Sermons from Mission Hills UCC San Diego, California Rev. Dr. David Bahr [email protected] December 4, 2022 “God Meets Us in Our Fear” Luke 1: 26-39 –Common English Bible When Elizabeth was six months pregnant, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a city in Galilee, 27 to a virgin who was engaged to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David’s house. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 When the angel came to her, he said, “Rejoice, favored one! The Lord is with you!” 29 She was confused by these words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 The angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Mary. God is honoring you. 31 Look! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be great and he will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of David his father. 33 He will rule over Jacob’s house forever, and there will be no end to his kingdom.” 34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How will this happen since I haven’t had sexual relations with a man?” 35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come over you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the one who is to be born will be holy. He will be called God’s Son. 36 Look, even in her old age, your relative Elizabeth has conceived a son. This woman who was labeled ‘unable to conceive’ is now six months pregnant. 37 Nothing is impossible for God.” 38 Then Mary said, “I am the Lord’s servant. Let it be with me just as you have said.” Then the angel left her. Gabriel didn’t feel the same joy anymore that he once felt. You’d think being a messenger of God would be exhilarating, but the luster had worn off. This might surprise you – that angels could feel just as uninspired by their jobs as humans. But it was exhausting work. People’s reactions were so varied, he never knew what to expect. Some people jump and scream – like they’ve won the lottery. Others burst into tears and he has to spend the rest of the day taking care of them. Some people hear the news and forget to breathe until they almost faint. He has to yell out, “Breathe! Breathe!” and be ready to catch them if they’re about to fall over. One of his recent assignments was to a priest named Zechariah. Gabriel was assigned to tell him the good news that his wife was about to become pregnant. Should be an easy one. They had been waiting their whole lives. But Zechariah was so filled with doubt and objections – we’re too old – that Gabriel had to make him mute. He wouldn’t be able to speak again until the baby was born. Gabriel did not enjoy that day. So, on this particular morning, Gabriel went to the assignment desk for his latest job. He was to deliver a message to a girl named Mary. He read her dossier and tried to imagine how she would react. Poor peasant teen age girl from a nowhere part of the Empire, betrothed to an old man. Message: She will be pregnant before they get married. Good Lord, he thought. Thank goodness it’s someone else’s job to deliver the message to the soon to be very upset almost-husband. Fortunately, that’s been assigned to the dream department. Gabriel was afraid this young woman would not take the news well and it would be a very long day. After all, she might not only lose her fiancé, she could literally lose her life over this. As he left the office, he told the other angels, “wish me luck. I’m going to need it.” Gabriel was nervous as he stood ready to come out from behind the curtain between heaven and earth. He thought, how should I break the news? She was standing in front of a table making bread. He thought, maybe I could write “God is with you” in the flour. Or whisper in her ear. Or sing a special song only she could hear. But she might think she was losing her mind. Maybe I should go outside and knock on the front door like the Publishers Clearing House and exclaim: “Mary, today is your lucky day!” As he ran through various scenarios in his head, he failed to notice she was looking right at him. How can she see me?! No one has ever seen me before I wanted them to. He was so startled he stumbled on the curtain and almost fell over as he exclaimed “Greetings, favored one of God. Don’t be afraid. God is with you.” Mary tried not to show her amusement at such a clumsy angel and so she calmly nodded her head, her face a mixture of curiosity and wonderment. But Mary wasn’t afraid and her tranquility threw Gabriel off guard. He forgot to breathe and just blurted out, “God has sent me to tell you that you will have a baby, a boy, his name will be Jesus and he will be the Son of God Most High and Savior of the world.” As he gasped for air, he looked like he was going to pass out so Mary reached for a chair so he could sit down. She took in what he had say and then quietly asked, “How can this be?” and sat down next to Gabriel. “God’s Holy Spirit will wrap you in love and the child will begin to grow inside you. He will be holy and blessed.” No screams, no tears, no fainting. She studied her hands for a moment and then said, “I love serving God. I’ll do it. I’ll be whoever God invites me to be.” Gabriel had done his job but this girl had certainly surprised him. So confident; so calm. As he turned to pull back the curtain, he saw that his hand was trembling. She called out to him, “Don’t be afraid, Gabriel. God is with you too.” He laughed and stepped behind the curtain. He said out loud, “I just love my job.”[1] “Don’t be afraid” seems like a rather impractical word of advice. If you’re afraid, how can you not be something you already are? But I have another question. Is fear always a bad thing? Sometimes fear is what keeps us safe, keeps us alive. Sometimes fear is wisdom born of experience. But while some fear is indeed destructive, some fear might be the doorway to a welcome guest. We might think fear is a stumbling block to faith. But what if we thought of fear as a threshold? A threshold over which we may sometimes stumble, but nevertheless, a new opening, a new beginning that presents itself. Zechariah kept a running tab on objections about why this or that won’t work. But did you know that in the entire Bible, God never listened to anyone who objected and said they can’t? God never said, “You know what, you’re right. You’ve convinced me that you’re not as qualified as I thought.” Sometimes fear is the reason we don’t make a change in our life. But what if we recognize that fear is just a threshold – the realization, sometimes painful, that something must change? Sometimes fear is the barrier to seeking a new job. Or the reason we won’t go to the doctor. How about instead letting that fear be the reason we finally do something? Don’t be afraid of fear. But here’s the really important part: Mary and the Angel Gabriel don’t just tell each other “do not be afraid.” Both say, don’t be afraid because – God is with you. It’s in our fear that God meets us. If even an angel can grow indifferent, dull, apathetic, and cynical, perhaps fear isn’t so bad; because when nothing else moves us forward, when we find ourselves going nowhere, maybe fear is our friend. The thing, ironically, that finally brings us peace. Before we lit the candle of peace, we asked – what are you afraid of. That’s the place we meet God. Don’t be afraid of fear. Welcome it. Aren’t you curious what assignment Gabriel is waiting to give you? [1] This story has been significantly expanded from an original idea by Bob Hartman
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