In today’s call to worship, we read from Psalm 89, The Message translation:

We will never quit telling the story of Your love—
how You built the cosmos
and guaranteed everything in it.
Your love has always been our lives’ foundation,
Your fidelity has been the roof over our world.
You once said, “I joined forces with my chosen leader,
I pledged my word to my servant, David, saying,
‘Everyone descending from You is guaranteed life;
I’ll make Your rule as solid and lasting as rock.’”

The lectionary pairs the passage we read from Samuel and the annunciation in Luke where the angel tells Mary that the Lord God will give to her son the throne of his ancestor David.

In 2nd Samuel, King David and the Hebrew people wanted a permanent temple for the Ark of the Covenant that was the sacred symbol of God’s presence. But God had a different idea. God countered David’s proposal with a reminder that God has been with the people throughout their wilderness wandering without a permanent building. When David wants to build a cedar house, God wants to build David’s lineage rather than a physical structure to house the presence of God.

Luke’s account of Mary’s visit from the angel explicitly links the birth of this coming baby to the royal line and renews the promise made so long ago. This was based on and centered in God’s love for us. That love has always been our lives’ foundation.

Everything we encounter in today’s stories begins with a “yes” to God’s proposal.

The angel Gabriel appears to Mary saying, “Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.” This literally means “rejoice, one who has received grace.” To be favoured by God should not be confused with being the “favourite” of God.

Mary was much perplexed by the angel’s words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. To “ponder” is to hold an idea and consider it over and over and over. Given Mary’s role in Christ’s coming, it is hard to remember she is just a girl, perhaps no more than 14, with little life experience.

The angel continues, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

But Mary did not really get to give an answer, did she? The angel did not ask her if she would like to be the mother of God; the angel told her— that God had been gracious to her, that she would bear a son, and that he would be the king of Israel forever.

Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” There were other things she must have wondered. Let’s look at the reality, I am only engaged to Joseph. In this engagement period before Joseph and I have marital relations, it would be impossible for me to be pregnant. My life will be over if I am pregnant and I will be accused of adultery. But the only question Mary asked was “How can this be?.”

Mary listened as the angel told her what would happen. “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.” How could she understand that the father of her baby would be the Holy Spirit or that her child would be called the Son of God? There is no way to grasp that. Mary wanted to make sense out of what made no sense: that God would become flesh and blood and needed her help and surrender.

The angel reassured Mary, “For nothing will be impossible with God.” Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” The birth was going to happen, but she still had a choice whether to take hold of the unknown life the angel held out to her or whether to defend herself against it however she could. It’s like when we have the opportunity to say, “I second the motion.” Mary is giving her consent to all the angel had told her.

What is our response to God’s proposals that aren’t based in fact or reason, but are based solely on the fact that we are God’s favored?

If we decide to say yes, we can decide to take part in a plan you did not choose, doing things you don’t know how to do, for reasons you do not entirely understand. Deciding to say yes does not mean that we are not afraid. It just means that we are not willing to let your fear stop us. When we say, “Here I am; let it be with me according to your word,” we become willing to bear God into the world.

Imagine if the church rethinks what we do, redeploys our energy, defines our purpose. The challenge is to love God, not ideology or not pet projects, but God’s will for steadfast love that is not deterred by fear and anxiety. How is Mary’s story a geography of love? Is it Mary’s courage that is so appealing? Is it the reassurance that God can and will evade our ordinary lives, giving us our own chances to say “yes” to God’s wild plans?

The Lord is with you. Do not be afraid. For nothing will be impossible with God.