When God Asks the Impossible

Nothing is impossible with God, I hear that phrase from time to time, and nothing is impossible, but note here, that it is God who is initiating the impossible situation. Mary did not pray to be especially chosen, she was not waiting for the angel to appear to her, in fact she was perplexed, and the angel responded with the words we hear from other angels, ‘ do not be afraid..’  .

Mary, a young woman, likely in her mid-teens, engaged to Joseph, an older male, as was traditional. As she goes about her daily life, an angel appears, and tells her she will bear a son, in the line of David, and he will be great. Those of you with daughters, if they came home with that story as 16 year olds, what might you have said.  Next week we will read a section of Matthew and think about how Joseph responded to the news.

Today we hear of Mary's response to this situation.  In Luke we read of Mary going to visit her cousin Elizabeth who is also expecting a child.  We read the story of Elizabeth’s pregnancy two weeks ago when Zechariah was in the temple praying and an angel appeared and told him that his wife would bear a son.  This week we hear of Mary's pregnancy and how she goes to visit Elizabeth; these two women one pregnant in her old age, one pregnant in her youth, spend time together, three months in fact, time in which to absorb the amazing news they have been given. 

During advent we've also been reading some passages from the book of Isaiah.  Isaiah is one of the old Testament prophets, and he was speaking to people in exile. He had been speaking to them about the coming destruction, the coming invasion in response to their disregard of God and God's ways; the passages that we've heard the last two weeks and this week are passages of hope, passages about the future, a future that sounds impossible.  A future where deserts will bloom,  a future where the blind will see,  the lame will run,   the voiceless will sing.  A future where the weak are strengthened,  the feeble made firm,  the fearful become strong.  A future where God will save them.

This image of Isaiah is a joyous one,  of hope for a future, a future that does not yet exist.  In the same way that we have heard the past few weeks about a new kingdom where peace reigns between all of creation, where that which is life-giving dominates, a kingdom of peace and joy.  And it still sounds like the impossible dream. 

And here in the Luke reading we have another impossible situation. but I doubt that Mary ever dreamt that this situation would happen to her. And yet Mary finds herself being addressed by an Angel, and while visiting her cousin Elizabeth she sings this amazing song of praise. But it is not only a song of joy, it is a song of prophecy and a song of revolution. This song that we sing as a song of praise speaks about the way the world will be turned upside down by the child that she is carrying. She sings in praise of God, she acknowledges that God is doing great things in her life.

And then as happens in the prophets at times, she sings of the kingdom that is not yet here, but sings about it as if it has already happened. She sings of how God has brought down the powerful and lifted up the lowly, scattered the proud, filled the hungry, and come to the aid of God’s people as promised to Abraham.

There are a few things in this story of Mary that stand out for me. The first one as I said earlier is that God addresses her and asks her to do the seemingly impossible; God is not responding to her request. The other thing is that she put herself in a very difficult situation by saying yes. By saying yes, Mary is opening herself up for ridicule, a broken engagement and stoning. Yet we read in verse 38 : Mary says here I am the servant of the Lord, let it be with me according to your word.’  This young woman, put herself in danger to fulfil God's request of her. What seemed impossible, she was prepared to say yes to.

In my reading this week I came across a number of references that spoke of times when Mary’s song has been banned. It had been banned because it was considered politically subversive, dangerous to the political elite. This song reminded people that even the lowliest are part of God's creation and part of God’s working in the world. This song by a young unmarried pregnant girl, about as lowly as you can get in that society, this song that tells of God working in the world to raise the lowly, to bring down the mighty, was considered so radical that people were not allowed to sing it for fear it would encourage them and strengthen them to rebel against dictatorial governments.

To us that may seem incredible, but for Herod, and people like him today, control is all-important. And words like this of Isaiah and like Mary’s song give hope to broken people, to people oppressed by hunger, poverty and exploitation. The words of Isaiah and the song of Mary tell of God acting in the world, of a God concerned about the world, a God who is acting to bring a new world into being. Mary song of praise was banned, not because God was praised, but because it spoke of God acting and encouraging people to act to bring about a new kingdom, a kingdom of justice and righteousness.

This third Sunday in advent, the week we mark with the pink candle for joy, we remember again that we are in a time of waiting. And for many of us this is a busy time, a time of shopping and cleaning, of catching up with friends, a time of parties and carolling and travel, a busy tiring time for many.

And we also wait for the fulfilment of the kingdom that is yet to come. A kingdom that is present in the heart of God, a kingdom that Isaiah gives us fleeting glimpsed of, a kingdom we hear in Mary’s song, a kingdom we saw in the life of Jesus. We wait for a time when we can run and dance, when our hands are strong and capable, a time when we can sing, a time when we can hear, a time when we no longer fear, a time when our hunger and thirst is quenched.

There are so many things in our lives which is seen to control and define us. Our family situation, our income, our health. There are so many things in our lives that are life denying, things that prevent us from dancing and singing. Sometimes the images that we have of the new kingdom seem impossible. When we live with pain, anxiety, weak knees, limited eyesight. When life is like a desert and we wait for the rain and the flowers to come, it can all seem impossible.

Nothing is impossible with God, nothing that God asks of us is impossible for us. This story of a young woman in a difficult, dangerous, situation reminds us that even when God asks us to do something that seems impossible for us, that it is possible for us to say yes.