Luke 1:26-33

Transcript

00:00:00:25 – 00:00:28:08
Clint Loveall
Friends. Welcome back. Thanks for joining us as we continue our entry into the Gospel of Luke. Still making our way through the first chapter, though I’m not sure we set on the outset. Michael Luke One of the things Luke is known for among the gospels is long chapters. Luke does put a lot into some of these chapters, but as we continue today, really in some ways we get to the heart of the story.

00:00:28:09 – 00:01:00:43
Clint Loveall
We know Luke is one of the two gospels that gives us some of what we consider are Christmas stories and we get in. Luke a kind of a preview or a precursor to that. And so let me read a few verses here and then we’ll come back and talk about them. This is starting with verse 26. In the six months the Angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth to a Virgin, engaged to a man whose name was Joseph of the House of David.

00:01:01:37 – 00:01:26:58
Clint Loveall
The virgin’s name was Mary, and he came to her and said, Greetings favored one. The Lord is with you. But she was perplexed by his words and pondered what kind of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God and now you will conceive in your womb embarrassed, son, and you will name him Jesus.

00:01:27:28 – 00:01:50:51
Clint Loveall
He will be great and will be called the son of the most high, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His ancestor, David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and all his kingdom will have no end. I think we can stop there, Michael. That’s good. So here we get for the second passage in a row, a kind of a divine appearance.

00:01:50:51 – 00:02:22:01
Clint Loveall
The Angel Gabriel in both cases, shows up with a pronouncement. The last time was a priest in a temple. Here we have a young girl. A young woman, Mary, presumably in her home. She’s at least in her hometown. And there is some historic. Well, how what would you say, Michael? There’s there’s some historic bantering, I guess, about the word virgin here.

00:02:23:33 – 00:03:02:38
Clint Loveall
The original Hebrew that is quoted is the Hebrew word for a young woman or a young maiden. When it gets translated into Greek. The Greek translators chose a word in Greek, specifically, that means virgin. There have been times that people have argued about that translation, which, to be honest, I think is overkill, because the even if you wanted to argue that it doesn’t specifically say Virgin in the Old Testament, the implication of a young, unmarried woman in the Hebrew culture is 100%.

00:03:03:14 – 00:03:26:18
Clint Loveall
So I think it’s kind of a false flag argument, but it for whatever reason, Michael, it has been a place that people have squabbled over in this text. And I’m not I don’t know if it remains. So when I was in seminary, there were now even books and papers and articles written about how you translate this word. And I’m not sure that I ever really got it.

00:03:26:40 – 00:03:49:21
Michael Gewecke
I think that it’s a classic example of when theology goes looking for a particular question in the gospel narratives. I mean, sometimes our questions are really interesting and generative, but not exactly what the writers were intending to address right off the bat. And I think that this is an example of that we have in Christian theology this idea as passive quickly in the Catholic tradition.

00:03:49:21 – 00:04:16:24
Michael Gewecke
You have a lot of that talk about the perpetual virginity of Mary. Not to get really complicated, but there’s this whole language of of sins, relation to, to how we’re born and how we’re conceived. And there’s all this kind of natural theology kind of stuff that that is not a place we’re going to go. But my point that I want to make here is what’s striking is that we might get fixated on a word in its translation and miss what’s very clearly the connection to the text that came before.

00:04:16:24 – 00:04:43:08
Michael Gewecke
And that is that here we have a messenger from God, by the way, explicitly named Gabriel. So the same exact messenger who goes to Zachariah is the exact messenger who now appears before Mary. And here we get to see how now this explicitly young woman, this this woman who is not married is going to now be spoken to and told about this miraculous event that’s going to happen.

00:04:43:24 – 00:05:10:06
Michael Gewecke
And we, the reader, have been very carefully and intentionally put into the position of asking ourselves, how is she going to respond? What is she going to do? Is it going to be similar to what Zachariah did or is it going to be different? And Clint, when we get fixated on a particular slice of the text and by the way, we do this in so many different places in scripture, it’s not just an area like this.

00:05:10:06 – 00:05:27:12
Michael Gewecke
We do this in the Pauline letters, you know, but when we do that, we often fail to actually hear the word of the book writer. And I think here, if we’re willing to put aside some of those historical, theological concerns for a moment, we might hear that very pressing, well crafted word.

00:05:27:36 – 00:05:53:51
Clint Loveall
Yeah, if you ever run into that, I think on the whole most of us would say that it is a little bit of much ado about nothing more significant. Here. We we have this greeting greetings favored one which is compelling and to my knowledge, unique greeting in the in the Bible. I don’t know of another time that the phrase is used in that way.

00:05:54:21 – 00:06:25:21
Clint Loveall
The Lord is with you. And then Mary’s response is is so important. In the Gospel of Luke, she was perplexed and pondered, and particularly in the Christmas story, in the origin story of Jesus, we are going to see words like this, people trying to understand what this means. People confuse people, confounded people, trying to understand at some level what what they’re hearing, what they’re seeing, what it means.

00:06:25:48 – 00:06:50:34
Clint Loveall
And so Luke introduces us here to some really important themes. What kind of greetings might this be? And then we get, again that standard words. We see it, we hear it said to essentially every character in the first two chapters of Luke, Do not be afraid. You found favor with God. You will conceive. He will be great. He will be called the son of the most high.

00:06:51:00 – 00:07:27:37
Clint Loveall
The Lord God will give him the throne of His ancestor, David. This, you know, without using the word Messiah. This is the proclamation of the promise. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever and of his kingdom. There will be no end. So again, Luke, without giving us chapter and verse, without saying Isaiah said, or Jeremiah said, as Matthew might be inclined to do, Luke has completely tied this story to the Israelite story, to the Old Testament story, to the covenant story in which God had promised to deliver.

00:07:27:57 – 00:07:57:36
Clint Loveall
And now this young woman, probably we, we think somewhere in the 16 year old range, give or take, is being met with this angelic pronouncement that she will be the one to bring this forth, that she will be the vessel, that she will be the one used by God to deliver the one that Israel has been waiting for and looking for.

00:07:58:19 – 00:08:08:25
Clint Loveall
This is a this is a profound moment and it’s familiar to us. So perhaps we missed it. But this is a stunning part of the story.

00:08:08:52 – 00:08:40:58
Michael Gewecke
You know, there’s an interesting contrast here as well, because Protestants, specifically Presbyterians, as we’re part of them, have tended to shy away from. We’re pretty nervous about the emphasis of Mary in the Catholic Church. You know, just today in the pre Bible study, we were looking at a beautiful sculpture of Mary. You’re not going to find that in a Protestant, specifically Presbyterian congregation, because there’s real skepticism about the temptation to put anyone in between Jesus Christ and those that he came to save.

00:08:40:58 – 00:09:05:00
Michael Gewecke
And Mary’s on that list for for Presbyterians. But I think one thing that we need to pause and reflect upon here for just a moment is this language that comes. You have found favor with God. Like you said, Clint, there is a unique address in this, and it is worth noting that that there is a kind of gift that’s been bestowed upon this young woman.

00:09:05:00 – 00:09:30:14
Michael Gewecke
And that is surprising. It’s surprising to the original reader. It’s surprising in its original culture. It’s surprising even today that God would choose to work through the life of a humble young woman who lives in a no name place. I mean, not only is she not married and not in the right season of life, for her to be bearing children in her culture, she is also living in a place that’s not on the map.

00:09:30:14 – 00:09:53:27
Michael Gewecke
That doesn’t matter, doesn’t matter in scare quotes to the people of Israel, to the national religion, all of these things. And yet it is to this young woman who this address is given and it’s another example clan of the of the the young woman, the least the one who is put down at the lowest rung, how she in some ways this is going to push her lower.

00:09:53:27 – 00:10:17:24
Michael Gewecke
And that’s an interesting facet of the story in terms of the culture. But yet she’s been found favored. She’s been found faithful. She’s the one that’s been chosen for this gift. And Luke wants us to know that not only is she struck by the way that she’s perplex, she ponders, but Luke also wants us to know that this young woman is full of faith and willing to respond in the positive to that.

00:10:17:36 – 00:10:36:43
Michael Gewecke
And I think that that is one of the things that should be inspiring about Mary. Mary should be a person that young women, you know, my daughters could look up to as someone who was given a gift and responded with Thanksgiving, responded with gratitude. That is an inspiring story and it’s one that’s told. Well, here.

00:10:37:21 – 00:11:06:36
Clint Loveall
You’re right, Michael. And I was thinking the same thing. You know, we have a little bit of an aversion to lifting Mary. Our denominational history makes us relook don’t to over celebrate the role of Mary in the story. But if we could separate ourselves from that a little bit, presumably God had the freedom. There’s no reason to question that.

00:11:06:36 – 00:11:40:31
Clint Loveall
God had the freedom to select right. Whoever God would have wanted to choose for for this role. I mean, any Jewish woman we’ve just seen, Elizabeth who wasn’t able to bear a child is going to bear. So there are literally no limitations to how God could have done this. And yet, of all of those potential people, of all of those potential participants, God chooses Mary and and that’s not for nothing.

00:11:40:31 – 00:12:24:57
Clint Loveall
I do think maybe our hesitation, given our history with, you know, the Catholic denomination and then the Protestant denomination and the break in separation, that happens sometimes. Maybe we don’t give Mary quite enough due because of that history. And I think it is it is worth noting that for whatever reasons and we don’t get told many of them, God thought Mary, to be the right person to do this thing too, but to literally partner with and produce the Messiah, to deliver the Messiah, if not produce.

00:12:24:57 – 00:12:41:31
Clint Loveall
And so this is just this is a stunning this is a stunning moment. And it does certainly say something about Mary that none other than God himself chooses her. And the angel Gabriel calls her favorite one.

00:12:41:43 – 00:13:01:33
Michael Gewecke
And I think that this text is important not just for what it says, but what it doesn’t say. And you alluded to this when I’m looking at verse 30, because when the angel says, Don’t be afraid, you found favor with God, it does not say why. He does not say why she’s found favor with God. And that, I think, is critical.

00:13:01:33 – 00:13:27:16
Michael Gewecke
And it’s beautiful because we, the reader, don’t need to know. It’s none of our business. It’s not for us to compare ourselves to Mary. It’s not to see what did she actually deserve it. This is God’s choice. This is God’s prerogative. And we, as the reader, are simply looking over the shoulder. We’re hearing the conversation. And in this conversation we’re hearing she’s she’s been favored.

00:13:27:19 – 00:14:02:27
Clint Loveall
You know, it’s almost as if Michael, the invitation itself validates Mary’s qualifications, because even a chapter ago, it told us Zacharias and Elizabeth were blameless and righteous. There’s it is a it is it’s simply assumed that Mary is worthy of this task. Just the very fact that she’s selected seems to validate her own standing. You have found favor with God and in the presence of Gabriel, with the promise of the Messiah.

00:14:03:28 – 00:14:13:12
Clint Loveall
That’s all that need be said. I mean, there’s nothing I that’s it’s a good catch to point that out. There’s nothing that needs to be added to that. That’s enough.

00:14:13:42 – 00:14:50:34
Michael Gewecke
If any one of our 16 year old children responds in the way that Mary does with thoughtfulness, with gratitude, even even in the midst of what is clear, some surprise, right? If if that was the case, any parent would be shocked, amazed, thrilled over the moon. All of it at the same time, maybe afraid with their child. But what what we find here is that when God reveals the plan to these significant people, not everyone responds the same.

00:14:50:52 – 00:15:16:24
Michael Gewecke
And Mary’s response here coming after Zacharias, coming after Elizabeth’s is now given some context. If we had begun with Mary, we, the reader, might just think, Oh, yeah, of course that’s what you do when God tells you He’s going to make you a part of the salvation of all humanity, right? You got picked, you won the lottery. But I think when we have the selection that’s come before it, we have some context to remind ourselves.

00:15:16:24 – 00:15:29:32
Michael Gewecke
No, it’s not that simple, that ultimately this is by her, by what she says and doesn’t say. And astonished, saying act of faith and trust in God. And that is something to be celebrated.

00:15:29:40 – 00:15:57:37
Clint Loveall
You know, it’s interesting and I don’t know if I’ve thought about it this way before, Michael, but in the Luke story, we’ve already been told Zacharias was terrified when the angel appeared. When they make the announcements to the shepherds, the shepherds are going to be terrified in Matthew. Joseph is afraid. It’s interesting, though, Mary is told, Don’t be afraid.

00:15:57:37 – 00:16:36:14
Clint Loveall
We’re never told that she is. I think, you know, that’s a curiosity. I’ve not noticed. And I wonder if Luke is doing that intentionally, if that if that shares something with us or not. But this is a an obviously profound moment, historically, biblically covenantal. We should also just point out that we we are told here in the six month there has been a school of thought that that would push Jesus birth somewhere around March.

00:16:37:48 – 00:17:02:13
Clint Loveall
You know, we there’s speculation on every detail you can think of in the Bible. Somebody has wondered what it means and if it means something, if we assume that the calendars are relatively similar, that, you know, that’s possible, That’s telling us that. It’s also possible that that’s a reference we don’t fully understand. And so it’s never gotten a lot of traction.

00:17:02:13 – 00:17:24:01
Clint Loveall
Obviously, we celebrate Jesus birth in December, though, not because we think that’s when it happened, just because that’s when we do it. But here just just so you know, when we encounter these things, there has been conversation about does this tell us something about the actual date of Jesus birth? And we’re not sure that it does, but some think it might.

00:17:24:30 – 00:17:47:11
Michael Gewecke
Yeah. Just in case that’s news to you. Like saying the day that we celebrate Christmas wasn’t selected because of a historical critical reason that it was tried to nail down the actual date of his birth, but rather related to other traditions and the other church calendar and even not church related calendar things. So all that.

00:17:47:11 – 00:18:00:18
Clint Loveall
Said, the length of days like coming back into the winter. Yeah, there’s lots of history in that. If you’re interested, talk to us or just Google wise Christmas in December you’ll get lots of stuff. Be careful with some of it.

00:18:00:18 – 00:18:20:16
Michael Gewecke
That wouldn’t be the right note, I think, to end the conversation. Yeah, I think the right note to end the conversation on is simply to say that at the end of the day, Mary has no clue what this journey is going to look like. She doesn’t really even know what the next step of that journey is. But what we do know is she’s been found favored.

00:18:20:16 – 00:18:44:54
Michael Gewecke
And I think that the invitation to all of us is to seek to live our own lives in such a way that if that angel appeared before us, we too might be found as those who are prepared to be faithful, those who are ready to say, Yes, Lord. And I think that your point is well said. It’s going to linger with me, Clint, that it’s unlikely Mary got there day one.

00:18:44:54 – 00:19:05:25
Michael Gewecke
It’s unlikely that Mary’s the one who’s told that she’s been highly favored because she woke up that morning on the good side of the bed. Yet this is clearly a person who’s been found to be to be faithful, a person who has been found favored. And I think that that is a inspiring invitation for all of us to live our own lives of faith in the same way.

00:19:06:55 – 00:19:45:39
Clint Loveall
Yeah, I mean, that could have very deep roots, Michael. You know, this is a covenant promise. Generations in the making. And we have generally conceded in the reformed faith that God didn’t just come up with the idea that the intention was always to send the Incarnate Son, which meant that God’s intention was probably also and, you know, there’s that likely always involved a partnership with a human being.

00:19:46:21 – 00:20:13:17
Clint Loveall
And the fact that Mary is chosen either then or now or whenever it is a you know, a testament to her and of a very fascinating reflection on the mystery, this work of God, you know, pondered and perplexed. There’s be ample opportunities for those words.

00:20:13:21 – 00:20:30:59
Michael Gewecke
Yeah, if you’re uncomfortable with Mary because you’ve grown up Protestant, then transform this story for just a moment, your imagination, and allow it to be a story of invitation into God’s own work in your own life. I mean, you’re not going to bear in the way that Mary is, but we are called to bear the gospel for it to bear fruit and us.

00:20:31:15 – 00:20:36:55
Michael Gewecke
And here’s a character who Luke shows us clearly is doing that with a great deal of faith.

00:20:37:10 – 00:20:59:40
Clint Loveall
Yeah, I don’t want to overdo it, Michael, but sometimes our theological worries are just not a big concern for the text, right? Whether we’re sensitive to giving Mary too much credit or what has happened in the past, Luke doesn’t care about any of that. Luke is trying to tell us the story of how the Messiah came into the world and what it means for the world that He did, and we just have to sort of deal with it.

00:21:00:05 – 00:21:04:39
Michael Gewecke
Well said. Thanks for being with us, friends. We look forward to seeing you tomorrow. Until then, be blessed.

00:21:04:39 – 00:21:13:21
Clint Loveall
Thanks, everybody.