“The Gift of Me”

(This sermon followed the presentation of the children’s musical, “3 Wise Men and a Baby.”)

There is a story in the Scriptures I would like to share with you before we close the service this morning. It is found in Luke 1:26-38. God sends the angel Gabriel to Mary. Gabriel says to her, “Greetings, you are highly favored! The Lord is with you . . . Don’t be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and will give birth to a son and you are to give him the name, Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High.”

Mary then responds, “How can this be? How can I have a child when I am still a virgin? I have never known a man. How can this happen?”

The angel meets Mary’s astonishment with these words, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will over shadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.”

Suddenly Mary’s amazement changes to faith. Mary speaks one of the most beautiful lines ever uttered in the history of humanity, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.”

Do you know what gift Mary gave on that very first Christmas? She gave the gift of herself. The children have sung about how the wise men gave the gift of themselves, and Mary’s story is in keeping with theirs. Faced with a seeming impossibility, and troubled by the startling invasion of God the angel represented, Mary responded in faith and submitted herself to the purpose of God. As the angel finished the divine pronouncement, he declared to Mary, “Nothing is impossible with God.” Mary had the audacity to look past her virgin state and believe God might just pull something off. The Holy Spirit was hovering. A new creation was brewing. Salvation was coming. Impossibilities suddenly seemed small in comparison to the God who came to her in startling activity. So Mary offered herself to the Lord, “I am the Lord’s servant.”

Would we do the same? If God broke into our closed worlds with saving intent and startling new possibilities, would we give ourselves to His purpose? Would we give the Lord the gift of ourselves?

Or would we clamor about the impossibilities? We can never break from the grip of the past, from the shame held over us, from the bitterness that eats at our hearts. It is impossible. Why bother? We can never overcome the habits and broken life patterns that plague us. We have tried repeated New Year’s resolutions, but found too often failure in the pursuit of freedom. It is impossible to change. Why bother?

We will never find the significance and meaning for living that always waits just beyond our reach. We have grasped for fulfillment, only to come up holding wisps of dissipating vapor. Fulfillment and abundance never seem to take up residence in our souls. Victorious, purpose-filled living is for those who write the self-help books, not us. We find such a life impossible. Why bother?

Live above sin? Have a heart of love? Mother Teresa maybe, but not common folks like us. We are doomed to divided hearts and the struggle of disobedience. Discover the mind of Christ; be transformed into the likeness of Jesus? It would be impossible. Why bother?

Why bother? Bother because this morning the Spirit of God is hovering over you in creative power. The same Spirit that hovered over the waters of chaos when God said, “Let there be light,” even now is hovering over you. The agent of God’s creative activity that took barren wombs and infused them with life, which took a virgin womb and filled it with salvation, is hovering over you this morning. Impossibilities are nonsense in light of the Spirit’s presence. Possibilities are endless in the presence of the coming Jesus.

Today if we bother to give ourselves in faith to Jesus, we will find that the past loses its grip, as Jesus comes, and God acts, and the Spirit creates. Is anyone here willing in faith to look past their impossibilities and receive a redeemed past?

If we bother to give our hearts to the saving movement of God that has caught us by surprise in the singing of our children, we will find habits will not hold us, nor sin dominate us, nor abundant life escape us. We will find our impossibilities transformed into the possibilities. We will discover God choosing us and saving us in ways we may never have dreamed possible.

What if this morning we did more than just say, “Oh children, that was a wonderful, wonderful musical! Thank you! You made us laugh. You made us cry. You really moved us. It was wonderful!”? What if we really accepted the invitation of the musical? What if we listened to the gospel story? What if we made Mary our example? What if we gave ourselves in faith to Jesus? Do you think salvation might spring forth; not only in us, but through us into our families, our community, and our world?

God has taken the initiative to come to our lives with a gift of salvation. The ribbon and paper are adorned with the name Jesus. Does anyone want a gift like that? Are we willing to offer the gift of ourselves in return, so our impossibilities might be exchanged for God’s possibilities?

Will we give Him our hearts?