The Overshadow of God s Peace Sermon Luke 1:26-38 Message:

Transcription

1 The Overshadow of God s Peace Sermon Luke 1: In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you. 29 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30 The angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 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. 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. 34 Mary said to the angel, How can this be, since I am a virgin? 35 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. 36 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. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God. 38 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. Message: (Play Video) Impossible! This is impossible! It s implausible. How could a virgin all of a sudden be impregnated? Do you really think that this angel, Gabriel, came out of nowhere and sent this message to Mary and all of a sudden she s pregnant? Impossible! This is the reaction of the critics. Those who would deem miracles impossible. Those skeptics. Anything that proclaims to be other-worldly or beyond our understanding would be impossible. There must be some rational explanation for this, other than it s a miracle. That some cosmic force such as God could impregnate this poor young teenage woman. Maybe you ve felt like this sometimes with God. There is no possible way that God can get me out of this. I ve created my own grave. Now I have to live in it. Maybe you ve made some bad decisions and there doesn t seem to be any way out. Maybe you re living in a time of uncertainty. Some of you who have lost a job at a late age may have been thinking, How am I ever going to get a job at this age? They don t want to hire someone at my age with all the liability and cost. Do I need to take a pay-cut? How am I ever going to retire?

2 Or, I know for my generation it s Every employer wants someone with experience in my field, but I can t get experience if someone isn t willing to hire me. If someone isn t willing to take some risk. I ve got educational debt looming and I m just trying to get started in adulthood. The impossibility of it all. Or maybe it s, everything medically speaking for yourself and/or other loved ones seems to be never-ending with health issues. Will I/they ever be healthy again? Maybe it s worries over our children. Will they be healthy? Will they mature? Will they develop healthy relationships with their peers? Will they be able to avoid trouble and be a good kid? All these worries that seem to be impossible to answer are not beyond God s possibility. All these worries that seem to be impossible to answer are not beyond God s possibility. Many of us know this story today. We know that an angel came to Mary to tell her that she was going to bear the Messiah. Why was Mary chosen above all the other women? Verse 30, The angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Mary found favor with God. You have to understand that every Jewish girl prayed and dreamed of one day being the one to carry and provide the long-awaited Messiah of God s people. The thought of being chosen to be part of the plan that would provide the rescuer, redeemer, and savior for Israel was a hope and a future any young Jewish lady would be honored to experience. But as we see in Gabriel s address, Mary, was naturally afraid. Have you ever been there? You think you heard from God and yet you are afraid to obey. It may not have been an angel or an audible voice, but it may have been an impression. A word from someone else. I know that when I hear from God, my body flushes with chills, but there are no goosebumps on my body. A strange phenomenon. But initially it s like, Really? Are you sure God? On the one hand, it feels and seems right. On the other hand, it may be illogical or maybe even seemingly impossible. Of course, Mary s natural inclination is, How can this be, since I am a virgin? She is not married, nor has she had any sexual relations. So how can this be that she is pregnant? Gabriel responds in verse 35, The Holy

3 Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you Wow! Have you ever experienced the power of God? Have you ever felt so close in relationship with God, that you could sense his presence and power? The Angel is making this promise that God s power will overshadow Mary. This hedge of protection. God s presence is going to be at work in and with Mary. God s peace is going to reign in her. When I think about Mary s situation, it reminds of a few worrisome times. When I graduated seminary in 2013, I didn t have a job lined up. Towards the end of seminary, I started the process of searching for a congregation to Pastor. I sensed after some wrestling with God that I was going to be a Pastor someday. I went through a few interviews with congregations. I even interviewed at a congregation in Indiana. Well nothing was coming to fruition. Strangely, as I graduated, I felt this peace come upon me. I knew that I should be worried that I don t have a job. Money was going to run-out eventually. I may have to go live with my parents again which would be humiliating. Yet, I still had this peace knowing that God was going to provide. To buy some time, I knew that practically speaking I needed to take on a job or two. A job opened up at the YMCA to watch children. I got the job. My sister had a connection with a fruit and vegetable farm. So I got a job picking strawberries and corn. They weren t the most glamorous jobs in the world. And it was quite humbling after achieving a Master s level degree. But it was what I had to do at the time. Meanwhile, I had applied for a Chaplain position at York Hospital. To give a little context, Chaplain Residency Programs usually have their candidates selected by February or early Spring at the latest. So it was miracle that York Hospital still had an opening. The program began in August. Well I got a phone call during the last week in June inviting me in for an interview. This was my only lead for a job with my education level. I went in for the interview. It was a series of interviews for 4 hours. At the end of it all, they offered me the job on the spot. I was so surprised by the quick turn-around. And they reminded me that I was 1 of 6 candidates chosen out of over 100 applicants. I was amazed. As you know, I took that position for the

4 year. But it was amazing how I should have been worried all along. I should have been freaking it. I should have been applying to multiple job opportunities and created an array of job leads. Yet, God watched over me. He gave this supernatural sense of peace. His power reigned. It was a similar scenario as I was on the journey to become your pastor. I ended chaplaincy at the beginning of August. I didn t have anything else in the works than doing my final interview with all of you where I came and preached. That was at the beginning of September I didn t have a back-up plan. I didn t have any other leads. If I wasn t called here, I was going to have to scramble for a job. Yet, God gave me peace through it all. My worries were often set at bay. I continued to pray and hope things would all work out. And the rest is history. You called me to be your pastor. God knew what he was doing. I felt crazy for having this supernatural peace when I should have been freaking out, but God knew what He was doing. It s a strange thing. There are times in our lives that things may be difficult. Things that may cause us to be afraid and worried, but when we release those things to God, God has the power to turn our impossibility into something possible. God has the power to bring peace where there should be none. Sometimes he does that supernaturally and other times he creates peace over the course of time. This child that is to come is to be the bringer of Peace. The Prince of Peace to be more exact. God gives us a glimpse of that peace through his overshadowing/watchful eye/protective peace over Mary. What is your impossibility this season? What is your impossibility this season that you may need to invite God into? I wonder what God would do if you allow and invite him in? I know it s vulnerable and scary and you don t want to be asked to do things you don t want to do. But in order to experience His peace, we have to be willing to take the risk of vulnerability as we listen for His voice and presence. Another part of this passage that I think is key, is the peace that Mary is given through friendship. God seems to understand that Mary needs more than just His peace and power. The hard part with God

5 sometimes is that God is other-worldly. I can t visibly see him and interact with Him, the same way I would interact with another human being. And I think for Mary being chosen to bear this child is both a great privilege and is lonely. Think about when you are chosen for something. Or you are rewarded above all the rest. It s a great honor. But at the same time there is no one else there with you. And so it s lonely. Experts of that time and culture suggest Mary likely suffered embarrassment and loneliness as a result of being the person picked by God to be the mother of God s Chosen One. The angel not only delivers God s message with a sign to her regarding her immaculate conception while still a virgin, but also suggests a confidant with whom she may share her strange and wonderful experience in her relative Elizabeth. It always is better to walk through unique and challenging seasons of life when we have someone by our side to help experience the journey. God knew this. And God provided for even the smallest details and every emotional need that Mary would experience along the way. Like Mary, we all have seasons of life that are difficult and challenging. And we are not meant to go through them alone. God knew that Mary would face embarrassment, skepticism and unfair criticism. So God provided Elizabeth as a source of comfort and peace. Knowing that Elizabeth was also giving birth miraculously at her old age. If you are facing a worrisome and challenging season, who can you invite to share the burden and load with you? Who is God leading you towards who can be a presence of peace in your life? You know, the hard part about this season of the year is that all the family issues seem to bubble to the surface. I ve faced this for a number years in my family. Trying to coordinate schedules. Frustrations ensue. Name-calling and criticism ensues. While this can be a beautiful time of year anticipating the birth of the Messiah, it can also be a challenging time of year with family and friends. Every family has their issues. No family is perfect. As we reflect on these things, I believe God wants to reign with peace and power in your lives. What is your impossible? What is your greatest challenge? How can you invite God s peace to reign in your

6 families? What healing work does God need to do? This child that is about to come in Mary, comes to bring peace. He will be the Prince of Peace. As we anticipate His birth, let us remember the peace and power of God. Let us embrace God s peace and power during this season. May God s peace overshadow all of us. Amen.