Luke 1:26–31, 34–35, 38, 46–55

Chair and Armstrong Professor of Religion, Department of Religion, Samford University

The Savior of Christmas — Being Changed by the Savior
Luke 1:26–31, 34–35, 38, 46–55
The stories that Luke uses to tell us about the coming of Christ at Christmas don’t focus attention directly upon Him but upon the people whose lives He changed in remarkable ways — people like Joseph, Elizabeth, Simeon and Mary, the mother of our Lord. Mary is one of the most remarkable of these people. Just a teenager, she had been brought up in a devout Jewish home, waiting in the midst of all the troubles and trials of daily life for the intervention of God but never thinking for a moment that she might be God’s instrument of that deliverance.

The Surprising Grace of God (26–31)
Mary came face to face with the God of new possibilities. The angel called Gabriel visited her and brought a message from God, “Greetings, you are highly favored. The Lord is with you.” Her initial response was one of perplexity. She would soon discover that an unwanted pregnancy when you’re engaged to be married is bad news to a young 16-year-old. She would encounter ridicule, loneliness and pain. Being blessed by God can turn your life inside out. Yet she discerned through the message of the angel that her Son would be called “Jesus,” the One who would save His people from their sin. Her willingness to face an uncertain future was the means that God would use to bring salvation to the world.

Submission to the Gift of God (34–35, 38)
Mary faced the dilemma of doubt — not unbelief. Doubt is not the same as unbelief. She didn’t understand how she could become pregnant, because she was a virgin. The angel explained that the Holy Spirit would come upon her and the Most High would overshadow her. The verse contains echoes from the Old Testament. Mary’s experience was being compared to the dramatic way in which God’s glory and the cloud marking His presence came down upon the completed tabernacle. God’s Spirit would be the means of the Incarnation, of God “tabernacling” among us. Although she wouldn’t have fully grasped the meaning of the message at that moment in time, we read that she submitted her life to God’s will — “Let it be with me according to your word.”

Rejoicing in the Mercy of God (46–55)
Mary’s final response to God’s message was that of worship and praise. She reflected on the strange ways that God works — counter to the expectations of the world. She also reflected on the proud and the powerful and how the humble and the hungry are favored, filled with good things and lifted up to positions of importance in God’s Kingdom.

Tragically so many religious people in the world today have the impression that God prefers to help those who help themselves. As long as we are quite nice people, don’t really do anything tragically wrong with our lives and are kind and considerate to others, then God will accept us into heaven.

Such a view of religion, which is far too prevalent, fails to understand the most basic message of Christmas and of the cross of Calvary. Without the Incarnation and without the sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary, there is no hope of being forgiven and no hope of eternal life. It is only because Jesus Christ has made “purification for sins” that we can know peace with God and the hope of everlasting life.

God’s way up is to go down — to humble oneself — to sense our inadequacy and to cry out to God for His help. For when we come to the absolute end of ourselves, the strange work of God’s grace comes in. When we come to that point when we confess our human inability — then and only then — God is able to help us. When we are empty of self, God comes and fills us with good things — the good things of His love, mercy, kindness and forgiveness — offering us a new start, a fresh beginning.

No wonder Mary rejoiced in God. The message of the angel filled her heart with thanksgiving. Not only did she discover her own salvation in the birth, life and death of her Son but she also would be forever remembered as one who willingly offered her life in the service of God.