God loves. And I hope that you will say to God: “Here am I, a servant of the Lord. Let it be with me according to your word.”
Amen.
