Beginning the Day with Prayer

 Based on Mark 1:29-39 

 

Have you ever felt tired? Of course, you have. All of us have. Life is hard work. There are so many demands and responsibilities to deal with on a daily basis. And some days are harder than others. Some weeks, even months are harder than others. All those CPAs and tax preparers are gearing up. Tax season is upon us. Preachers and worship leaders have been getting a little breather the past few weeks now that the Christmas season is behind us. But Lent is coming, and before you know it the whirlwind of Holy Week and the crescendo of Easter. Exciting times, but lots of extra work and preparation. Students in school are well in to their second semester, taking care of their assignments until the end of the semester when there is the big push when projects are due and final exams are given. We all go through those times in life where there is so much to tend to that it can become overwhelming. Those times of heavy stress can really wear us down. If we don’t know how to manage our stress, or don’t utilize the tools we know, then we put ourselves at risk. Too much stress for too long can lead to burn out. We are hearing of many in the health care profession who are reaching that point. They signed up to care for people but they didn’t sign up for a pandemic. Doctors, nurses, and other health care workers are taking early retirement or resigning. It’s too much. Too much stress for too long can cause us to lose our edge and diligence. We make mistakes. The prolonged stress can trigger some bad habits like stress eating or drinking too much. It should be no surprise to us that 2020 saw a record year in the sale of alcohol, by a lot. Too much stress for too long can make us sick. Life loses its joy. I imagine all of us can give testimony about periods in our lives when we felt this way. Some of us may feel like we are in it right now. That would be totally understandable after the past year we have had to endure. 

    You know, Jesus could get worn out too. It is true that Jesus is divine. He is God. But Jesus is also human. Being human, Jesus needed to eat and drink. He needed to exercise. He needed a coat when it was cold. He slept like anyone else. There were times when Jesus needed to get away from it all and simply rest. 

    When Jesus got to Capernaum, to Simon’s house, he was led immediately upstairs, where Simon’s mother-in-law was lying in bed with a fever. Jesus went up to her, reached out his hand and lifted her up from her sick bed. Immediately, the fever left her. And then, she went downstairs and began to serve them. Stick a pin in this. We are going to revisit this healing experience in a few minutes. 

It seems that the rest of the day, the doctor was in. The whole city came to Simon’s house. We don’t know how many lived in Capernaum or if Mark is being a little dramatic, but I think we can assume that literally thousands of people lined up in front of Simon’s house. Many of them were sick. They were physically sick but there were others who were emotionally or psychologically sick, otherwise identified as those with demons that needed casting out. We read that Jesus couldn’t heal everyone who came that day. But he healed many of them. It was a long, long day. And when evening drew near, and people returned to their homes, and Jesus turned in for the evening meal and then to retire to his guest room, surely he was exhausted. 

    Instead of sleeping in the next day, however, Jesus got up early, long before dawn. He went outside to go find a place where he could be left alone. In a place of solitude, Jesus prayed. To recuperate from the previous taxing day, Jesus spent time alone in prayer. What did he pray about? Maybe he didn’t pray about anything. Instead, perhaps Jesus simply rested in the presence of his Heavenly Father, to be reminded of his mission, to be remined of the love his Father had for him. Jesus took time to be in prayer so that he could be restored in spiritual power, and to remain grounded in his relationship with God. 

    There is power in prayer. When we talk about prayer having power, we are often thinking about how prayer can change things. But prayer also can be a way to boost our inner power. Spending quiet time early in the morning, focused on God, resting in God’s presence, has the power of strengthening and refreshing our spirits. This time can also help us re-focus on the purpose of our life, what we are about, what responsibilities lie ahead of us. I think we see evidence of this when some of his disciples found him and told him that everybody was looking for him. Jesus told his disciples it was time to move on. There were more needs to attend to in Capernaum. The people there still had demands on his time. But Jesus was reminded in his time of prayer that his responsibility was greater than caring for the people of Capernaum. He had a much larger area to cover. In his prayer, Jesus was strengthened and also refocused on his purpose. So, he told the disciples not to get comfortable. They needed to move on to the next town. 

    I hope you have developed the habit of spending time every day in prayer. Remember, prayer is a conversation that includes talking to God and listening to God. Of course, we can pray any time we choose. But it has been my experience that beginning the day with prayer is a great habit. It is in the morning that we are our freshest. The day is before us. So, we can begin the day with God, asking for God’s direction as we sift through the responsibilities that lie ahead of us. Spending time with God first thing can also be helpful because hopefully you are less distracted. You aren’t in the middle of a bunch of things when you begin your day with prayer. 

    Praying at the end of the day is a good habit as well. It can be a time to reflect with God over your day. It is an opportunity to release the day to God’s care. And if, while you are laying there in bed praying and you drift off to sleep…nothing wrong with that. 

But what Jesus did was get up early in the morning to pray. If we follow this example, then we are able to start our day connecting with God and allowing God to set the context of our day. Instead of rushing off to do all the things we think we need to do, we instead ask God, “What do you want of me? What do you want me to do today?” 

    Let’s go back again to this opening scene of Jesus healing Simon’s mother-in-law. There are two actions here to take note. The first is that when Jesus grabs the hand of Simon’s mother-in-law, she is experiencing contact with God. And this connection with God restores her to health. It removes her fever and gets her out of bed. But there is more. She was restored to health for a purpose. She immediately got to work serving them. She was restored not to serve herself. She was restored so that she could continue to serve others. 

    This is why it is good to start our day with prayer, following the example of Jesus. We are able to experience a connection with God. This doesn’t necessarily result in physical healing, of course. But there is a refreshing of our spirit when we experience again our relationship, our connection with God. We are reminded of our relationship with God. We are reminded of God’s love for us. With that connection we are able to refocus on what God wants us to be doing in our life. Strengthened and refocused, we are able to move into our day prepared to serve others. 

    If you already are in the habit of beginning your day in prayer, I encourage you to keep at it. If this is something you don’t do, or you have fallen out of habit, I invite you to begin. There is much to be done in this world. For us to participate with God in the work of healing and restoration, let us be intentional about resting in God’s love and grace, be restored in our spirit, so that we can continue doing the work of serving God by serving others. 

What's the Message?

 

Based on Jonah 3:1-5, 10

            Jonah was not the greatest prophet of all time. Today we are going to spend some time looking at this great story that we find in the scriptures. It is an amazing story, full of lively characters, of incredible and memorable scenes, and some deep questions about the character of God, the one who is both a judge and full of mercy, the one who can be persuaded to change course, a God who responds to us. So much could be said about this story. But I want us to focus on Jonah, his attitude, the way he went about responding to God’s call on his life to go and proclaim God’s message. I want us to think about how God calls us to go and speak God’s message. What is that message? What attitude should we have when we go forth and speak? Jonah gives us an example of how not to go about this. Sometimes we learn from bad examples, and Jonah is one of those bad examples.

            When God calls Jonah to go to Nineveh and cry out against it because their wickedness had gotten God’s attention, Jonah’s response was to go the opposite direction of Nineveh. Now Jonah is not the first person to resist God’s call. Moses is a great example of those who tried to avoid it. He came up with all kinds of excuses. But God patiently negotiated with Moses to get him to finally get to the point that he was willing to do what God wanted him to do. Isaiah also pleaded with God that he wasn’t able to go and proclaim the message, famously saying, “I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips.” Then the angel took a live coal from the fire on the altar and touched Isaiah’s lips with the burning hot coal, saying “now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” Then, God calls again for volunteers to go and speak God’s message, asking the question, “Who will go for us?” And Isaiah answered with the words, “Here I am, send me!” In both of these examples, Moses and Isaiah, they had their argument with God directly and worked it out.

            But Jonah was different in his resistance to God’s call. He did not argue with God. Instead, he just got up and went in the opposite direction, hiring a boat to take him across the sea. But God wasn’t going to let him off the hook that easily. God sends up a strong storm that threatens to sink the boat. The crew and passengers are panicking, doing everything they can to save their lives. But what is Jonah doing? He’s deep in the hold sleeping. He apparently could care less what happens to him or everyone else on board. His detachment and hard heartedness is astonishing. So, our initial impression of Jonah is that he is not interested in engaging with God or anyone else. He’s going to do what he wants to do, no matter whose lives are put in jeopardy, including his own. Not good.

            The crew finally get out of Jonah that he is the cause of the problem. Jonah says they should just throw him overboard. There’s no point in arguing with God. There’s no reason to figure out some way to make sure everyone makes it out alive. Not only does Jonah not really care about their lives, he doesn’t care about his own. I just get the impression that Jonah just doesn’t care. He doesn’t want to be obedient to God’s call on his life. And if that means getting tossed into the sea and drown, so be it. Wow.

            How little does Jonah know that in spite of his bad attitude, God still hasn’t given up on him. God is persistent. God won’t let up when God has in mind for someone to do something. This is where we get the unbelievable situation where a big fish swallows up Jonah preventing him from drowning. Jonah spends three days and nights locked up inside the fish’s stomach. During that time inside the fish, Jonah prays an amazing prayer. There’s more to Jonah than his stubborn disobedience and lack of caring for anyone. He also has the capacity to come to his senses, to realize that God is his deliverer, that God really cares for him. And God responds to Jonah’s change of heart by whispering into the fish’s ear to cough him up.

            Now that God has literally saved his life, Jonah decides to go to Nineveh now that God has asked him a second time to go do it. Jonah realizes that would be pretty sad if, right after God saved his life, that he should keep on resisting God’s call to go and speak. So, Jonah goes to Nineveh and proclaims the weakest prophetic message in the Bible. “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” That is only five words in Hebrew. No, “Thus says the Lord.” No, “Unless you turn from your wicked ways, God’s wrath will destroy you.” He just tells them that in forty days they will be overthrown. Saying it would be in forty days is interesting. It’s possible that Jonah meant a literal forty days. But the phrase “forty days” was a common rhetorical device that means “a long unspecified period of time.” In other words, Jonah could have said, “It will be awhile but one of these days you are going to get wiped out.” Not exactly a sense of urgency in that message. It’s almost as if Jonah is sort of hoping that the Ninevites won’t act on the warning, thinking to themselves, “so I guess we have some time to keep doing what we do. We don’t have to change right now. We’ll just put that off.” It’s like he doesn’t want them to repent, that he would rather the Ninevites get wiped out. Whether that was in Jonah’s mind or not, he definitely gave a dud of a message of judgment.

            Nevertheless, the people immediately responded to Jonah’s message with an unbelievable amount of urgency and singleness of purpose. The people responded so quickly that it got the king’s attention. And he responds by calling for all the people and animals to not eat or drink and put on sackcloth and repent of their wicked ways right now. I mean, it’s just unbelievable the immediate and dramatic response. In spite of the lamest prophetic message ever given in scripture, the response is the most sudden and total. In spite of himself, Jonah’s message was a spectacular success. And God, who saw this unbelievable response, was persuaded not to wipe out Nineveh. God changed God’s mind. It would not have been just for God to wipe out a whole group of people, 120,000 people plus much livestock, if they all repented. And let me add, they did this without any assurance that God would be persuaded. The king said, “We are going to do this. Who knows? Maybe God will change God’s mind and relent.” They didn’t know how it would turn out. But they did what they believed was the right thing to do and then hoped that God would do the right thing. And, of course, God relented because God is more interested in being loved and worshipped than wiping people out. God is love. God is merciful. That’s just who God is. God’s patience is long and it takes very little for God to forgive. And that is good news for sure.

            But instead of being impressed by the success of his message, and relief that all those people didn’t get wiped out, Jonah is angry! What he wanted to happen didn’t happen. He wanted the no good wicked Ninevites to be wiped out. He did everything he could to manipulate the situation to get what he wanted. But guess what? The Ninevites were more than ready to respond with repentance. And God was more than ready to forgive. Even with the weakest prophetic message ever, things worked out great for everyone. And Jonah was not happy about it. He just could not shake his bad attitude.

            Why did Jonah have such a bad attitude? We are left to guess. Maybe he just didn’t like the Ninevites. Maybe he felt that God should wipe out everyone else so that Israel could be at the top of the heap. Maybe he was self-centered. He only cared about what made him comfortable and when faced with times of discomfort he is quick to shut down and give up. He didn’t want the hassle of going to Nineveh and proclaiming the message so he bailed. When everyone’s life was threatened on the ship he said, “Just let me die.” When the plant that God had given him to provide him shelter was then suddenly taken away and he started getting hot he just called out to God to kill him now. It’s so strange. If Jonah isn’t comfortable but is put out in any way, he wants to blow everything up. He was happy if he got saved from destruction, but he could care less about anyone else and if things didn’t go the way he wants he throws a tantrum and wishes he could die. Pretty sad. You may even wonder why God would have anything to do with Jonah. That says something about God. God knew Jonah’s heart. God knew Jonah wasn’t perfect, that Jonah had an attitude. But in spite of all his flaws and lack of maturity, God called him anyway. God told him to go and proclaim the message anyway. And if God persistently calls on Jonah, could God not be calling on us to go and proclaim the message? I think so. But what is the message? What is God calling us to go and proclaim?

            I don’t believe the message we are sent to deliver is what Jonah gave. We are not called to give out a lame message that one of these days in the long off future God’s going to wipe everyone out. That’s a bad message. It’s woefully inadequate. The basic prophetic message is better than what Jonah said. The basic message goes something like this: “God sees your wicked ways, how you abuse and take advantage of the poor, how you cheat one another, worship false gods, and the like. And God will not hold back God’s wrath forever. God will deliver the oppressed from your oppression. So unless you repent, change your ways, and go back to love God and neighbor, you will suffer God’s wrath. Your choice.” That’s the basic prophetic message. Should that be our message? Is there another message that God wants to speak through us?

            I don’t know what the specific message is that God is placing on us collectively, or what you may be sensing God wants you to speak. Maybe what each of us are to say will be different. Maybe the specific situation we are in will call for a different message. That said,  I think it is our responsibility to speak up for those whose voices are not heard. I think we should call out what is wrong, even evil, in these days. But our words of condemnation need to be balanced with an assurance of God’s steadfast love and mercy. God is just but God is also merciful. What God desires above all else is a world where people love and care for one another. Yes, God gets angry. Yes, God hurts when God sees people getting hurt. But God is love. God loves us, all of us, and not just us but everybody. So, the message that people need to hear is that no matter how much you have messed up you are loved by God. It is possible for you to change your ways. You can make better choices. And you are not alone in this struggle to do the right thing.

            What should our message be when we are prompted to go and speak to others? I can’t tell you specifically what that would be. Every situation is different. The person you find yourself in conversation with has their own sets of challenges. Maybe you have heard the phrase that we should comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. That might sound good but it misses the mark. It comes across too simplistically, that there are good people and bad people. The truth is, each person is a mixture of good and bad. We are all made in the image of God so we are fundamentally good. But we also have the capacity to fail at being our best selves in any given situation. People are complicated and life isn’t always black and white. We have to muddle our way through somehow.

            So, what we say in any given situation is going to be different. There isn’t a tract, or a stock phrase, or a memorized speech, no cookie cutter answers or tried and true sayings. We have to try to listen for what God is putting on our hearts to say. But whatever it is that we are prompted by God to go and tell, that message will be consistent with what Jonah himself said about God in the midst of one of his temper tantrums: “God is a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing.” That is who God is and whatever we say on God’s behalf should be consistent with who God is. Whatever we say, let’s couch that message with the good news of God’s love.

Remember Your Baptism

 

Based on Mark 1:4-11

             Today is Baptism of the Lord Sunday. It is an opportunity for us to be reminded of what baptism is and what it means for us. It is a good day for us to remember our baptism, to reaffirm our identity as baptized Christians, as we move into this new year and all the challenges and celebrations that await us.

            We heard this morning the account of Jesus’ baptism as told by Mark. The introduction of John the Baptist and the telling of Jesus’ baptism is found in all four gospels. But the details are different in each one. For Mark, as is typical, the details are quite sparse. This means that every word Mark chooses to use has that much more weight. No wasted words or filler in Mark’s gospel.

            As we reflect on Mark’s concentrated account of Jesus’ baptism, I want to focus on how baptism is composed of water and the Holy Spirit. John says that he baptizes with water but the one who is coming, he doesn’t name him, will baptize with the Holy Spirit. Are we talking about two baptisms? Or is it one baptism made effective by two different sources? Let’s take a look.

            Everyone was going out to John in the wilderness to experience a ritual washing of purification that included confession of sins and of repentance. The Greek word translated repentance is the same word that we get metamorphosis. It is about making a change. Repentance is like if you were going north you decide to go south. It’s not just saying you are sorry. It is about making a real change in your life, a fresh start. That’s what this baptism was about off in the wilderness along the Jordan river. Going in the water was about a ritual cleansing, signifying your intention to live differently, to live in a way that is righteous. This is the baptism that John was offering. And it appeared that lots of people were motivated to go out there to receive it. To me it appears there was some kind of moral revival sweeping the land. It must have been a time of great crisis. Society was under great stress. People in general had a sense that they needed to get their lives together. So, a massive movement of people made their way to John.

            As we practice baptism today, we also understand baptism to have an element of purification, of confession and repentance. As we gather around the fount, the pastor asks a series of questions. The first question asked is, “Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of your sin.” This aspect of baptism picks up on what John was offering: a baptism for the repentance of sins. But there is more to baptism than confession, repentance and ritual washing.

            John spoke of the one who is coming that is more powerful. We read in verse 8, “I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” What does it mean to be baptized with the Holy Spirit? Is this a different baptism or the same kind of baptism except the Spirit is the means rather than water? We get a hint of what being baptized by the Spirit means when we look at what happens when Jesus was baptized by John.

            In vs. 9, we read, “In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.” Only half of one verse tells us that Jesus was baptized by John. It is almost like Mark is glossing over what is in fact happening. John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And that is the baptism that Jesus received. What did Jesus need repentance for? Mark has no time reflecting on that. He is rushing to tell us what happens next. As Jesus comes out of the water, he sees the heavens rip open. The boundary between heaven and earth is removed. And then, Jesus sees the Spirit descend on him like a dove. And then, God speaks, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” The sky opens, the Spirt comes down, and God speaks. For Mark, that’s a lot of detail. What happened after Jesus was baptized was much more important for Mark than the embarrassing matter of Jesus receiving a baptism of repentance from John.

            This leads me to a question I want us to think about. Mark glosses over it but it is something to ponder. Why was Jesus baptized anyway? Surely Jesus did not have any sins he needed to confess. Why would Jesus need to be cleansed by the waters of repentance? All I can think of is that Jesus came to John to be baptized because Jesus was representing all of humanity in this ritual act. We understand Jesus Christ to be human, with the exception that he never sinned. He is, if you will, the perfect human. He represents the best of humanity. It’s this idea that Jesus represents all of us that is in play when Jesus comes to be baptized by John. He gets baptized as a representative of all of humanity.

            If this is so, then the coming down of the Spirit on Jesus was about much more than empowering Jesus for his public ministry. If he stepped into the cleansing waters on behalf of all of us, then the descent of the Spirit upon him also has something to do with us. Jesus is representing us when he receives the Spirit. The baptism of repentance that John offered has now become something so much more. Because of Jesus, what happened to Jesus, baptism has become more than a cleansing of sin. It has now become a means by which the Spirit descends on the one being baptized.

            This is where being baptized with the Spirit comes into focus for us. After someone has been baptized, the pastor will sometimes use holy oil to mark the sign of the cross on the person’s forehead, and then says, “The Holy Spirit work within you, that having been born through water and the Spirit, you may live as a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ.” We believe that when we are baptized, in that very moment we also receive the Holy Spirit who works within us the rest of our lives to assist us in being faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. That’s what it means to be baptized with the Holy Spirit. This is what takes our experience of baptism beyond a mere moment in time but a reality that impacts us and continues in us the rest of our lives. Baptism affects us from that point on through the working of the Holy Spirit within us, shaping us, empowering us to be all we are meant to be.

            There is something else that happened when Jesus came up out of the waters. Jesus heard a voice from heaven saying, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” This was a word of affirmation from the Creator. It was God saying, “I don’t just claim you, I love you. I am well pleased with you.” What a gift. Jesus, who represents all of us, is claimed and affirmed by God. It reminds me of way back in Genesis where we hear the story of when God made humanity and said, “Behold, this is very good.” Humanity is being affirmed in this moment when Jesus comes out of the water and has the Spirit descend on him.

            So it is, when you and I are baptized, and as the Spirit falls on us, there is a voice from heaven, our Creator, who says, “This is my son, this is my daughter, with whom I am well pleased.” At our baptism, we are not only cleansed from our sins, not only do we receive the indwelling of the Spirit, we are affirmed by God as one whom God is well pleased. Just as we are. And as the Spirit dwells in us and works within us the rest of our lives, God’s affirmation hangs over us the rest of our days. Is God always well pleased with us? I don’t think we can say that. But that claim, “You are my daughter, you are my son” stays with us all our days. Baptism is a sacred moment where we are claimed as one of God’s children. That stays with us, becoming part of our identity as children of God. Just as Jesus, who represents all of humanity, is claimed as the son of God so we are claimed as sons and daughters of God.

            As soon as Jesus is baptized, the Spirit drives Jesus out into the wilderness. It is in the wilderness where Jesus is tempted by Satan. But angels also wait on him. The wilderness is a wild place where there is testing and temptation, Satan and wild beasts, but also angels. Jesus’ baptism was like getting geared up and fortified for the perilous journey through the wilderness. Possessed by the Spirit and affirmed by God, Jesus makes his way through the wilderness.

            Can we not relate? Our life is like a wilderness experience. Sometimes we feel like we are living in the wilderness. There are tests and temptations all around. We see the marks of evil around us and the presence of wild beasts. As we move into this new year, we find ourselves surrounded with many trials and temptations. What we saw at the Capitol on Wednesday is one of those instances. That act of insurrection reflects the deep division, anger and fear tearing at the fabric of our society. It was heartbreaking. It was ugly. We are in a wilderness right now and are being sorely tested. Witnessing it tempts us to despair about the possibility of bringing our nation together. We are tempted to fear for our country, to be consumed with anger ourselves. We are tempted to turn our backs on one another.

            But that is not who we are, and I’m not talking about our citizenship as Americans. What I mean is, we are baptized Christians. We were washed in the cleansing waters, filled with the Spirit, and claimed as God’s beloved children with whom God is well pleased. This is core to our identity. And because we have the Spirit, we have the potential to produce the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These are the manifestations of the Spirit that we can bring about in our lives, in this moment in history, in this journey through the wilderness. This is our base line as baptized, Spirit filled disciples of Jesus. These fruits of the Spirit are our guide for how we are to relate to the world, even in the face of many trials and temptations.

            We don’t always get it right. Of course, we fall short. But it is good to be reminded, especially now, who we are and to whom we belong. When there is so much chaos and uncertainty around us, we are able to make our way through all the confusion when we know that we are baptized believers who are children of God. Clear about our identity, and how we belong to God and to each other as brothers and sisters in Christ, we can live our lives with confidence. We can live with clarity around what we are about as we represent Jesus in the world.

            I invite you, as we move into 2021, to commit yourself anew to your discipleship, your followership, of Jesus Christ. Commit yourself anew to work with the Spirit of God that dwells within you to produce the fruit of the Spirit, the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Begin the renewal of your commitment by remembering you are baptized. And be thankful.

 

The Power of "With"

 

Based on Luke 1:26-38

            There is a lot to be amazed about in the story of the annunciation. As Gabriel appears before Mary and greets her, Mary is puzzled. She is puzzled over what the angel said, not that an angel was talking to her. If an angel appeared before me and started talking to me, I might find that in itself puzzling. For Mary, it seems that this is not the first time she has had a conversation with an angel. Amazing. It is amazing that it is Mary, a young virgin living in the little town of Nazareth that is approached by Gabriel rather than someone with more status and clout. She is just an ordinary young woman in an ordinary town. Yet, the archangel Gabriel comes to her to give her a message direct from God. Amazing.

            What I invite us to focus on is the first and last thing that Gabriel says to Mary. In particular, there is a word that Gabriel says that is a critical word. It is a word that reveals something about God: about how God acts in the world, about how God’s plan of salvation unfolds, about how God relates to Mary and to us.

            The first thing that Gabriel says to Mary is, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” The last statement that Gabriel makes before departing is, “Nothing will be impossible with God.” The word with is an important word. If Gabriel used a different word than “with”, this would have given a different meaning to the message.

            What if Gabriel said this: “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is for you.” And at the end, “Nothing will be impossible for God.” Can you tell the difference? By saying to Mary “the Lord is for you” is to mean something like God believes in you, supports you, is on your side. It is a vote of confidence in your abilities, what you are able to accomplish. In the same way, if Gabriel said “nothing will be impossible for God” this is a claim that God can do anything. Nothing is impossible for God to do. In either case, by using that word for implies that Mary and God are capable on their own to get things done. God supports Mary in whatever she wants to do. There is nothing that God can’t do.

            But Gabriel didn’t use the word “for.” Gabriel said to Mary “the Lord is with you.” Gabriel said, “nothing will be impossible with God.” That word “with” implies relationship. To say to Mary the Lord is with her is to say that God is her companion, by her side, in her corner. To say that nothing will be impossible with God is different than saying nothing will be impossible for God. To say nothing will be impossible with God is to make the claim that whatever you and God set out to do together, assuming it is God’s will since God would never do anything opposed to God’s will, whatever that is, even if the project or goal appears impossible, is not impossible because with God all things are possible. It reminds me of that passage in Philippians, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” While the word “for” implies support for someone or personal power and ability, the word “with” implies companionship and even partnership. This is an important understanding of who God is and how God relates to the world, to Mary, to us. If you wanted to boil down Gabriel’s message to Mary it is that God is coming alongside her and together something that seems impossible will happen. Mary, partnering with God, is going to advance God’s plan of salvation in an amazing way.

            A few years ago, I was at the State House participating in a protest over the continued killing of unarmed black men by the police. A number of speakers came forward one at a time to say what they wanted to say. After the speakers on the program had finished, one of the leaders came up to the mic and invited anyone else who wished to come forward and say what they need to say. But there was one rule. No one was to come up to the mic alone. They had to bring at least one person with them to stand by their side. She said, “No one is to stand up here alone.” I had never heard something like that before. It was a powerful symbol of how crying out for justice is not meant to be done solo. It is meant to be done together, people standing with each other, in that pursuit of justice.

            Who is your circle of friends? I remember doing this exercise once where we were asked to take out a piece of paper and draw a small rectangle in the center of the page with enough space where you could write no more than three names. We were then to write in that rectangle the names of those who we can turn to when we need support. It was an exercise that forced us to think about who were those few people who were in our closest circle, who are the ones we trust, respect, and love. Who are those few people who are in your inner circle? These are the ones who are not just for you, but are with you. No matter what is happening in your life, no matter the struggle, in good times and bad, these are the ones who will stand with you, no matter what. I do hope you have that small circle of friends who walk with you through life. That small circle of friends can be a lifeline sometimes. This is the power of “with.”

            And so, here is Mary being told by Gabriel that God is with her. God has come alongside her. This may explain why Mary was puzzled by these words, and maybe even a little scared. She may have thought to herself, “What does God want to do with me?” See, if God was with her, that may mean God has something for her to do. She knew the stories. She knew of God coming alongside Abraham and Sarah, Moses, David, and others. God was up to something, and of all people, God decided to come alongside her. What could that be? What is God up to and what is God going to be asking of me? I bet that’s part of what Mary was puzzling about.

            This can be a bit scary. Perhaps you have had that experience where you sensed God’s presence and began to get an inkling that God has something for you to do, a vision or a calling that God wants you to give yourself to. Or someone in your life has said something like, “God is with you and has plans for your life.” Who, me? What plans? This can stir up some puzzlement, some anxiety, even a little fear. What does this mean?

            Thankfully for Mary, Gabriel is fairly explicit about what God has for her to do. For those of us who have received the message that God has plans for us, they aren’t always clear at the beginning. Mary gets a pretty clear description. She is going to give birth to a son. She is to name him Jesus. That’s it in a nutshell. Mary responds with the question, “How can this be?” This is not a question of doubt. She takes what the angel is saying seriously. She accepts this is the assignment that God has for her. Her question is about logistics. She is a virgin and engaged to be married to Joseph. How is it that this baby she will give birth to will be called son of the most high instead of son of Joseph? She understands what she is supposed to do but unclear about how to do it. For any of us who have gotten a sense of what God wants us to do but with no provided plan from on high on how to accomplish it, we can relate to this question!

            That question Mary asks opens the door for Gabriel to speak of the Holy Spirit that will overshadow Mary. Ah, the mystery of the Spirit. I have discovered in my pursuit of living out God’s call on my life that it is often a mystery how this life I’m living will go. For those of us who sense an invitation from God to be engaged in the work that God is doing in the world, we need to be comfortable with ambiguity. There is a lot of mysterious Holy Spirit that overshadows partnering with God. That’s just the way it is, that the mystery of the Spirit makes things happen in amazing ways.

            After Gabriel explains that the Spirit will be active, will cause things to fall into place, will make the way where there seems to be no way, and then says that with God all things are possible, Mary exercises her agency. She first names out loud her dignity. I imagine with her head held high and her back straight, she says in the spirit of Isaiah who said, “Here am I, send me” Mary says, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord.” With that statement, she places herself in the ranks of Abraham, Moses, David, and the prophets. She says out loud that she is one whom God has chosen for an important task in God’s ongoing plan of salvation.

            Then after claiming her dignity as a servant of God, she says “Let it be with me according to your word.” In other words, Mary says “yes” to God’s invitation. This is perhaps one of the most critical moments in the unfolding of God’s purposes. Mary was not forced. She consented to what God was asking her to do. I love that. In fact, love is at the heart of all of this. Remember how Paul wrote that love does not insist on its own way. God is love. So, God would not force Mary to do anything that she would not consent to. Mary, whose love for God is on display, says yes to the One who has given her an incredible role to play in the salvation of the world.

            One of the big themes at Christmas is Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.” This means so many things. It means we are never alone. It means that God is always in our corner. It means that God is in a relationship with us, a love relationship. It also means that each of us have parts to play in God’s unfolding plan of salvation. God has chosen to partner with us. Who, me? Yes, you. That can be scary. Not always, but there are times when what we sense God is inviting us to do calls for a big change in what we do in our lives, how we spend our time, what gets prioritized. Sometimes what we sense God calling us to do is radical, and we wonder if we are up to the challenge. Often when we sense that call we start asking questions of logistics: where will I find the time? What resources do I need? Where do I start? While we long for the divine blueprint to drop from heaven we are reminded that partnering with God requires trust in the mysterious workings of the Holy Spirit. And we are reminded that when we engage in pursuing the vision, the work that God has placed on our hearts and in our dreams, that with God nothing is impossible.

            God is with us, Emmanuel. God continues to extend to us an invitation to partner with God as God goes about the work of saving a world that needs saved. Today, we are reminded of the dignity, courage and trust of Mary. We can join Mary today and name our dignity as servants of God and to say with Mary, “Let it be with us according to Your word.”