THE MANGER NEAR MARY’S HEART
Advent 3 – 12/14/14 – Canterbury UMC – Bill Morgan
Luke 1.26-38: For nothing will be impossible with God.
AN INCONVENIENT GOD Success Gospel, prosperity preachers, they call it. The
Norman Vincent Peale’s, Robert Shuler’s, Joel Osteen’s with their positive and possibility thinking, have our best life now tips imply the Bible can be our wish come true
book (with careful verse selection.) Stay away from that cross stuff, and Jesus can be our
personal pied piper. But it would be hard to prove this by our Advent people: Zechariah,
John, Mary, Joseph. What they received was not their wishes come true from a concierge
cosmic room service God but an unexpected life path from an inconvenient God.
Recall stuttery old priest Zechariah at the high holy Temple altar. The people await
outside for him to emerge and pronounce the wonderful Priestly prayer – The Lord Bless
you and keep you…. But, noooo! Gabriel the messenger from God scares the old geezer,
announces the he and old Elizabeth are going to receive a baby. Well, they had prayed for
that way back. But now? Near retirement? PTA meetings having to explain again, no, we
are not little Johnny’s grandparents. How inconvenient.
But Zeke and Liz’s boy John comes, grows up. By all accounts, John the baptizer was a
charmer. People came out to hear him preach. With the bugs and honey in his beard, if
not a magnetic person, at least he was a sticky one. All the makings for televangelist
stardom. But, noooo! He received a supporting not starring role. How inconvenient.
Next week, Joseph. Carpenter, not dream coat, Joseph. He’s not only a good ole boy but
good man. Getting started with his life with Mary. This time the angel news is received in
a dream. Mary’s going to have, well, uh, not exactly your baby. This the plan Joseph
had? Well, noooo! How inconvenient; embarrassing, too.
OK, now something about Mary. This is 6-months after Zeke’s Temple incident. We
guess Mary is about the age of Jerry Lee Lewis’ first wife. By the custom, young teen
Mary is engaged to Joseph, likely arranged by their parents. Mary is a good girl, a person
of faith. But when she receives Gabriel’s news, she is scared and confused – long way
from ‘Hail, Mary, full of grace, blessed are you among women.’ God’s dream for Mary
begins not as great blessing but major inconvenience in Mary’s life.
NOTHING IS NOT A GOD-OPTION Mary doesn’t bicker with Gabriel, want proof
like Zechariah. But she has her questions. Like, how can this can work? Faith does not
mean we dumb-down, delete our questions. A loving God and suffering world, likely
causes us even more questions. Faith does not mean we are immune to tough, unfair,
even nutty situations, predicaments in our lives. If not yet, sooner or later, we get into a
jam with our job, health, relationships, family, surf the news, and the gut check questions
come – how can anything good happen in this nothing situation?
Here is one of the most evocative statements in scripture: For nothing will be impossible
with God. (Dr. Paul Franke’s logic class at BSC taught me about precision and clarity in
language). It does not say God can do anything. Like make a rock so big God can’t pick it
up. Or make a team of tiny Russian ballerinas dance on the tip of a pin. Or make a fresh
crop of Joel Osteen hair appear on Bill Morgan’s head.
What it says is ‘nothing’ is not an option on God’s life menu. It’s related to God works
for good in all things – which is not that all things are good. But in whatever is going on
God works for good, not punitively making things worse.
Years ago, our friends’ second child was born. Problem free pregnancy, normal birth, a
healthy, sweet baby girl. Clearly Down’s syndrome baby. Mom and dad were shocked,
not what they had expected. A few days later, Nancy said: “Of course, we have cried,
been upset about this. But we decided we will receive our baby as a gift from God. We
have a good home. Loving dad, mother, big brother, grandparents, and church for her.
We will love, give our baby a good life. So why not us?”
GOD-BEARERS ARE WIDE RECEIVERS In the early church, Mary was called
‘theotokos’. That means God bearer/carrier/toter. Jesus’ first manger, first receiving
blanket, was located just below Mary’s heart. Would there be hurts and complications in
her life and his life? Would there be many times she wondered how can God really be in
this? I imagine so. Mary so to speak was willing to be a wide receiver.
‘Why’ is a worthy question to ask about what does and
does not happen in our lives. But the crucial question is,
how with God’s love will I receive the life I have to use
my face, hands, words, strength, possessions to relieve
hurt, increase beauty, right wrongs, build up the earth? For
sure, it takes going wide, zigging and zagging to be such a
life receiver. A main reason we keep dragging into church.
Today, we have had the moving Tartan dedication of the St. Andrew Society group,
thanksgiving for their family and heritage, all of it committed to the God we know in
Jesus. We all thank God for our family and national heritages, yet they recognize that we
belong to a God who includes us all.
THE tartan of belonging that holds us all is the receiving blanket of God’s love.