Jesu Juva
St. Luke 1:26-38
December 20, 2020
Advent
4B
Dear saints of our Savior,
When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me, Speaking words of wisdom, let it be. And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me, Speaking words of wisdom, let it be . . . There will be an answer: “Let it be.”
And so it is that “mother Mary” comes to us on this Fourth Sunday in Advent. Is it possible that a song from the Beatles can help unpack the good news of this Sunday? Well, for now, let’s just say, “Nothing will be impossible with God.”
Of course, Mary didn’t just say, “Let it be.” Hers wasn’t a “well, whatever,” response. Mary’s answer to the angel was this: Let it be to me according to your word. A more important answer is hard to come up with. Let it be to me according to your word. Quite frankly, we should have those words chiseled onto our Christmas ornaments and wrapped around our wreathes. Mary’s words are much, much more than words of wisdom. They are words of faith. They are Mary’s “yes” and Mary’s great “Amen” to what the Angel Gabriel had told her. Without Mary’s words of faith there would have been no Christmas—no Word becoming flesh—no Bethlehem birth. The whole New Testament hinges on the response of a teenage girl from up north in no-place Nazareth: Let it be. Let it be to me according to your word.
But let’s back up for a minute and take it from the top. St. Luke tells us that all this happened in the “sixth month.” Now the “sixth month” here doesn’t refer to June; it refers to an old woman named Elizabeth who is already “six months” along in her miraculous pregnancy when her much younger relative, Mary, gets a visit from Gabriel. Old Elizabeth and Zechariah conceived a child simply because God said so. And a bride-to-be is busy addressing her wedding invitations in Nazareth when she’s greeted by Gabriel who says, “Guess what? You will give birth to the Son of God.” Elizabeth conceives in her seniority; Mary conceives in her virginity. Nothing is impossible with God.
Today’s Holy Gospel tells us of that precise moment in the history of the world when God’s love could wait no longer—when not another day would pass before God’s great plan to save you began to take shape as a tiny embryo in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Because we are sinful from birth—sinful from the time our mothers conceived us—it was absolutely necessary for the Savior to take your place starting there—in the womb. Your redemption was finished, fulfilled and completed at the cross; but it began in earnest when Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary and was made man.
Gabriel is God’s messenger—a five-star general in the angel army. Gabriel speaks “in the stead and by the command” of the Lord. And God’s Word addresses Mary in a very peculiar way: Greetings, O favored one. That’s how the English Standard Version renders it. Hail, Mary, full of grace is how the old Latin Bible renders it. But however you translate it, what it means is: She who has been
Now, with everything going on, it’s easy to zip right past the trifecta of miracles going on in this text. And these might just be the three greatest miracles in the history of miracles. I’ve already mentioned the virgin birth. That’s huge. Jesus is conceived by the Holy Spirit—not by Joseph or any other man. Never had such a conception happened before, nor has it happened since. There’s only one miraculous virgin birth in the whole history of the world. The second miracle here is the incarnation—God becoming man. Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; Hail the incarnate deity! That’s another high voltage, one-of-a-kind miracle. But let me tell you the biggest miracle in this terrific trifecta: Mary believed! Mary believed what the angel said. Mary said “yes.” Or, to use the phrase that pays: Let it be. Let it be to me according to your word.
It sounds a little convoluted in English. It’s not the most elegant phrase. Nobody’s going to write a Christmas carol called, “Let it be to me according to your word.” But what it means, in effect, is “Yes. Amen. So shall it be.” It’s truly unthinkable that Mary would have said “no.” But her “yes”—that “yes” is the biggest miracle of all.
Mary believed. Mary trusted. Mary had faith. How much Mary really understood about what was happening is debatable. Whether she fully comprehended all the profound theological implications of that moment is doubtful. St. Luke reports that Mary was “greatly troubled” when Gabriel appeared, and she was probably just as troubled after the angel left. Mary had no way of knowing what exactly would transpire in the next thirty-three years. But Mary had faith in what God had told her. She believed that God was with her. She said, “Let it be.”
Can you say that? Can you add your voice to Mary’s amen? The Lord had a plan and a promise for Mary. And He has a plan and a promise for you too. From a human perspective that plan might not always seem attractive. God’s plans for you are rarely neat and tidy and without complications. (His plan for Mary certainly wasn’t.) In fact, God’s plans for you might sometimes leave you “greatly troubled.”
Sometimes God’s plans conflict with your plans. And when that happens—when your plan and God’s plan collide—well, your plans might just come crashing down at the worst possible time. God’s plan for you often involves doing things you would rather not do: shouldering the cross like Jesus, suffering like Jesus, submitting like Jesus, confessing your sins, forgiving your enemies, loving the unlovable, being faithful to God in what you say and what you do. I suspect that your plans took a bit of hit in 2020. But can you—will you—say “yes” God’s plan for your life, believing like Mary that the Lord is with you, come plague or pestilence?
But remember, the Lord comes to you with more than a plan, but also a promise. It’s the same promise He gave to Mary: The Lord is with you. Do you believe it? No matter how badly you have fumbled God’s plan for your life—no matter how often you have sinfully said “no” to God’s clear word—no matter how many times you’ve pursued your plans at the expense of God’s plan for you—I bring you good tidings of great joy.
I don’t look much like an angel, but the Lord has sent me to do Gabriel’s job: to proclaim that the Lord is with you. True God, begotten of the Father from eternity and true man born of the virgin Mary—He is your Lord and He is with you! The Jesus in whom God was reconciling sinners to Himself—the Jesus who spread out His arms of love on a crucifixion cross—the Jesus who bounded out of the grave very early on the first day of the week—the Jesus whose kingdom will have no end—THIS Jesus, the Son of Mary, is with you. He is for you, and not against you.
In your baptism the Holy Spirit has come upon you. God has been at work in you with His grace for a long time now. And this is why you—like Mary—have found favor with God. In Jesus your sins are all forgiven. When it comes to His grace, you’re full of it. And this amazing grace which so far has carried you through many dangers, toils and snares, also enables you to say what Mary said—to say “yes” to God’s plan—to say “amen” to all His promises in your life.
Like Mary, you may not understand exactly where God is leading you, or why. You may not perfectly comprehend all the theological implications of this moment. You may leave here today feeling more troubled than when you arrived. But that’s okay. The Lord is with you. He has a plan for you—a plan to give you peace and life that lasts forever. Nothing is impossible for Him. And if that’s true, then there’s nothing more to say—except for those words of wisdom from the mother of God, “Let it be. Let it be to me according to your word.” Blessed is she among women; and blessed is the fruit of her womb, Jesus.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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