Called Forward by God’s Favor: Mary (Luke 1:26-45)

Introduction to Luke 1:26-45

You’ve heard the phrase, haven’t you? “That’s the favor of the Lord!” I’m just asking for God’s favor. It’s what the angel Gabriel called Mary –favored. And of all the nice words in our Christian dictionary, doesn’t favor sound nice? Like winning a door prize, getting what you want at Christmas, or being bumped up to first class. We hear the word “favor” and think of life getting easier. But Mary’s story? It doesn’t get easier; it gets complicated. It gets harder.

The angel shows up, says, “You’ve found favor with God,” and immediately her world turns upside down. She’s a young woman, engaged to Joseph, probably thinking of what gifts to put on the wedding registry as they get ready to have a nice, quiet life in Nazareth. But now, she’s carrying a child no one will believe is Joseph’s, sort of. And it’s not like she can explain it away at the mother’s group, “Oh, don’t worry everyone—it’s God’s baby.” You can imagine the looks she gets.

God’s favor doesn’t fit neatly into our lives. It’s not a reward for good behavior or a badge we wear to show how special we are. God favor may bring us rest and delight, but it can also bring complexity. God’s favor calls us to step forward—into uncertainty, into challenge, and into faith.

That’s what we are going to think about today through the life of our Lord’s mother.

The Angel Gabriel Talks to Mary

In the sixth month, that is, in the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, the same angel that appeared to Zechariah in the temple in Jerusalem appears to Mary in Nazareth.

His greeting is as strange as it is beautiful: “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” Mary is perplexed. Mary knew her Bible stories. People didn’t just go around saying that to one another. If Gabriel showed up in our church service and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you!” we’d likely respond, “And also with you.”

She’s an ordinary girl in a very ordinary town, living an ordinary life. Why would she garner any attention from anyone, let alone God?

Gabriel tells her she will conceive a child, not just any child, but the Son of God. 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.” Meaning, “Mary, you know all of those stories you heard about in Vacation Bible School and Sunday School about how God made certain promises to Abraham and then to David? Well, God is keeping those promises. You are the vessel through which all the blessings will flow. You will give birth to the Messiah.”

It's a message that defies explanation. Notice, that Gabriel doesn’t say, “Rejoice, for the Lord God has answered your prayer.” Mary doesn’t ask for this. This is not on her radar. She doesn’t apply for the position of mother of the Messiah. No, God’s favor finds her, and it calls her forward into a story far beyond what she could have imagined for herself or the world.

The magnitude of Mary’s faith is inspiring. She didn’t negotiate terms or complain. She took on the biggest assignment of her life with faith and abounding trust.

And isn’t that how God’s favor works? You are simply minding your own business and God’s inspiration and grace finds you and calls you into something greater, something harder, yes, but greater.

Mary could have protested like Moses, who told God, “You want me to be a preacher, but I don’t have the right tone of voice.” She could have tried to test the Lord like Gideon. God calls Gideon to deliver Israel from the Midianites and Gideon says, “But sir, how can I deliver Israel? My clan is the weakest one! And I am “the least in my family.” In other words, “God, I am personally inadequate and I am socially insignificant. Choose someone else who has more confidence, better social skills. I believe you’re perfect, God, but you are skating line here by picking me.

And of course, Mary could have curled up into a little ball of submission like Elijah and said, “I’m all alone in the world. It’s me against everyone. It’s always like this, God. It’s always a fight. It’s always difficult. Why do you do this to me?” Couldn’t you just let me live my ordinary life. I like the way things were.

Instead, Mary steps forward in faith.

It’s one thing when God graces you and fixes a problem. It’s another when the grace of God finds you and causes problems, disturbs the water, and calls you forward and asks something of you, you don’t think is plausible.

Let’s not romanticize this moment. Mary’s life doesn’t get easier after Gabriel’s visit. In fact, it gets a lot harder. Imagine the conversation she has with Joseph, “Sweetheart, I’ve got something to tell you and you might want to sit down.” And it must have been difficult to tell and more difficult to hear because, after that conversation, the Bible tells us that Joseph resolved in his heart to end the relationship, to walk away!

He is described as a righteous man, someone who sought to uphold the law, honor God, and always do the right thing. He’s not doing it to be mean. It’s too difficult to believe, but Joseph had his own encounter, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child is conceived by the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you (the dad named the child) are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:20-21). 

God’s favor doesn’t remove the hard stuff. It doesn’t make the path smooth. God’s favor doesn’t make difficult things less difficult, it gives us what we need to walk it. Gabriel tells Mary, “The Lord is with you.” That’s the promise that comes with God’s favor—not ease, but presence. God is with you.

Think about your own life. Have you ever been called to undertake something that felt impossible? It made you nervous, anxious, and unsure about yourself and God?  Maybe it was a ministry opportunity, a relationship that needed tending to, or a season of deep change. God’s favor doesn’t mean it will be easy, but that as God walks with you, it will be possible.

Remember, God promises us minimal protection, and maximum support. And the support is through presence. 

Nothing is Impossible with God

Gabriel takes an interesting tact next and it is something everyone in this sanctuary needs to hear. Mary is young. She says, “How can this be? I don’t understand. I’m a virgin, I’m young, and I’m not married.” And Gabriel says, “Look, God is going to be with you, and, I guess I’ll tell you something special to get my point across, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son and she is six months pregnant. Oh, you didn’t know that? Yes, yes, yes. His name is going to be John and right now, John is about 12 inches long, weighs about 2 pounds as he is in the womb. He’s got hair, eyebrows, and fingernails. Mary, did you know that at sixth month in the womb, the baby’s ears are fully developed? They can hear sounds outside the womb, like voices and music. Yes, we are fearfully and wonderfully made. You see, Mary, I stand in the presence of God and I’ve seen a lot, and this is what I know. It doesn’t matter how old you are or how young you are, nothing will be impossible with God. And nothing can stop God from using someone like you.”

Our impossible is not impossible with God. What feels like a wall, is merely a doorway to God. You may not understand how all of this is going to play out, but God will do it.

Mary’s response, “Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be according to your word.” Like the prophet Isaiah, “Here am I, send me.”

It’s not a begrudging yes and she’s not hedging. It’s not a reluctant surrender. It’s faith. Simple, quiet, and bold.

She doesn’t demand answers or negotiate terms. She opens her hands and her heart to God’s plan.

What if we responded like that? What if, instead of resisting God’s call, we prayed about, got clear about what we are to do, and then said, “Let it be”? Not because we understand or feel ready, but because we know and trust the faithfulness of God?

I wonder if this moment, this calling forward with favor and faith, crystallized for Mary and became a foundation of truth and faithfulness. I wonder if she passed on to Jesus the lessons she learned. I see a little of his mother and father Joseph in how we acts and responds to life. In the Garden of Gethsemane, on the hardest night of his life, knowing he would be betrayed and killed, filled with pain, anxiety, and the full throttle of human emotions, he knelt down and prayed, “God, if this cup of suffering can pass from me, let do so, but nevertheless, not my will but your will be done.” 

Like his momma, “Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be according to your word.”

Is God calling you forward? In service, kindness, reconciliation, or to some act that gets you out of your comfort zone?

How is God calling you to live more faithfully? You have God’s favor, so in what way is God calling you forward?

Closing

God’s favor doesn’t promise an easy life. It promises a meaningful life. It calls us forward—sometimes into the unknown, sometimes into difficulty—but it always brings with it the presence of God. That’s what we need most: not the absence of struggle, but the assurance that God is with us, walking with us through it all.

When God calls, it’s not always easy, but it’s always possible with the Lord’s help. Step forward with the same faith Mary had—open-handed, open-hearted, trusting in God’s faithfulness. And remember, nothing is impossible with God.

Move forward, you who are favored by the Lord.