Annunciations

The story of Jesus’ birth offered to us from Holy Scripture comes from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. As you may be aware, Matthew’s and Luke’s accounts are really quite different. The Christmas story that is so broadly familiar is actually a combination of the two, like a shuffled deck of cards… a little piece of Matthew interleaved with a bit from Luke, then another scene of the story from Matthew. For example, the magi or wise men come from the East bearing gold, frankincense and myrrh only in Matthew. The angel choir, heralds of great joy to the shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night… the angel host is described only by Luke. The familiar story of Gabriel’s visit to Mary, the story we call The Annunciation, occurs only in Luke. The story we heard today about an angel’s visit to Joseph is only found in Matthew.

For the sake of study, let’s ease the two stories apart this morning and look at them separately. Instead of shuffling the scenes together, let’s look at them in parallel, side by side. At first glance, they do indeed seem very different. Matthew’s aging astrologers laboriously traveling on camel back from Persia do not seem to have anything in common with a fleet and joyous angel choir trumpeting good news from the sparkling courts of heaven. But, different as they may be, they fill exactly the same role in the story. Both the angels and the Magi are heralds. They announce the birth; they share the news and significance of this holy event with the world beyond the manger. They publish abroad the uniqueness and momentousness of this particular birth. Within the plot of the story, they fill an identical and very important role. In actual fact, was Jesus’ birth proclaimed and published by angels or by magi or both? It’s hard to say. I’ll admit I like to think both, but in the end it doesn’t really matter. Someone filled that role of herald. Someone published good tidings of Jesus’ birth far and wide. To shepherds and kings. To Jews and Gentiles. We would not be here otherwise.

Then there is the part of the story we heard this morning from Matthew’s gospel. The angel who appears to Joseph in a dream does not appear in Luke. Remember the story you heard this morning, though, as you listen to a scene that Luke does recount. Luke writes: "The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph. And he came to her and said, Greetings. Do not be afraid, Mary. 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 of his kingdom there will be no end." And Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word."

That is Luke’s story of the Annunciation to Mary. Some years we read it on this last Sunday of Advent. It is almost exactly parallel to the story we heard this morning. "Mary, who was engaged to Joseph, was found to be with child. Her husband planned to dismiss her quietly, but an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph. Do not be afraid. The child conceived in Mary is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him." Matthew’s story of the Annunciation to Joseph, and Joseph’s acceptance of God’s purpose for him.

Was there one angel or two? Did Gabriel perhaps make more than one trip to Nazareth? The Annunciation story is a universal one. It is the story of individuals anticipating the birth of God into the very time and space of their own lives.

This incarnation of God, the stark coming of God into the world of flesh and blood, can be a fearsome and awe-filled prospect. In both Matthew and Luke, the angels’ first words are "Do not be afraid." And the prospect of the incarnation puts before both Mary and Joseph a choice. A choice whether or not to accept God’s presence. Both do, but we cannot know how difficult those decisions might have been. Frederick Buechner poses a very interesting rhetorical question concerning the annunciation to Mary. How many houses, he asks… how many houses in Nazareth, how many young women, might Gabriel have visited before he came to Mary, before he found the one who would say "yes." Were there perhaps others who chose not to accept the presence of God into their wombs, into their lives?

And for Joseph? The choice before him could not have been an easy one. His fiancé was with child, potentially through adultery. If Joseph were to follow the letter of the law of Moses, the law by which he, his family, and his community ordered their lives… if he were to faithfully follow the law of his religion, Mary should have been stoned. To put her away quietly would be an act of unusual mercy. To marry her, trusting that somehow God was doing in this something absolutely new, something previously unimaginable… in the face of all of Nazareth’s skepticism and judgment… to marry her could not have been an easy decision.

And if the angel’s message were true, if the child Mary was bearing was from God? The boy to be born would be the bearer of God’s presence. Imagine raising a child who would look upon you every moment of every day with the very eyes of God! Emmanuel, indeed. It’s much easier to encounter God for only an hour each week on Sunday morning.

But Joseph said yes. Yes, he would welcome this child, the child whom the angel said would save people from their sins. Joseph chose to welcome this child into his home, into his life.

The annunciation to Mary. The annunciation to Joseph. Stories of an angel’s visit, announcing that the Son of the Most High is to be born. Today the angel speaks to us. Announcing that the Son of the Most High is soon to be born.  And the choice is ours. To welcome this child, to accept his presence in our lives, or not.

Here’s one way to think about the choice. Remember this morning’s collect. "Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself." Purify our conscience. That’s a good phrase to hang on to. A very good way to make room for Jesus’ birth is to purify our conscience through repentance and God’s gift of absolution.

But I’m struck by the other image of this collect, the image of a mansion. This collect is a reverse, of course, of the well-known phrase from John’s gospel where Jesus says that God’s house contains many mansions and Jesus will prepare a place there for us. In this collect we are preparing the mansion for Jesus’ arrival here on earth. Think about it literally. If Jesus were, in fact, coming to live with you, for decades perhaps, what sort of mansion would you build? What sort of dwelling place would you prepare? Not for you. Not your dream house. This mansion is for Jesus. Or even more importantly, it is a place where you and Jesus shall live together.

For each of us, the answer is different. The mansion I would build is different than the one you would prepare. Yet each of our mansions should somehow contain, somehow embody, the best that we have to offer. We offer to Jesus the very best of ourselves. The best. All of us have a tendency to cherish or hoard the best that we have, to keep to ourselves the best that we are. We should share. Everyday. In a mansion prepared for Jesus, nothing is locked away, nothing is kept back. Put on the best sheets, use the best silver everyday. No day is better than a day lived in the presence of Jesus. And Jesus seeks to dwell with us everyday.

And he seeks to share not just the best that we have, but the best that we are. Build a mansion for Jesus that celebrates the best that you are. Whether that means a huge family room for gathering and play or a cozy study well equipped for intellectual and spiritual exploration, or a workroom or studio where creativity blossoms for you. Or maybe your mansion lies beyond the physical walls of a dwelling somewhere out in the richness of creation.  When and where are you at your best? Share that time and space with Jesus.  Build that time and space into your lives.  Now.

The angel of the Lord stands among us. Do not be afraid. The one who seeks to dwell among you is the Son of the Most High. Will you prepare a mansion for him?

Think about it. If you were to build a mansion where you and Jesus might live together, what would it look like? Depending upon how you count, you have about six days to get it ready.

Sermon Index
Comments are welcome.  Send to krisorr@att.net