Mary Listened

St Timothy Presbyterian Church

Scripture Passage

Luke 1:26-38

Worship Video

Worship Audio

Sermon Script

God's Wonders

Merry Christmas!

How wonderful it is to gather together like this the day before Christmas. May wonders of Christmas be on your family. May the gifts of Christmas be abundant on you and your family.

On Christmas, we are reflecting on God's wonders. Christmas story is all about God's wonders.

You can read Christmas stories in Luke and Matthew. In both stories, you see full of wonders and miracles. Christmas is time to celebrate God's wonders.

Think about the idea itself. God becoming flesh – that is the greatest wonder. How can you express such a great wonder in a plain ordinary language? That's why stories in Luke and Matthew are filled with wonders.

If you take out all the wonders, all the miracles, and all the surprises from life, what is left in life?

Sometimes you are sad because of your situation and you hope that somehow you will come out of your sadness.

And you do come out of your sadness even though nothing is changed in your situation. That is wonder of life. That is what I experience often.

I believe that life is full of wonders and surprises.

That was what Mary experienced.

Unpredictable Surprises

One day, all of a sudden, an angel appeared to Mary and said this.

And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. (Luke 1:31)

What she heard was a total surprise. She was not yet married. She never had a relationship with a man. It was hard for Mary to take what the angel said to her.

So she responded,

How can this be, since I am a virgin? (Luke 1:34)

She was shocked and didn't know what to make of it. That is what wonder is.

If you can make of it, if you understand it, then it is not a wonder. Wonders of life sometimes plunge you into a chaos.

When I say, life is full of wonder, I am not saying that it will be pleasant and comfortable for you. And it will be easy to accept it.

Definitely Mary didn't like it. She was scared. This incident totally threw her off.

Who likes this kind of surprise? As a matter of fact, we don't like surprises, period. We like our life to be predictable.

Predictability of life gives us stability. The sun rises every morning. It is predictable and I am thankful for that.

After staff lunch, we usually go to Starbucks. I usually order the same thing. Cold Brew from Starbucks. Why? Because it tastes always the same. Predictable.

I like to go to a restaurant where I can safely order a certain food and expect the same quality. Predictability gives you safety, a sense of control, and efficiency.

But my friends, life is not predictable. Life is messy.

Yes, sun may rise every morning as always. But you may not wake up to see it.

Last week, I visited a KSM member. He was healthy. He played golf until November. But all of a sudden, he could not breathe well and he lost his appetite. He went to the hospital and the doctor suspected a lung cancer.

Listening to God

Yes, life can change without your permission. Change doesn't gently knock at your door and come in. Often change bursts through your door.

There is only one thing that doesn't change.

That is

EVERYTHING CHANGES.

That is the only thing that doesn't change.

What happened to Mary was not good news to her. A virgin could not have a baby. It was a big problem to Mary. She would have been judged and condemned. They could even stone her to death.

As soon as she heard what the angel said, she could say no. She could have closed her ears. No, No, No. I would not listen to you.

But Mary didn't do that. She was scared but she listened. Mary let the angel speak. It was painful but she listened to the end.

When bad things happen, we close our ears. We don't listen. We don't want to hear.

Instead of listening carefully, we are filled with worries about the consequences. We come up with every strategy possible not to listen. For example, watch TV, play games, surf through social medias, get drunk, and so on.

But Mary listened. These are words she listened to.

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 holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God. (Luke 1:35-37)

When she listened attentively, God's precious word was powerfully carved into her heart.

Nothing will be impossible with God. (Luke 1:37)

That was what she listened to. When she listened to that, she was able to accept what was unacceptable.

She was able to come out of her comfort zone. She was willing to enter into the uncharted land.

God Gives Us A New Life

My friends, the Spirit breaks open our old way of thinking. The Spirit pulls us out of our old life. That's what Christ does to us.

St. Paul knew this very well.

That's why he said,

So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! (2 Corinthians 5:17)

He clearly realized what it meant to be in Christ.

The Spirit wants to bring us a new life. He wants to mold a new self out of us.

When we are able to listen, nothing will be impossible with God, then we can accept the new life. Only through faith, we can accept the new life.

What is predictable – you respond to it with a plan. But what is unpredictable – you respond to it with faith.

Jesus' birth started a new era, a new world, a new life. The Spirit started this whole process through a humble woman.

A new era could be open only through a person who was willing to go through the birth pain. Mary did that.

She went through the fear of the unknown future and that was her birth pain. But within her, she was impregnated with the person who would bring the new world.

No matter how uncomfortable and uneasy it might have been to her, she was willing to take the risk.

God had to find a person who was willing to risk everything to start this new world. Being impregnated with the new world is painful. It is scary.

The new world will not just come easily. Only through pain, fear, and agony, the new world will be given birth.

And Mary did it.

She listened and had this conviction that nothing would be impossible with God.

So she said,

Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word. (Luke 1:38)

Embrace Discomfort, Embrace Change

My friends, don't just go for the comfortable life. I preached two weeks ago about Comfort found in Discomfort.

Listen to what God says to you in your life. Many things are happening in your life. Don't be scared of listening. Listen to what's going on in your life.

If you have to accept the change, accept it. If you need to change your lifestyle, change it. If you have to embrace your discomfort right now, do it.

When you listen carefully, you will be able to listen to your heart. When you listen to your heart, you will have the courage to live out what your heart tells you. God speaks to your heart.

Don't listen to what people have to say. Don't listen to what the world tells you.

If you have spiritual ears, you will be able to hear wonderful mystery of life.
God will lead you in wonder and awe.

And you will have this conviction that nothing will be impossible with God.

In this Christmas season, may your life be filled with wonder and awe.

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