Pastor Bill
Sermon
Fourth Sunday in Advent
December 21, 2008
How fast did these weeks of Advent go by for you?
I remember when I passed out the Advent Calendars and I told everyone how many days it would be until Christmas – it was 38 days then, now Christmas is just 4 days away.
Where did all those 34 days go?
We have marked the passage of that time each Sunday by lighting a Blue Candle on the Advent Wreath. First we lit the Prophecy Candle, then the Bethlehem Candle, then the Shepherd’s candle, and today we lit the Angel’s Candle reminding us of the message that the angels brought concerning the birth of Jesus.
In our gospel lesson for today we hear that God sent the angel – Gabriel, to tell Mary, a virgin, that she had found favor with God and that God had chosen her to bear the Savior of the whole world. And she, Mary, was to name him "Jesus" which means Savior.
The angel tells Mary that she will become pregnant; “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a Son, and you will name him 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 ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
Mary maybe young, but she is not stupid, she knows how babies come to be, she asks; "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"
Gabriel, the angel, tells Mary; "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 the Son of God. 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. For nothing will be impossible with God."
What we read here in Luke we confess in the Creeds – "I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary."
At Wartburg Seminary, our Homiletics’ Professor, Bud Buchheim said; "Don’t explain everything in your sermons to your congregation – they have brains, let them use them."
So, let me explain something to you.
(No! I don’t mean that you don’t have brains.)
But I do things at times and hope you are aware and notice.
For instance, as you have come into the Sanctuary for these last four weeks in Advent, I hope you have noticed the banner on the South wall, it is a blue banner – remember the color blue is the color of hope – and pregnant Mary is outlined in white with the Holy Spirit symbolized as a dove.
It won’t be there on Wednesday evening at the Christmas Eve Service, and I am sure I don’t have to tell you why.
Normally I make that change and don’t say anything because I remember Professor Bud Buchheim’s words, “The members of your congregations have brains, let them use them.”
So, when you come to worship services are your brains engaged or are you coasting along?
By the way, do you know who the Fourth Sunday in Advent is all about?
Mary occupies a center spot-light for sure, but the Fourth Sunday in Advent is all about God. Our clue to that point is found in verse 37; "For nothing will be impossible with God."
Elizabeth in old age is pregnant, "How can this be?"
Nothing is impossible with God.
Mary, a virgin, is pregnant, "How can this be?"
Nothing is impossible with God.
Crucifixion, death, burial, RESURRECTION – "How can this be?"
Nothing is impossible with God.
How is life going for you?
Is everything perfect?
Is your life going as you have had it planned or mapped out?
If you have lived life even for just a few short year you already know that your planned out life sometimes just can not happen.
Mom and dad need to go to work. Staying at home alone is not an option, at least as far as they are concerned.Your plans to sleep with your dog and your cat turns into World War Three right in your bedroom.
Yes, life can be messy sometimes and we may begin to wonder – if nothing is impossible with God – "How come my life’s situations seem so impossible to solve?"
But, nothing being impossible with God does not mean that God will do anything and everything just to make us happy all the time, it does mean that for God nothing is impossible in the bringing about of our salvation.
Amen.