The angel told Mary she was going on a journey she never asked to go on. She was being led in a way that she didn’t plan. She was going to be guided in her journey in a step family that include Joseph as a step father to this son she going to give birth to who was destined to be a great man according to the angel.
Mary pondered what these words meant; she had an internal guiding conversation with herself about how she was a “favored” one, by God; a literal “dialogizomai” with herself. She’s thinking in a frozen moment in time what does this mean: why am I favored? Why would this angel visit me?
Have you ever talked with yourself? You have an inside voice and an outside voice when you talk with yourself. Some of the early church fathers thought that the angels literally dwelt in the soul. We’ve seen this manifested in the last 40 years in media that shows and angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other shoulder. There is an inner dialogue.
has been guided by what others have said about her in the past but now she will be guided by these words, even if she doesn’t completely understand quite yet.
After the angel told her about this child that will be born to her, Mary said, "I am the Lord's servant or slave; handmaid is the word; and she said “I am willing to accept whatever God wants." She was willing to surrender to her plans and trust that God would guide her. This message would over-shadow her like a rainbow in the midst of any future clouds. “But we should bear in mind that the angel’s glad tidings, as wonderful as they are, do not spell out the whole story.”[1]
These words she would ponder in her heart as Jesus grew up, as he would go off into the desert and then work miracles in the lives of those around them, and these words would guide her to Jerusalem with the hope of him becoming a star and these words she would ponder in her heart as they guided Jesus to a cross and these words guided her to their fulfillment on that Sunday morning when he rose from the dead.
This is what the angel meant… not a complete picture here in this moment but then they would all make sense. Oh how she would be guided in ways never imagined to that day. Oh but along the journey we may have clouds of fear hanging over our heads. We may have that internal diaolgueizomai about not feeling very favored at any given moment! Even when the guidance of loved ones is missing in our lives because of distance in geographical or emotional terms, their guidance was provided to us for a time but their words still overshadow us and guide us long after they have died and departed. The evil one in the Revelation 12:9 passage is called the “deceiver” which means this Satan or diabolic one is trying to lead astray and guide us with fear, sin, death and destruction. These clouds can often cause us to be guided into the hiding heart! But this angelic guide draws us out of the hiding heart into a journey of life; into a place of freedom that is not afraid and hiding; we are remind that we live under the “shadow of the Lord.”[2]
I was at Chili’s on Friday, went to prepare more for this angelic sermon. They were busy. I sat in a small booth for two and started to read a book for sermon preparation. Five minutes went by before I noticed and no one had come to take my drink order, I was thirst. Six minute, seven minutes, and then I began to have an internal dialogizomai; ten minutes and I would leave; eight minutes; nine minutes, ten minutes and I thought I would actually get up and leave. But she arrived and didn’t apologize and she even looked at me as if to plead for understanding. I told her I would like a soda and then said my meal preference before she could leave my table and enter into the abyss of serving others. The food arrived quicker than it took to order it but there was no fork, knife or napkin. I waited another minute and the inner dialogue was being guided to a place of frustration. I stopped her this time and asked and I was guided to the next part of the meal. Sermon preparation is so much fun I thought! Yes, I know what I’ll do, I was going to tip her less, yes 10% instead of 20%; but then I remembered that tip is often called gratuity; which comes from grace; charis in the greek; favored one; so 90% tip was left and then I realized that I needed to bring her good news in the midst of my un-favored day; so I took the bill and decided to write a note. What should I say, yes, “Glory to God in the highest…” no I can’t write that! I wrote, tip = gratuity = means grace: God’s riches At Christ’s expense! Merry Christmas!” Ten minutes of waiting verses the thirty three years of waiting for Mary until she is guided to that point in the life of this son of hers where peace to all people will be established. The angels will guide us until that day when all is clear!
Let us pray: Gracious God we ask you to guide us in this season to hear your voice calling out to us, leading us and guiding us; in Jesus name, Amen!
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