A Great and Mighty Wonder

4^th Sunday in Advent

Luke 1:26–38

Luke 1:26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. 29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. 30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. 31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. 34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. 36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing shall be impossible. 38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

Grace, peace and mercy from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen!

A great and mighty wonder, A full and holy cure: The virgin bears the infant
    With virgin honor pure!

            She's a little girl, maybe only fourteen or fifteen years old. By our standards she is quite young to young to get married. But in her time, during her era she was old enough to get married. She's even betrothed to man named Joseph. The vows have been made and soon they will solemnize their marriage. Mary's a well-deserving girl; she's wise and devout, a maiden who is above reproach who has kept herself pure for Joseph.

She lives in the little town of Nazareth far away from any major metropolis. Nazareth is a small town between the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean Sea; it’s a community with no great reputation or history. It’s the type of place that you could spend a week there in one day. Or at least it would feel like you spent a week there. Nothing ever happened in Nazareth that is until now.

Mary is visited by an unexpected visitor with an extraordinary message. His name is Gabriel, and he is sent by God to a virgin betrothed to Joseph, the virgin named Mary. His extraordinary message begins like this: “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”

His extraordinary message brings an unusual reaction. Read through the Scriptures, and you'll always find that people are very troubled by the sight of angels. They shrink away or fall down on their faces and play dead; these heavenly messengers come straight from the glorious presence of God, and the righteousness that clings to them is enough to terrify sinners. Holy angels terrify people.

Mary is troubled, but not troubled by Gabriel's appearance. She's troubled at what he has said, for she considers the manner of greeting he’s given. What is it that's so troubling for her to hear? Is it the: "Rejoice"? Probably not! "Highly favored one"…that's a bit unusual and could leave her puzzled; but then so could "blessed are you among women." But troubled? If I had to guess what was most troubling was the greeting: "The Lord is with you." If it isn't troubling to her yet, it will be.

How could the Lord be with Mary? I mean, He's everywhere, He’s omnipresent, I know. But this, sort of salutation, means that He's not just present out there somewhere, but that He's truly present here to found. Somehow, "The Lord is with you" is the sort of thing you say to someone at the temple in Jerusalem, where God is dwelling behind the curtain. He's surely there. The Lord is with you at the temple because you've come to where the Lord has promised to be. Behind that huge curtain separating the Holy of Holies from the rest of the Temple that is where the Lord God is present. But this isn't Jerusalem nor is this His temple. This is Podunk Nazareth and Mary's dwelling. "The Lord is with you," says Gabriel-here and now. But how could the Lord be with her?

Gabriel fills in the blanks:

“Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 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 father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:30-33).

That's the message. Mary's going to be a mom.

A great and mighty wonder, A full and holy cure: The virgin bears the infant
    With virgin honor pure! Proclaim the Savior’s birth: “To God on high be glory And peace to all the earth!”

Mary notes an important obstacle to motherhood. It's not a doubt-filled objection, but a hindrance all the same: "How can this be, since I am a virgin, I have not known a man?"

Gabriel continues:

“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 called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” (Luke 1:35-36).

Ah, that answers that. Mary's going to be the mother of God.

You see, the angel isn't kidding when he says, "The Lord is with you." Gabriel isn't speaking in general terms, like, "Mary, I hope you know that the Lord has a special place for you in His heart." As the messenger of God, he is speaking God's specific, concrete, powerful Word. The Lord is with Mary, as really and as concretely as the cloud of glory that overshadowed the temple before descending into the Holy of Holies. He is with her, all right: By the Word of God that Gabriel proclaims, the power of the Highest overshadows her. The Lord is with Mary: The Creator of heaven and earth  is in the very womb of Mary. In her He will grow and develop a beating heart, head, fingers and toes. By the promise of God, Mary has received the body and blood of her Lord Jesus Christ. God has become man. The Word is made flesh to dwell among us. He will develop in Mary's womb until He is born in Bethlehem. He will be called the Son of God.

The second verse of our hymn puts it this way: The Word becomes incarnate and yet remains on high, and cherubim sing anthems To shepherds from the sky.

It's just like the Lord had promised through His prophet Isaiah in (Isaiah. 7:14): "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel" When the Savior came, He would be called Immanuel, "God with us." No wonder Gabriel says to Mary, "The Lord is with you." Immanuel has arrived, as promised.

This doesn’t mean life is going to be easy for Mary after all she is still a young woman who hasn’t known a man. Now she is with child, how will that be explained to her betrothed?  Joseph knows it isn’t his child. He could have Mary stoned to death if he desired. How do you explain and unexpected pregnancy to your betrothed? Especially in their day, because it was all right for Joseph and Mary to consummate the relationship for they were already considered married. It was expected and allowed. A marriage in Mary’s day was a contractual agreement between the parents of the bride and groom and procreation was considered God’s approval of such an arrangement. But Joseph knew it wasn’t his kid. If Joseph was a typical man he was probably impatiently waiting for the day they could live as husband and wife.

She's still a virgin who has done nothing wrong, so you'd think it would work to well to tell the truth. Except that the truth is, "I'm pregnant because the Son of God is conceived in me by the Holy Spirit." Right. Everyone will believe that one!

It's not going to be an easy life for Mary. She'll be the object of scorn, whether as the expectant mother or the grieving one entrusted to John at the foot of the cross. She'll be at the top of the devil's list; he's been waiting a few millennia for the Seed of the woman, and he will do his best to pierce her heart.

With all the ills and problems ahead of her is she resentful? No! Instead she says, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” It's a remarkable statement of faith, this is acceptance of God's plan whatever the consequences. Faith is a gift of God, and she can make this confession because the Lord is with her. Let the world scoff and scorn; it knows humanity only through the blurred vision of sin, but the world cannot comprehend a God who would become flesh to serve by sacrificing Himself. Let the devil rage in his jealousy; ever since Eden, he's tried to worm his way close to man and woman. But he could never become man. Ah, but there in Mary's womb, God has become man; and the Word-made-flesh will crush the devil's head, once for all. He is not just there to be there; He is there for a purpose-to go to the cross for the redemption of the world.

Or as our hymn puts it in verse 4: Since all He comes to ransom, By all be He adored, The infant born in Bethlehem, The Savior and the Lord.

Christmas Eve lies only three days away, when we peer with wonder into the manger at Bethlehem, point to the Baby and say, "Behold the Son of God, present with His people." This is indeed a great and mighty wonder.  But we celebrate this wonder every time we come together. For St. Matthew says in Chapter 18 verse 20: "For where two or three have gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst.” Not two or three hundred but two or three. Every time we come together in Christ name, He is here!  Every time we celebrate the Lord’s Supper He is truly locally present, just as present as He was with Mary.  He is present to forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

A great and mighty wonder, A full and holy cure: The virgin bears the infant
    With virgin honor pure! Proclaim the Savior’s birth: “To God on high be glory And peace to all the earth!”

In Jesus name, amen and amen!

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus!  Amen!