Fourth Sunday in Advent (B)
December 20, 2020
Text:
Luke 1:26-38
“For nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:37; ESV). We love that verse, because it is true, of
course. It means the sky is the limit
for God. He is Almighty. He is all powerful. He can do whatever He pleases. But this is not the best translation. The Greek is so much richer. A better translation would be, “For no Word
from God will be impossible.” The
emphasis is on the Word! By the Word
Mary’s relative Elizabeth in her old age has conceived a son, St. John the
Baptist. By the Word this shall come to pass that the angel declares to Mary, what
Isaiah prophesied: “Behold, the virgin
shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Is.
7:14). It is by His Word that God accomplishes His mighty deeds. He spoke the world and the universe into
existence. “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of
God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible”
(Heb. 11:3). “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his
mouth all their host” (Ps. 33:4).
The Word of the LORD is creative.
He speaks into existence. The
Word of the LORD is performative. He
speaks and it is done. The Word of the LORD
is “living and active, sharper than any
two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and
of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb.
4:12). God promises that His Word shall
not return to Him empty, “but it shall
accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I
sent it” (Is. 55:11). The Word is
powerful. “No Word from God will be
impossible.” When God speaks, it is.
So it is that the angel speaks the
Word of God to the Virgin 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 called holy—the Son of God”
(Luke 1:35). He speaks, and in that moment,
it is done. The Holy Spirit does indeed
come upon her, through the Word. The power of the Most High does indeed
overshadow her, through the Word. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is conceived in Mary’s ear, and takes up
residence in her womb.
Notice the splendor of this
Trinitarian moment. The Holy Spirit will
come upon her. The power of the Most
High, the Father, will overshadow her.
And that which will be born of her is the Son of God. This moment of conception is when God takes
on human flesh and blood. At Christmas,
we celebrate the birth of Christ as His incarnation, His enfleshment. This is certainly appropriate. But His incarnation actually occurs nine
months before His birth. Here is a
mystery beyond our comprehension. As the
angel speaks this Word to Mary, God is an
embryo. The universe is held
together by this little forming Baby.
And already at this stage He is doing the work of your redemption. He is fully human, fully one with your
flesh. As surely as you were an embryo,
He was an embryo for you. What He is, He
redeems: An embryo for embryos, a fetus for fetuses, a newborn for newborns, a
toddler, a child, a teenager, an adult, for you. And yet, He is no less God in every stage of
His development. Fully Man, fully God,
for you. And so He is in the fullest sense
of the word, “Immanuel,” God with us, for He is with us in the flesh.
In our Old Testament reading, King
David wanted to build God a Temple, a place for God to dwell with His
people. God responds that David is not
to build a house for Him, rather, God will build a House for David. That House will be where God dwells with His
people. And that House is the flesh of
Jesus of Nazareth. The Body of Jesus is
the true Temple. The Body of Jesus is
where God dwells with us in the flesh, tangibly, concretely. The Body of Jesus is that Temple they would
tear down, and in three days He would raise it again. The apostles saw Him, heard His voice,
touched Him. You see Him by faith, hear
His voice in His Word, and touch Him as His very Body is given to you in the
Supper.
This Body is conceived as the Word
is preached by the angel and heard by Mary.
Think about what this means also for the sanctity of human life from the
moment of conception. The Word conceived
in Mary’s ear and taking up residence in her womb, this tiny little clump of
cells, is God. Christians ought never
speak of an unborn child as “potential life,” or as part of a woman’s body, or
as anything other than a precious baby with a human soul. Whatever our Lord Jesus is, He redeems. The worth of the unborn consists chiefly in
this, that Jesus lived in the womb of His mother for them. And they now are image bearers, as you are,
created in His likeness. Jesus was
conceived into a set of circumstances that today would very possibly have led to
His murder in an abortion mill.
Unplanned pregnancy. Unwed,
teenage mother. Scandal in a small
town. Poverty. Why would He come into such a messed up set
of circumstances? … To redeem those
in those very circumstances. There
is very good news here for women (and men) who have made mistakes, who have not
remained chaste (now, Mary did remain chaste, but it was assumed she didn’t),
who have found themselves pregnant in a bad set of circumstances, who have
considered an abortion, and even for those who have aided an abortion, or had
an abortion. Jesus was conceived into
their circumstances to redeem them. To
redeem you.
This same Word conceived in the ear
of the Virgin and implanted in her womb, is spoken to you. He enters your ear and implants Himself, not
in your womb, but in your heart and mind, in your very soul. He takes possession of you. And what is conceived in you is faith… Faith,
which holds Christ. It is faith in this
little embryo God who was born to grow up and die on the cross for the
forgiveness of your sins. It is faith in
this little embryo God who died, but who is risen, and lives, and reigns, in
the flesh, at the right hand of God the Father, for you. It is faith that this little embryo God gives
you eternal life. And it is faith that
says with St. Mary, no matter how unbelievable the promises of God, no matter
how incomprehensible to human reason His Word may be, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your
word” (v. 38). This is not simply
the assent of Mary’s will to this crazy plan of giving birth to God. It is a confession that Mary’s place before
God is under His Word. She is what the
Lord says of her. She is a highly
favored lady, for the Lord is with her (v. 28).
Her sins are forgiven. She is the
mother of God.
“Let it be to me according to Your Word.” That is your prayer. That is your confession. For you are what the Lord says of you. You are a sinner whose sins have been taken
away by the Lamb of God. You are holy
and spotless, washed clean by the blood of Christ. You are a saint, righteous, because God has
spoken it so, and it is to you according to His Word. You are God’s child, because He has spoken
His Name over you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and says to you, “you are mine” (Is. 43:1). Faith that speaks these words with St. Mary
acknowledges that your place before God is under His Word, which absolves
you. And you have no need to doubt
whether your sins can be forgiven, not even those blackest, secret sins you’ve
buried so deeply within your heart. “For no Word from God will be impossible.” “I forgive you all your sins,” He says. And they are forgiven. All of them.
“Take, eat, this is my Body, which is given for you… Take, drink, this is my Blood, which is
shed for you, for the forgiveness of all of your sins.” And it is.
The Body of Christ placed on your tongue. The Blood of Christ poured down your
gullet. Sins gone forever. Christ in you and you in Christ. “Let
it be to me according to Your Word.”
God has spoken. It is done. You are forgiven. You are loved. You are free.
You are most highly favored. In
the Name of the Father, and of the Son (+), and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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