Favored of God
First Sunday of Advent ~ Luke 1:26-38 (RSV)
December 3, 2023 ~ by John Gill
The passage we have read together has a special name: it's called the Annunciation, a word that simply means announcement. The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to announce to her that she was to bear the Christ Child.
Now, we don't preach on the Annunciation very often in Protestant churches, but it is a major theme in the Roman Catholic Church. Perhaps nothing has separated us from our Catholic brothers and sisters more than the way we view Mary. The Roman Catholic Church has developed a theology of Mary that elevates her to a status of veneration, on the verge of worship. We Protestants believe that this cannot be supported by the scriptures. So, in order to guard against any worship of Mary, we as Protestants have virtually ignored Mary in our Bible studies and preaching. In Protestant theology, Mary is only a footnote to the gospel. It seems that the only time we acknowledge Mary is when we set up our major scenes in our homes, and then, as just one among many characters in the stable.
And that's too bad. In our concern that we not be accused of worshipping Mary, the Protestant church has cut off its nose to spite its face. Mary is unique among all persons who have ever lived, chosen by God to be the mother of His Son, and for that reason alone, she deserves more attention from the Protestant church than she has been given.
Therefore, on this first Sunday of Advent, I'd like for us to take another look at the mother of Jesus, and at this story of the Annunciation. As we consider Mary's experience of being “favored of God,” I think we can learn something about what it means for you and me to receive God's favor.
Try to put yourself in Mary's place. You are a common teenage girl, probably only between 13 and 15 years of age, living in an obscure village in northern Israel. One day, you receive an unexpected visitor that brings you remarkable news. The visitor greets you with the words, “Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”
e
How do you think you would respond if an angel came to you and announced that you were “favored of God?” I imagine that your heart would leap for joy! You’d dance and sing, and you'd feel the peace of God in your soul...
Well, maybe that's how you and I might react, but that's not how Mary reacted. What was Mary's response to this greeting? She was troubled! The scriptures say that “she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be.” That seems like a strange reaction, don't you think? But in fact, there's really nothing strange about it at all.
Let's take a moment and look at why Mary may have found the angel's words to be so troubling. At first glance, it would appear that Mary would have nothing to be concerned about. The angel had promised that the child she would bear would be the long-expected Messiah of God, the Son of the
Most High, who would inherit the throne of David and rule forever and ever. The child promised to Mary would be the king, and Mary, the mother of the king.
So, based on the angel’s message alone, you would think that Mary's life would be filled with comfort and ease... Living in the palace of her son, highly respected by her country, and pampered by servants who would wait on her hand and foot. It sounds like everyone's fantasy come true!
But, was Mary happy? No. She was troubled... She must have had a premonition of what was to come,... that the angel had not told her the whole story – for the reality of her life would be quite different from the fantasy. No sooner had the angel gone than the troubles began: First, Mary had to somehow explain her pregnancy to Joseph, who was betrothed to be her husband. Can you imagine how that conversation might have gone? Wouldn’t you love to have been a fly on the wall so you could have heard Mary trying to explain to Joseph just exactly how it happened that she had become pregnant?
In that culture, betrothal was taken just as seriously as marriage. It was like a legally binding engagement, that could only be broken by divorce. How would she explain her situation to Joseph? If Joseph didn't believe her story, he could have divorced her, or even have had her stoned to death as an adulteress. At the very least, Mary's reputation would have been ruined.
And as you might recall from Matthew's version of events, Joseph at first did not believe her. (by the way – that we will be considering next Sunday). But, as the Bible tells us, because he was a good and merciful man, instead of disgracing her, Joseph intended to divorce her quietly. Then an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and assured him thT Mary had indeed told him the truth, and so he went through with the marriage. He consented to become the father of a child that he knew was not his. So, with that issue resolved, were Mary's troubles over? Hardly! Her troubles were just beginning!
When it came time for the baby to be born, were they at home? No, they were on a trip! Mary was forced to give birth to Jesus under the most difficult of circumstances, and a strange village far from home, among animals in a stable, with no one to give her comfort and courage and encouragement, except her new husband who she barely knew.
And once the baby was born, I'm sure Mary was eager to return to Nazareth to share the joy with her family. But that was not possible: the baby's life was in danger! The angel again appeared to Joseph in a dream and warned that the new baby had already been condemned to death by King Herod. And the Holy Family had to make that long and difficult journey into hiding in Egypt.
After several years in exile, living as refugees, Herod died. It was finally safe to return to Nazareth. Mary must have thought the worst was over. Life seemed to return to normal as Jesus grew into young manhood. But this was just the lull before the storm. Now the real troubles were about to begin! At about the age of 30, Jesus responded to the call of God as he began to become aware of who he was... The Messiah God had sent to save His people.
Jesus quickly was accepted and loved by the outcasts of society (Gentiles, sinners, prostitutes, and tax collectors), all the while being rejected by the religious establishment. They accused him of fraternizing with sinners and Gentiles, of breaking the Jewish laws, of drunkenness, and of being possessed by demons. His followers and supporters who he loved so much, abandoned him one by one. Finally, the Jewish authorities plotted his downfall, trumping up false charges against him. Using political blackmail, they persuaded the Roman governor to have Jesus executed as a traitor and an enemy of Caesar.
And Mary, “the favored one of God,” stood helplessly by the cross on Golgotha, and watched her baby die...
So, what does it mean to be “favored of God?” Is it a blessing? Or a curse?
I would imagine that many times during the life of Jesus, Mary was angry with God for favoring her so much! If Mary had known what pain and anguish lay ahead for her, she might well have laughed in Gabriel’s face: “Favored! Favored for what? Why don't you just keep your favors to yourself, and leave me alone!”
But, that's not how Mary responded, is it? Even though she had a troubling feeling in her heart that this news from the angel was a mixed blessing, she surrendered to God's will for her life. She became a servant of God.
After the initial shock of receiving a message from God, and the confusion of that remarkable experience, Mary received the assurance in her heart that, if she would only put her trust in God, he would overcome her inadequacies and see her through any difficulties she might have to face. Mary would come to realize, what each of us must also come to see, that God's grace is sufficient for every need.
So finally, Mary took that tremendous leap-of-faith, and surrendered her life to God. “Behold,” she said, “I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word.” You know - it is interesting that Mary's prayer is so similar to the prayer Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane: “Not my will, but thine be done.”
Because she surrendered her life to God, Mary would be able to face any difficulties the world would dish out, and call them blessings rather than curses, because somehow... somehow... through it all... She knew that God would be glorified.
This remarkable faith of Mary, this absolute trusting in God, this hope in the midst of trials, was vindicated on the first Easter morning! All the pain and anguish Mary had suffered faded in comparison with the joy and hope of the resurrection.
Because of her undying faith, we as Protestants need to respect this remarkable woman... not to worship or venerate her... but to model our lives after her! Mary heard the angel declare that she was
“favored of God”... And she knew that being favored of God did not mean that she was favored for privilege and ease, but rather, favored for servanthood and sacrifice. She also knew that, if she put her trust in God and made her life available to God to use in carrying out his perfect will, she would be able to look on all of life as a blessing, and not see it as a curse. Every day of her life she would live in the service of her God, that in everything she did she would give him praise and glory.
So, what about you and me? How does Mary's experience of being chosen by God so long ago relate to us today?
It may be true that God does not often send angels to us as messengers anymore, but that doesn't mean that God doesn't speak to us today. Through his word, he has declared that we, too, are favored! As we read in Paul's letter to the Ephesians, “And it is in Christ that we are claimed as God's own, chosen from the beginning, under the predetermined plan of the one who guides all things and decides by his own will; chosen to be, for his greater glory, the people who would put their hope in Christ...” (Ephesians 1:11-12 JB)
So, as Christians, you and I have also been chosen by God. Each of us, who has accepted Christ as the Lord of our lives, has received God's favor. In our hearts, we have heard him say to us, “Hail, O favored one, the lord is with you.”
But, while we rejoice that God has chosen us, let us remember that, to be “favored of God” does not mean a life of privilege and ease, but instead a life of servanthood and sacrifice. Like Mary, let us put our trust in God, surrendering our lives to his perfect will, that we may come to see all of life, the good and the bad, as a blessing, because we know that through it all somehow, God will be glorified.
So, in this season of Advent, as we look to Christ's coming, let us remember the life of Mary, and what the coming of Christ meant for her life. And, let us give thanks to God for Mary remarkable faith, that she trusted God enough to surrender her very life to his will.
This is our challenge this Advent season, as well.
© 2023 by John B. Gill, III