The phone rang. The person on the other end said, "Pastor, mom just wanted you to know that dad had a stroke yesterday. He's paralyzed on the left side and cannot feed himself. Some think he'll never come home again." When the pastor called his wife, she was exactly as he expected to find her, hopeful. This was a lady who takes it to the Lord in prayer if she loses her car keys. One of the first things she said to this pastor was, "Even though the doctors and nurses don't give my husband much of a chance, I know that with God all things are possible." This morning we are going to listen to the Voice of Mary Responding, another woman who believed that with God, all things are possible. Our first reading is…

Luke 1:26-33

²⁶ In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, ²⁷ to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. ²⁸ The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." ²⁹ Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰ But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. ³¹ You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, ³³ and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

The prophet Isaiah, as we heard last week, proclaimed that a virgin would conceive and bear a son and that he would be called Emmanuel, which means, "God with us." 750 years later, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a virgin by the name of Mary. The angel greeted her and said she would be the mother of Jesus. How did Mary respond to the angel's greeting and message? Mary was surprised and frightened, but the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid. You have found favor with God."

If an angel suddenly appeared to you, how would you respond? I am sure we would be afraid, too! But there are other everyday things that make us afraid. If you are a child, you might be afraid of the dark or of being left alone. If you are a student, you might be afraid of failing a test or getting a bad report card or wondering what others think of you. If you are an adult, you might be afraid of losing your job, getting cancer, or having a heart attack. You might be afraid of not getting everything done before Christmas. You might be afraid of God because of your sins. The words that comforted Mary also comfort us: "Do not be afraid. You have found favor with God." How do we know we have found favor with God? It isn't because of anything we have done! It is because of what God has done for us! Christmas reminds us again of what God has done for us. He sent his Son to be our Savior. Because Jesus is our Savior we do not need to be afraid! By one count, the words "Do not be afraid" occur 365 times in the Bible, once for every day of the year. You can be assured every day that you do not need to be afraid before God! Let us join our voice with Mary's and sing hymn 76, "Jesus! Name of Wondrous Love."

Luke 1:34-38

³⁴ "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?" ³⁵ The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. ³⁶ Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. ³⁷ For nothing is impossible with God." ³⁸ "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.

After the angel calmed Mary's fear, he told her she would give birth to a son and she was to call his name Jesus. what was Mary's response to this unexpected news? Mary wondered how this could be since she was a virgin. The angel said, "Nothing is impossible with God." Aren't those comforting words to hear? When you wonder where you'll get the money to pay all the unexpected bills, when you hear the dreaded word "terminal," when you don't see how you'll ever get the children through university, when you don't think you'll ever have enough money to retire, remember that with God, nothing is impossible! What was Mary's reaction to the angel's assurance that nothing is impossible with God? She said, "I am the Lord's servant." Mary's response could have been different. She could have said "no" to the angel. She could have said she was not ready yet to have a baby. "I don't have the time. It's not in my plans. How will I explain this to Joseph and my friends?" Instead of refusing or questioning God's plan for her, Mary's response was, "I am the Lord's servant."

The Lord also has Christian service for us to perform. He says, "Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and those in prison." He says, "Go and make disciples of all nations." He says, "God loves a cheerful giver." He says, "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." At times, the Lord may place opportunities before us or ask us to do things that are not in our plans or might inconvenience us. What is our response? May we learn from Mary to respond with a willing and humble heart and say, "I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me as you have said." Let us join our voices to the voice of Mary responding and sing Hymn 24, "The Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came."

Luke 1:39-45

³⁹ At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, ⁴⁰ where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴² In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! ⁴³ But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴ As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵ Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"

What was Mary's response that she'd be the mother of the Savior? She couldn't keep to herself the good news that had been told her by the angel. She had to go quickly and tell her cousin everything that had happened. Elizabeth realized that God had given a very special blessing to Mary and that her baby would also be a very special blessing to her and to her own baby. She praises Mary for believing what the Lord had told her.

Are you so thrilled by the news of the Savior that you also have to go and tell someone like Mary did? One of my classmates told me about a Japanese student that began coming to his church. After only the third time he came, he brought a friend he had met in the dormitory. Some people go to church their whole life and never bring a friend along. This student did it after three Sundays. Be like that student and like Mary! Respond to the good news of a Savior by telling your friends and relatives that Jesus the Savior is born. Invite them to our Christmas service to hear more about Him! Let's sing Hymn 20 (1-2) When All the World was Cursed.

Luke 1:46-55

⁴⁶ And Mary said: "My soul glorifies the Lord ⁴⁷ and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, ⁴⁸ for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, ⁴⁹ for the Mighty One has done great things for me- holy is his name. ⁵⁰ His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. ⁵¹ He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. ⁵² He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. ⁵³ He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. ⁵⁴ He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful ⁵⁵ to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers."

How did Mary respond to Elizabeth's praise of her child? Mary now speaks the beautiful words that we call the "Magnificat." Mary, though blessed above all women, needed a Savior, too. She, too, was a sinner. Little did she perhaps realize at this time how just 33 years later, her joy at the birth of a son would turn to sorrow as she saw her son nailed to a cross and die. Mary's faith had to travel from the manger to the cross. There she stood 33 years later looking at not only her son, but also her Savior. Jesus was Mary's son, but also Mary's Savior. He is our Savior too. To get the full meaning of Christmas, our faith too must travel from the manger to the cross. At Christmas we usually don't think too much about the cross, but the manger without the cross would leave us with no Savior. Listen to the voice of Mary responding, and join her in glorifying the Lord for the great things He has also done for us! Hymn 399 (1) To God Be the Glory.

Luke 2:15-19

¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." ¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

What a busy, hectic, and tiring day Jesus' birthday must have been for Mary. Not only was there no room in the inn, but late at night, visitors came to see the baby she just delivered! Women, how would you have liked that? These visitors were total strangers! But they seemed to know about this special baby. One can just imagine their talk and the excitement and wonder as they explain to Mary and Joseph about the angels announcing to them the birth of the Savior. How did Mary respond to their visit and their story of the angels appearing to them? It was too much for Mary to comprehend all at one time. Luke says, "But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." She didn't forget what the shepherds said when they left. She remembered what they said. She thought about what they said. She remembered what the angel had said to her. She thought about what the angel said to her. She remembered what Elizabeth had said. She thought about what Elizabeth had said to her. She remembered all of these things and thought about all of these things not just once or twice, but many times.

From Mary we can learn to treasure in our heart what we hear about Jesus and to think about it often. When we walk out of church we should not forget what we have heard. When we read our Bibles, we should not forget what we have read. When Christmas is over, we should not forget why we celebrated Christmas in the first place. May our response to God's Word be the same as that of Mary, to treasure it and ponder it in our heart. Let us join our voices to the voice of Mary responding and sing Hymn 55 (1,2) Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful.

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