After re-sharing a post yesterday on Facebook to encourage others to read a chapter of Luke per day until Christmas in order to know “what and why we celebrate Christmas” by the end of reading the 24 chapters, I decided it was a good idea to partake in that. Thus, today entailed chapter 1. Oh, how many times I have read Luke chapter 1. I was born in the church. I’ve grown up in the church. I stayed in church. Assuming I’ve read or heard Luke 1 at least each Christmas of my life, that means I have read Luke 1 at least 26 times in my life, and I’m sure it’s even been more than that. And yet, this December 2020, as I read it for at least the 26th time, God taught me something new from it, something I did not expect.
My first thought: Encounters with the divine are not as pleasant as you would expect; this thought stemmed from simply thinking on the two separate encounters that the Lord’s angel Gabriel partakes in with two individuals.
My following thought: Direct encounter with the divine may be scary, startling, and even troubling (read verses 12 and 19); and then the proceeding thought, But, how do you then know that they are truly from God? or perhaps better titled: “Signs of the Divine.”
And to me here were three signs of the divine based on these two divine encounters from Luke 1:
An encouragement to not fear will follow.
Note verses 13 and 20 both begin with “Do not fear.”
2. An indication of God’s nearness/attentiveness.
Also in verses 13 and 20, note these two reasons given not to fear: “Your prayer has been heard” (v 13); “You have found favor with God” (v 20). Both of these cause me to believe that God was indeed near these individuals, that He cared for them because He was attentive to them.
3. A Great Promise
See verses 13-25 for Zecheriah’s and verses 31-38 for Mary’s.
Now, these are my merely my personal observations and inferences, and therefore should not be taken into account too heavily. But, I do think they are worth thinking through. But now I come to the part of my reflection where I would really like to focus.
As I thought on these great promises to each Zecheriah and Mary, I re-read through the promise to Mary. And as I read through verses 32-33, these verses struck a chord of thought in me that went like this:
"He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord will give Him the throne of His father David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end." –Luke 1:32-33
I wonder as Mary watched her son be killed on a cross if she was confused by this original promise. I wonder if she wondered how she was watching her son’s life end without ever taking seat on a royal throne within his lifetime. I wonder if she was angry. I wonder if she was confused.
Because see what happens in verses 32-33 is that God’s angel Gabriel promises Mary a son that “will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord will give Him the throne of his father David. He will reign forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”
I thought on how exciting it must be to have one of God’s angels come to tell you that your child is going to be royally honored. Turner and I joke that if we get married and have kids, the plan is to breed professional athletes so that we can retire by age 45 and live off of their success for the rest of our life. I wonder at hearing that her son would have the throne of David and reign the house of Jacob, I wonder if Mary imagined she’d be in that similar parent situation, just rolling in the dough, that she herself would be able to have a slice of royalty pie.
Honestly, I was not expecting to read Luke 1, the start of the bright and beautiful Christmas story, the Christian's wonderful sign of hope, only to have my mind direct me to the morbid scene of the crucifixion, to think on death and disappointment, but here we are.
I continued reading the chapter and made notes on other verses as I went, but my mind kept wandering back to this thought, the thought of what Mary thought would happen based on God’s promise versus the reality of what really happened, still based on God’s promise.
I recently read through Isaiah, and this time through the prophetic book I was especially captivated by Isaiah 53. I remember thinking how prevalent of the theme of "Things are not as they appear" was in this chapter, how humanity could be so blind to the phenomenon of their Savior. And then now as this thought of Mary’s possible unmet expectation lingered in my mind, it was like these words from verses 32-33 were now being contrasted from words I remembered from Isaiah 53. And it went something like this:
“He will be great.” (Luke 1:32)
He had no form or splendor that we should look at Him. (Isaiah 53:2)
“He will be called Son of the Most High.” (Luke 1:32)
No appearance that we should desire Him. (Isaiah 53:2)
“And the Lord God will give Him the throne of His Father David.” (Luke 1:32)
He was despised and rejected by men...like one people turned away from. (Isaiah 53:3)
“He will reign over the house of Jacob.” (Luke 1:33)
He was despised, and we didn’t value Him. (Isaiah 53:3)
The eyes of God vs. The eyes of man.
The heart of God vs. The heart of man.
The ways of God vs. The ways of man.
“And His kingdom will have no end.” (Luke 1:33)
And who considered His fate? For he was cut off from the land of the living …(Isaiah 53:8)
Does this mean God contradicts His Word? Does it mean He does not stay true to His promises? Does it mean He can't be trusted?
That's not what this means. It just means it's not always what we expect it will be.
"A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps." –Proverbs 16:9
I remember as I had recently read Isaiah 53, thinking how things were not as they appeared. Here was the Son of God, one God counted as a king, and yet Isaiah 53 says that man counted him as a rebel … “yet He bore the sins of many and interceded for the rebels”(Isaiah 53:12) …
How can we begin to think that we could understand God’s ways when it is clear that we don’t see as He sees.
Mary waited 33 years.
“And your child will be blessed!” (Luke 1:42)
They made His grave with the wicked. (Isaiah 53:9)
I wonder if the praises Mary gave to God in verses 46-56, I wonder if she was thinking those same praises on the night of Calvary.
"And Mary said: 'My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior, because He has looked with favor on the humble condition of His slave. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed, because the Mighty One has done great things for me, and His name is holy. His mercy is from generation to generation on those who fear Him. He has done a mighty deed with His arm; He has scattered the proud because of the thoughts of their hearts; He has toppled the mighty from their thrones and exalted the lowly. He has satisfied the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. He has helped His servant Israel, mindful of His mercy, just as He spoke to our ancestors, to Abraham and his descendants forever. –Luke 1:46-55
The path to the fulfilled promise may not be as dreamy as the promise itself. But it doesn’t mean that the Lord won’t provide.
I’m sure during that dark night at Golgatha, Mary was confused, confused on how this lined up with the conversation she had had with Gabriel 33 years ago. In fact, it’s quite possible that there were multiple doubts in this regard over the years, perhaps this was the moment of ultimate hopelessness to those promises ever coming true as Mary watched her son die a shameful death with no sign of his kingship, except for that which was on display merely to mock.
I mean think about it, she was promised that her son would be given the throne of David and reign over the house of Jacob, but here at her son’s death, there in front of her was a sign that read, "King of the Jews," but it was put there only to mock the very idea of him holding that position of authority and power and honor. Did she wonder if God was doing that just to mock her for believing He would ever keep that initial promise? Because I will tell you that I am sure that would be at least one of the thoughts going through my mind if I was her.
As someone who is confused by how God is currently working, someone who’s struggling to see how things line up with the original ways I believed God was leading, someone who still has problems fully trusting that God’s guidance when things don’t seem play out how I had expected and honestly how I hoped they would go. In these circumstances, I still catch myself thinking, “Is God just trying to trick me?” The doubt. The mind games. The distrust that creeps in.
But really what has even gotten me to this point is that this year things have not really gone the way I wanted them to go. They have not moved the way I expected them to move. They haven't changed the way I would like them to change. The plans haven't manifested as I anticipated they would manifest. And thus they make me question if God dropped the ball. But, the real question is, "Am I okay with the way God carries out His plans, even when it doesn't line up with how I want Him to carry them out?" And the answer is no! It is a resounding no! No, I actually don't want God to do it differently than how I have it imagined that it will go, because what if He messes it up?! What if He misses out a very integral piece? What if it doesn't turn out as beautiful as I have it pictured in my head?! ... And that is the real problem. That is the daily struggle I am currently having: bringing myself to the point of surrender before the Lord to say, "Lord, have Your way."
Back to Mary. Back to the cross:
I’m sure her hope was deferred. It seemed the promises made to her were indeed empty.
But three days later. Three days later.
“And we sing. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.”
I don’t know if God made it all clear to Mary even those three days later, or even in the rest of her lifetime, I don’t know if He made it clear to her that her son had indeed become great, that he had indeed been given the throne of David, and that he would now reign over the house of Jacob forever because He Himself was not ETERNAL.
Regardless, I’m sure it was not at all what Mary expected when she first received that sweet and special promise from Gabriel those 33 years earlier. She also probably didn’t expect to have her baby in a barn and possibly couldn’t fathom why God hadn’t provided this grand palace with a parade and trumpet entrance awaiting her labor. But, God still provided. Not how she expected. Not how we expected.
He made His Son great and majestic and a hero, but what we saw of Him didn’t seem great to us. It wasn’t what we expected. And yet, He has freely given us access to all we have ever wanted.
Just as Mary was encouraged by the story of her cousin Elizabeth in the miracles of God, Mary’s story encourages me to keep trusting God even when things don’t turn out as I expect, even when His promises are carried out in a manner contrary to how I had imagined. And it’s also remembering that at the end of the day, it’s not about me, it’s about advancing the kingdom of God. But the overwhelming truth is that God still cares for us sufficiently while simultaneously advancing His kingdom, even if it’s not how I would expect.
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” –Proverbs 13:12
“‘She who has believed is blessed because what was spoken to her by the Lord will be fulfilled.’” –Luke 1:45
This may not seem like the brightest of stories you hear surrounding Christmas, but I think many have experienced the disappointments of 2020, and are continuing to experience them. So, I guess with that, I hope this reflection on Luke 1 brings you the hope that it may not be what you expect, but if submitted to the Lord, it will not be without great worth. And ultimately, that promise that Gabriel gave to Mary about her son becoming great, becoming the Son of the Most High, and having a kingdom without end, that promise has indeed come true. Maybe not how she expected. But nevertheless, it came true. And the sweetest part is that it is a fulfilled promise that directly affects us as well. I love how Isaiah 53:12 says, “He was counted as the rebels; yet He bore the sin of many and interceded for the rebels.” We are those rebels! And because of the way Jesus’ life and death and resurrection panned out, He does intercede for us and allows us to be forgiven by God and allows us to be in relation to God, and allows us to have eternal life even after this earthly life. Mary’s story of that promise from Gabriel is not only an encouragement to us as we navigate trusting God’s ways in our lives, Mary’s story of that promise from Gabriel is the Gospel for our very lives.
Moreover, this reflection may have journeyed through some thoughts on death and doubt and disappointment, but the Good News is that the scene on Calvary was not the end. That story ended in hope, which gives so much more meaning and value to the hope we find in the Christmas story. So, Merry Christmas, and may you find some fresh hope in the Christmas story this year.
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