Thomas J Parlette
“On the Brink of Christmas”
Luke 1: 26-56
12/24, 10:00 am only
As we stand on the brink of Christmas this morning, we have the unique opportunity to hear the story of Gabriel visiting Mary on the same day when we will gather later to remember Jesus’ birth.
Usually, the story of the Annunciation and Mary’s Magnificat get separated by at least a few days – but not this year. This year we get the whole story over the course of one day.
The story of this intimate, yet potentially terrifying story is one of the most beloved in the Bible. I wonder, why do we love it so much? Is it the angel coming forward to announce that God intends to break into our messy world? Or is it Mary’s courage in saying “Let it be with me as you say,” that is so appealing? I’m not sure.
Throughout the centuries, artists have rendered the annunciation scene in very formal strokes, preserving Mary and the angel Gabriel for posterity in wood, paint and glass. While their styles and colors have varied, Mary is always the picture of femininity, dressed in silk or brocade - usually blue, with her golden hair woven like a crown around her head. She always looks very composed and serene – not at all like what we might expect a girl in her early teen years to look. She was probably between 13 and 15 years old, with almost no experience with men, or angels or the world for that matter.
She is usually shown spinning or reading at her prayer desk, absorbed in her work, when out of nowhere comes this magnificent angel, beautifully dressed with a tiara on his head or a garland of flowers studded with flames. In most pictures the feathers of his giant spread wings are white, but I at least one medieval painting they are the feathers of peacock, all iridescent greens and blues. In his hand, he might have a lily, an olive branch, or a royal scepter – signs of the purity, peace and authority he brings from above.
Somewhere in the annunciation scene you can usually find a dove, a sign that what is happening is under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, but down below, everything depends on Mary. Gabriel is not standing over her; he is kneeling in front of the girl upon whose answer he, and God, and the whole creation depend. (1)
There are some legends that have arisen over the years around this beloved story. For instance, in Nazareth, where these events took place, there is a local tradition that has Gabriel appearing to Mary at a well, as she is fetching water. At first, she is terrified by her angelic visitor and she ran back home, with Gabriel following close behind, trying to finish his message. Perhaps that explains why Gabriel tells her, “Do not be afraid, Mary.” (2)
There is yet another legend that Mary was not the first person asked to be the God-bearer, but rather she was the first to say “Yes.” (3)
Then again – did Gabriel actually ask her a question? When you read the text carefully, there is no question. There doesn’t seem to be an obvious choice to make. The angel TELLS her what is going to happen. The angel doesn’t ask Mary if she would like to be the mother of God. Gabriel doesn’t appear to be asking her to sign a consent form here. No- Gabriel just tells her – this is what is going to happen. “You are going to conceive and bear a son and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and he will be called the Son of the Most High…”
In response, Mary asks only one question – “How can this be?” It’s actually pretty amazing that she only asks one question. Don’t you think she’d have a lot more?
Questions like:
* Will Joseph stick around?
* What will my parents say?
* Am I going to be ostracized and maybe even stoned to death by my neighbors for sleeping around?
* Will my pregnancy go alright?
* What if I lose the baby?
* Will it hurt?
* Is someone going to be there when my time comes?
* Will I know what to do?
* Will I be a good mother?
* Who will take care of us?
All good questions. Questions all moms-to-be wonder about.
Luke does not tell us that Mary asked any of these questions, at least not out loud. But I’ve always thought that this is one of times in scripture when there is a long pause. I don’t think Mary responded as quickly as we like to think. I think she sat in silence for a time as she pondered all this. After a while though, faithfulness triumphed over fear and she responded, “Let it be as you say.”
Even though Gabriel tells her what is going to happen, there is still a choice here. Mary can embrace what is going to happen – or she can choose not to accept it. She could take hold of this unknown life the angel held out to her or she could defend herself against it as best she could.
We’ve all had similar choices to be made – not on the scale that Mary was faced with, but we’ve all had choices laid before us that we could accept or ignore.
We’re all familiar with the idea that we make our plans and God laughs. That saying used to bother me because it seemed like God might be laughing in derision – but I don’t think that anymore. Now I believe God laughs at our plans because God has some surprises for us that we don’t see coming.
Sure, we can make a carefully laid out 10-year plan, but then life happens. We fall in love, a surprise baby comes along, an illness comes upon us or the economy turns. Terrible things happen and wonderful things happen, but we seldom know ahead of time exactly WHAT will happen to us. Like Mary, our choices often boil down to “yes” or “no.”
Yes, I will live this life that is being held out to me – or, No, I will not. (4)
If you decide to say no, you simply drop your eyes and refuse to look up until you know the angel has left the room and you are alone again. Then you smooth your hair and go back to your spinning or your reading or whatever it is that in most familiar to you and you pretend that nothing has happened. If your life begins to change anyway, you have several options. You can be stoic. You can refuse to accept it. You can put all your energy into ignoring it and insist that in spite of all the evidence that it is not happening to you. (5)
If that doesn’t work, you can become angry, actively defending yourself against the unknown and spending all your time trying to get your life back the way it used to be. And then of course you can become bitter, comparing yourself to everyone that seems to have a better life than you. If you succeed, your life may not be an easy one, but you can rest assured that no angels will trouble you ever again. (6)
Or, you can decide to say “Yes.” You can decide to take a risk. You can set everything else aside and listen to this strange creature’s strange proposal. You can decide to take part in a plan you did not choose, doing things you do not know how to do, for reasons you do not entirely understand. You can take part in a thrilling and dangerous scheme with no script and no guarantees. You can agree to smuggle God into the world inside your own body.
Deciding to say “Yes” doesn’t mean that you are not afraid, by the way. It just means that you are not willing to let your fear stop you, that you are not willing to let your fear keep you locked in your room. So you say “Yes” to the angel and “Here I am, let it be with me according to your word.” (7)
The Eastern Orthodox church thinks of Mary as the “god-bearer” – a translation of the Greek word “Theotokos.” The medieval theologian Meister Eckhart once wrote:
“We are all meant to be mothers of God – God-bearers. What good is it to me if this eternal birth of the Divine Son takes place unceasingly but does not take place within myself? And what good is it to me if Mary is full of grace if I cannot also be full of grace? What good is it to me for the Creator to give birth to him in my time and my culture? This, then, is the fullness of time: When the Son of God is begotten in us.” (8)
When we say yes to being yet another “Theotokos”, we say “Yes” to bearing God into our messy and messed up world once more.
If Meister Eckhart is right that we are all mothers of God, how is God asking us to bear God into our world?
Can we say “Yes” to God’s intrusive, almost impossible sounding invitation?
Can we say “Yes” to new horizons, new possibilities and new lives – for ourselves personally, and collectively as First Presbyterian Church?
I hope so. As we stand on the brink of Christmas, I hope you will ponder these things in your heart. And as you do, know this:
The Lord is with you. The Lord is with us. Do not be afraid. For nothing will be impossible with God.
May God be praised. Amen.
1. Barbara Brown Taylor, “Mothers of God”, Gospel Medicine, Cowley Publications, 1995, p 164-165.
2. Katie Kirk, The Christian Century, December 2023, p 27.
3. James R. Luck Jr., Feasting on the Gospels, Westminster John Knox Press, 2014, p 16.
4. Barbara Brown Taylor, “Mothers of God”, Gospel Medicine, Cowley Publications, 1995, p 166.
5. Ibid… p 166-167.
6. Ibid… p 167.
7. Ibid… p 167.
8. Ibid… p 168.
