Christ Church Washington D.C.

My sermon text this morning is from Luke’s Gospel, chapter 1, beginning at verse 26. Now, in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. Having come in, the angel said to her, Rejoice, highly favored one. The Lord is with you.
But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a son and shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God will give him the throne.
And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. Then Mary said to the angel, How can this be, since I do not know a man? And the angel answered her and said, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you. Therefore also that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
And this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren, for with God nothing will be impossible. Then Mary said, Behold the maidservant of the Lord, let it be to me according to your word. And the angel departed from her. The word of the Lord. Let’s pray. Father, I pray that the words of my mouth and meditations of my heart will be acceptable to you, for you are our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
Well, I’m glad to be back with you, and congratulations on the efforts that have been made to quiet things down a little bit. I want you to know it was a bit challenging last week, or last time I was with you. Well, it was last week, too, because in my church I’ve got about 150 little kids who are always making noise. But anyway, it’s great to be back. Glad to be with you. Today I’m dressed like a man of the Pacific Northwest. I thought I should dress according to type, you know, because I live right outside Portland, just so you know.
We’re actually in Connecticut this week, and next week we have a home there, and we go back and forth between the homes. And so I scheduled the two times I’d be with you kind of according to when I knew it was going to be there, because it’s only about a 45 minute flight from Hartford down here. So it’s like nothing, but it’s like forever to fly, you know, from Portland to here. Anyway, so with all that said, let’s take a look at this particular passage. This is really familiar territory.
I’ve read many times, and I think maybe we get too familiar with certain scriptures, and because that’s the case, we miss things. We don’t take note because we know what comes next, and our minds kind of get ahead of what’s being said, and we don’t stop and reflect a bit. It’s one of the reasons why I prefer reading the King James Version of my devotions. You have to read slowly, you know, because it’s antiquated speech. Stuff, you know, translations that are just a little too colloquial are just a little too smooth,
and you just don’t stop, and you don’t think, you don’t slow down. Anyway, that’s just a little recommendation for you. By the way, it helps you to understand Shakespeare when you, like, are in a play. But there are three striking phrases here I would like us to focus on. The first is found in verse 29, she was troubled. She was troubled. Then the next is found in verse 34, how can this be? And then the last one is found in verse 38,
So now you know where I’m going to be, like kind of the course of my message, you know how fast I’m going. First, she was troubled. She was troubled. Now that should strike you as a little odd because isn’t this a blessing? Isn’t this good news that she’s receiving? And yet she’s troubled by what she hears when the angel addresses her. As I’ve reflected on that, I’ve thought of a few possibilities as to why she might be troubled. One of those possibilities is that maybe she doesn’t think of herself
as favored. He addresses her as someone who is highly favored, and yet she probably over the course of her life never thought of herself in those terms. So this is news. This is news that she’s favored. The other possibility is that angels aren’t chubby babies. I don’t know if you’ve maybe been overexposed to 19th century Victorian works of art where angels are little cherubs. They’re just like these cute, cuddly, little pudgy things.
On the wing, in the clouds, and that kind of thing. When we are actually given a little indication in scripture of what their appearance is, they’re disturbing to look at. If you look at, for example, Revelation chapter 4, we see the four living creatures around the throne. Those are cherubim. And one has the appearance of a lion, another has the appearance of a calf. One has the head of a man, and then the other is an eagle.
They’re covered with eyes. This is just freaky stuff. I mean, if you put a picture of that in your child’s nursery, the kid could have nightmares for the rest of his or her life. They’re scary creatures because they’re awesome. In other words, they’re awesome in the sense that they invoke awe. There’s a sense of awe that comes over you. And that’s one of the reasons why I think angels always have to say, fear not. I know I’m scary, but don’t be afraid. I’m bringing you some good news.
But anyway, this is kind of a disposition that fathers should have. You know, there should be a kind of a reverence for fathers and a kind of fear of the father. But there should also be a sense of grace and mercy and a sense of blessedness when the father is doing his job right. But anyway, just kind of an aside. So he tells her not to be afraid because she is. She is afraid. Have you ever had an encounter with authority in which you suddenly felt fear?
Sometimes when I’m pulled over, and this happens like maybe once in 10,000 years, but every once in a while when I’m traveling along and I’m pulled over by a policeman whose radar gun is not accurate, there’s a sense of dread that comes over me. And I think to myself as I feel that dread, what am I afraid of? Do I really think he’s going to kill me or something? He’s going to give me a ticket. But I think the reason is because we are sinful.
We know there’s a kind of latent guilt that we all kind of have to deal with. And if it isn’t this particular time that I was speeding, there was a time. There was a time I was speeding. So consequently, we’re afraid when we have an encounter with authority because we know that we are not what we should be. Now, there’s something else here, I think, to consider when we think about what troubles her. Finding favor with God in Scripture is always a mixed blessing.
In other words, finding favor with God doesn’t necessarily mean that everything that you’re going to deal with in the rest of your life is going to be pleasant. Just think about those men who were called friends of God in Scripture. I had a friend who preached a sermon entitled, How God Treats His Friends. Let me tell you, he’s pretty rough with them. And so consequently, when you find favor with God, often that means there’s a task for you to do and there’s going to be something unpleasant you’re going to have to experience. And then, you know, just for example, remember,
Gideon, Judges chapter six, right? How is he addressed when the angel appears to him? He says to him, you have found favor, right? Oh, mighty man of God, which is actually kind of a joke because where is he? He’s hiding. He’s hiding from the Midianites in a wine press and he’s threshing wheat because he’s afraid that if they see him doing this, they’re going to come and take it from him. So there’s nothing evident in terms of his appearance
of behavior that would warrant that address, mighty man of valor. Now he’ll rise to the occasion because of God’s grace, but as we know, there was a lot of stuff that he went through from that point on that was challenging. And even when we think about women in scripture who are told, you know, something wonderful, like we think about Sarah or Hannah, barren women who received children, well, those children don’t necessarily just stay with them and just, you know, spend all of their time with them,
but in the case of Hannah, of course, she hands them over to Eli, the high priest, and so she promised the Lord that she would do that if she was blessed with a child, and so consequently, there’s this sense that everything is kind of a mixed blessing, in a sense, when we think about God’s favor, and of course, when it comes to Mary, what does she have to look forward to? Now, at this point, she doesn’t know a whole lot, but we know, because we have seen the end of the story,
but she’s going to go through with this son. She’s going to see him humiliated, beaten, crucified. That’s what she has to look forward to. That’s how the story ends. But actually, that’s not actually how the story ends. You know how the story ends. You know what Easter entails, right? He’s raised. So there’s something good at the end. There’s a happy ending, but in the middle, it’s a pretty troubling thing to have to go through to see your son treated that way. And furthermore, Mary has questions.
So Mary has questions. And the first question is, how can this be? We see that in verse 34. Naturally, she wonders about the practical problems, and she raises one of those problems. I have not known a man. I’m a virgin. How is this going to happen? How is this possible? But I think also kind of tacitly present in this question is this other question, won’t people talk? Won’t people talk? We know that Joseph thought the worst when he got the news.
Right? Chapter 1 of Matthew’s Gospel. So he thought the worst and he knew her. And he had to be assured, right, with another angelic visitation that she’s okay. This is something that you have to understand. God’s at work. But we also know from an account in John’s Gospel that when a woman was caught in adultery, the consequences could be pretty severe and painful. So as a result,
I’m sure all these things are going through her mind. And that’s when she’s assured the power of the Most High will overshadow you. The power of the Most High will overshadow you, making it possible for you to bear a son because the Holy Spirit’s going to do something that is miraculous in your life and bring about a pregnancy that is a miracle and that the Lord will shelter you. And this is, by the way, language.
That we see throughout Scripture. Whenever there’s the subject of being sheltered brought up, it’s intended to convey God is caring for you, protecting you. So He will shelter you through this whole process. I don’t know if you’ve ever read any sort of survivalist literature. You know, what you have to do if you find yourself in the wilderness with like a knife and nothing else or something like that. You know, you’ve been in a plane crash or something like that.
You really work at acquiring really fast. So there’s water, and then there’s food, and there’s shelter. Do you know the order of those things? Shelter comes first. Shelter comes first, then water, and then food. I think, if I remember correctly, you have three hours to find shelter, three days to find water, and three weeks to find food. Implying that there are lots of ways to die of exposure.
She’s promised here that the Lord will shelter her, that he’ll be with her and protect her, and we actually see that in the next chapter. We are celebrating Epiphany. That’s what we have addressed in the next chapter is the flight into Egypt. The Lord is sheltering her and making it possible for her to bear this child and to receive this child gladly. Now, in response to all this, Mary says,
We see that in verse 38. Now, as I thought about this, there’s two people in the room. If you count an angel, a person, I guess. But they’re just there, just the two of them. And I wondered to myself, who’s doing the beholding? When she says that, is she saying this to the angel? Behold, the maidservant of the Lord. Or is she speaking to herself? Behold, the maidservant of the Lord. Kind of a different tone, right?
Speaking to you and me. In some sense, is she able to anticipate that this story is going to be told again and again, and she wants us to know that she sees herself as the maidservant of the Lord. I know that there are translations of this passage that just say servant, but the Greek noun is gendered, and it’s feminine, the doule, so it’s appropriate.
That this is translated maidservant. I don’t know why you would translate it just neutrally, or in a neutered way, servant, when what we’re talking about is something only a woman can do, right? Bearing a child. But, there you have it. So, as I think about that, and the fact that she’s probably thinking about us, even at that point, do you and I think of ourselves in this way, as servants of the Lord? Do you identify
as a servant? Now, there are lots of people who talk about identity these days, identifying as this and identifying as that. Do you identify as a servant? A maidservant? A manservant? There’s a hostility to service. There’s a lot of lip service to service, but there’s a hostility to service, and the reason there’s a hostility to service is because we all kind of inside have this urge
to be in charge, this desire to be fully the master of our own lives and not be subject to anybody else. But this is a bad idea, and we see that it’s a bad idea in the Garden of Eden. This is really at the heart of things when it comes to sin. We’ve failed to recognize that there is a hierarchy in the cosmos. By the way, the word hierarchy is a great word. We need to own it. We need to say it repeatedly. Hierarchy, hierarchy, hierarchy.
Say it with me. Hierarchy, hierarchy. It’s a good thing. It means sacred order. Did you know that? Hieros, sacred. Arche, order. This is the order that God has established. And so we need to find our place in the hierarchy, in the order of things. The beautiful thing about this hierarchy that we find ourselves in is it ordered by love. And the one who’s made us loves us and has given us purposes to serve.
By the way, there’s no war between, say, nature and grace. There are natural callings. What I’m getting at is there are things that men are called to do and things that women are called to do and we can’t do each other’s jobs because we’re not made to do those jobs. It’s just the way it is. This is a good thing because we need to depend on each other. This is one of the things that is lost upon us today.
It’s interdependence. Husbands and wives should depend on each other and need each other. In other words, the idea that I don’t think I could live without you is not just greeting card material for hallmark. It should be real. If you aren’t here, I will die. That kind of dependence on each other is a beautiful thing. Now, getting back to this particular thing, when it comes to what Mary is called to do, she is called to serve
by bearing the Lord. Have you ever given any thought to that? This is a remarkable and paradoxical thing. She’s bearing her Creator. Now, if you’re wondering what I’m getting at, one of the reasons why you might be wondering what I’m getting at is because we tend to think about the Trinity in terms of jobs. We think that the Father is the Creator, the Son is the Redeemer, and the Spirit is the Sanctifier. But they’re all at work all the time, working together,
and we’re told in John’s Gospel, chapter 1, Colossians, chapter 1, and Hebrews, chapter 1, that the Son is eternal, and it was through him that all things were made, and for him that all things were made. And in him, the second person of the Trinity, all things hold together. So she was made by him, and he even formed the very body that he would dwell in, in the incarnation.
He’s the only self-made man who ever lived. Just let that sink in. And she’s bearing her Savior, who will bear her sin. She’s like us. We’re Protestants, just a reminder. She’s like us. She needs to be redeemed, just like we do. And consequently, he will bear her sin.
Many women can relate to who’ve had children. What about the guys in the room? How do we relate this? How do we apply this to our lives? Well, I want to end with the story of St. Christopher. Do you know that story? Marvelous story. My name is Christopher. I was named for him. But it wasn’t until many years later that I came to understand that the name Christopher means Christ-bearer. That’s the meaning of the name. And it’s based on a legend. The name is based on a legend, the legend of St. Christopher.
And Christopher wasn’t the given name that this guy had. Before he became Christopher, his name was, if I got the pronunciation correctly, Reprobus. It’s the same word that we get the word reprobate from. So his name was essentially reprobate. And he was a giant. And there’s been some speculation that he might have been one of the Nephilim. Now, don’t take it too far. But that was something that people thought about in the past.
So he was more or less monstrous in size, tremendously strong. And he wanted to serve the greatest king he could find. And so he’d heard about the devil and decided he would serve the devil and help him and his cause and serve his purposes. And according to the legend, one day, I know this is legendary, just so you know, he’s walking down the road with the devil. And they walk past a cross. And he can see the devil get visibly afraid.
And so, he was disillusioned in that moment. He thought, I thought this was the biggest, toughest guy around. But he’s afraid of this cross. What’s this cross related to? Well, he discovers that it’s the Christians that this cross is related to. So, he wants to become a Christian because he wants to serve the most powerful king there is. And he had learned that Christ is that king.
He should be received into the church. I think you can imagine why this is the case. You get this really big guy who’s known for killing people and stuff. He shows up at church and you’re like, what’s all this about? Anyway, so initially he’s turned away. But he’s insistent on serving Christ and he comes across a hermit. And the hermit informs him that, well, just because you are in this spot now and not being well received by the church,
we’ll serve Christ. And considering your size, I think I’ve got a job that’s just right for you. There’s this river over here. And this river, every year, travelers try to ford the river and they get swept away and die. What you could do is be a man who helps them get across the river. In other words, literally walk through the river, holding and helping those people who need to cross. And so he says, great, that’s my job. That’s my job. So he goes to the river.
Over the years, his reputation is transformed and people admire him and appreciate his service. And then one day, after a long day of fording the river, he was exhausted and wanted to take a break. He went to a little hut that he had built alongside the river and wanted to just relax. And there was a knock on the door. And a little boy was there standing in the doorway when he opened it.
And the little boy said, would you take me across the river? And in that moment, he just wanted to say, come back tomorrow. But he didn’t. Instead, he said, all right. And he put the boy on his shoulders and then began the trek across the river. And with each step, as he went across the river, even though the water was raging, he was used to that. But what he wasn’t used to was the fact that this little boy kept getting heavier and heavier and heavier as he went across the river. And he thought that he was going to go down.
And be washed away in the flood. And he cried out, I don’t think I can do this. And the voice that was on his shoulder said, yes, you can. And in that moment, he felt strength in his members and eventually got to the other side of the river and set the boy down. And the boy addressed him and said, thank you for bringing me across the river. And then Christopher, who at this point wasn’t named Christopher, said, I didn’t think I’d be able to make it.
Well, the reason you could make it, or he said, you grew heavier and heavier as I went across the river. I didn’t think I could make it. And then the child said, the reason why you felt that way was because the child that you were bearing has the weight of the world on his shoulders. You have born the Christ. And therefore, go to that church that wouldn’t baptize you and tell them that I said you are to be baptized.
So as we think about ourselves, men, we bear the Christ as well. All of us, even those who are not mothers, can bear the Christ. We can all bear the Christ insofar as that we are taking the message that we’ve received concerning Christ and we bear it into the world, the gospel. We proclaim it. Furthermore, we don’t just simply proclaim the gospel. We proclaim the Lord,
that he is the one who is seated at the right hand of the Father right now and exercising authority. So he is risen and ascended into heaven. And so what we have to share is the gospel, which includes Christ the King. With those things in mind, let’s pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for your word. We pray, Lord, that we will serve as we should in this great, wonderful hierarchy of your kingdom. We pray, Lord, that you’ll help us to be content
our callings and to fulfill those callings as you give us the strength to do so. In Christ’s name, amen.