Forgotten Heroes or God's Mercy on Mary.

I honestly love this time of year. I am aware of the commercialism and the fact that this is the celebration of the first advent, the birth of our Lord and not His precise birth date. However, I enjoy the lights and the trees and the crisp air. For at least twenty-five years I have done an Advent series leading up to Christmas Day. As an aside, I also do a resurrection series leading up to the Resurrection so there is balance in my preaching. I have had a few of these seventy-five to eighty lessons share a common theme, but I have never reused a message. There is always something new to consider. This year I spoke on the forgotten Heroes, the background folks from the Christmas story. People like Zacharias,Elizabeth, Simeon, and the messengers God sent to alert a few chosen people of the birth of His Son. In the process I spent some time looking at the visit of the angel, Gabriel, to the young maiden, Mary. It was in this exchange that I was given a fresh appreciation for the grace and mercy of our Heavenly Father. Tucked into Gabriel's message is a profound message for us as well. Just a reminder of the tenderness of the God who loved us an sent His Son, Emmanuel, God with us, on that first Christmas Day.

In order to appreciate the power of the angel's message you must do two things. First, you must remove Mary's halo and allow her to be just a young Jewish girl who is looking forward to becoming the wife of Joseph, the town carpenter. Second, you must drop out of your American Culture and become a Jew form 2000 years ago. and for good measure, pretend you never read this account before. You are now Mary. A teen-aged young woman.Your marriage was arranged, as all marriages were, by your parents some time ago. A binding covenant had been publicly signed and a dowry paid. All that remained was for you to become of marriageable age and for Joseph to have a home and business to support you and the family you would build together. That time was drawing near. Today begins like any other day until you have an angelic visitation. The account is recorded as follows:

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!" But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give 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." Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.” Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her (Luke 1:26-38).

Mary is a Godly young woman. She is remarkably well versed in Scripture. Just consider how many verses and books she quotes from when she shares her praise with Elizabeth. She has just been told that she will give birth to the long awaited Messiah. Her son will reign on David's throne forever and ever. Quite a bit to take in as a teenage girl. She asked her obvious question. "How can this be as I have never known (had sexual relations with) a man?" Gabriel explains that this will be a supernatural God thing. And the child she bears will be called the Son of God. Mary accepts the assignment and the angel Gabriel departs. An amazing story of an amazing young woman.

As you read the story were you touched by the tender thing that God does for this young virgin? Did you see the depth of God's compassion and concern for a unwed girl who is to be found with child before her wedding night? She is a human woman. She is not "Super Girl" or some special genetically enhanced being. She is a young woman about to go through her first pregnancy as an unwed mother with a story that no one in town has been made aware of. And then there is Joseph. How could he ever accept her story? With all that in mind God does the most tender and compassionate thing He can do. Were your emotions stirred as you read verse 36? Let me highlight it for you as it may have been lost in the text and with the familiarity you may have with the story, "Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren." If you did not catch what God did, Mary did. See Luke 1:39-40, "Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth."

God tells Mary there is a place to go. There are only two people on the whole planet who know who the Angel Gabriel is. There are only two people on the planet who know of the soon arrival, of the birth of Messiah. And one of the two cannot talk. Gabriel's message from God the Father is, Mary, you are not alone. You have a close relative who knows of the power of God, especially in matters of conception. She is a short distance away. Mary obviously knows of the couple, The Godly priest and his wife living close by in the hill country of Judah. Mary understands and heads to the house of Zacharias and Elizabeth. She is greeted with exuberance and confirmation that the child she now bears is Emmanuel. She spends three months there with no questions to answer and time to get through those first months of pregnancy. Now, I do not know if Mary had morning sickness, odd cravings, or got nausea from the smell of  gefilte fish. However, Our Lord did enter this would as a baby and He grew inside Mary's womb like any other child. So, just maybe Mary shared in some of the joys and challenges of those first months. The point is, God in His tender compassion did not have her go through this alone. She and Elizabeth shared a sacred bond that no one else could. Each carrying a son announced by God's Angel Gabriel, before they even conceived. Each aware of the hurtful things people can say. Each aware that the truth about their pregnancy would not be believed by those around them.

Mary returns home, after three months of comfort, encouragement, understanding, and the blessings of being with the older Elizabeth to face the town that would not understand. To face the man who was under a covenant to take her as his wife. To know an answer that could not be explained. God's mercy stretches to Joseph with a dream of an Angelic messenger telling him why Mary is with child. He does not hesitate to believe the angel and quickly takes Mary as his wife, knowing the questions would not go away.

We could play the "what if" game here. What if God had not directed Mary to Elizabeth? How challenging would those three months have been? Instead, in His great compassion and mercy the Lord gives Mary and Elizabeth each other. Mary had the comfort of an older woman who absolutely believed her, without question. And Elizabeth had a friend who understood the importance of her little one coming in the power and spirit of Elijah. It also gave her someone to talk to, Remember, Zacharias wasn't saying much.

The Story of our Lord's birth has a number of forgotten or overlooked heroes if we read the familiar passages too quickly. Take some time this Christmas Day, or even in the days to come, and reread the stories, Read them a bit more slowly. Think about the people and the times they lived in. Perhaps you will see the wonder of God's tenderness and grace in  a new or surprising way. Merry Christmas and may the peace of God keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord.