Luke 1:26-38 26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." 29 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30 The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 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. 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." 34 Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" 35 The angel said to her, "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. 36 And now, your relative
That’s just the beginning. Not only will a barren woman conceive, but a virgin will conceive. This sounds impossible. Sure, it’s a nice story to tell to kids before you tell them about the manger scene, but when it comes right down to the truth, the historicity, the down-and-dirty reality, many of us don’t quite buy it. It seems impossible. The angel’s words are shocking in the face of this impossibility. “Nothing will be impossible with God.”
As we know, this impossible virgin conception is just the start of an impossible life. Jesus healed the sick, fed the multitudes, cast out demons, and promised to turn the world upside down. What he did sounds impossible. But once again the angel’s words ring in our ears. “Nothing will be impossible with God.”
Finally, his impossible actions catch up with him. Jesus is crucified. And then, impossibility of impossibilities, he is raised from the dead. This man with the impossible beginning conquers death itself. It sounds too good to be true, but “nothing will be impossible with God.”
As we prepare for the coming of Jesus this Advent season, there are impossible things that loom up ahead of us as well. We want to cleanse our hearts and make room for our Lord, but all we can think about is that we only have three weeks to get all those papers and sermons done before Christmas vacation. We want to look with hope towards Christ’s birth, but all we can think about is how empty Christmas with the family is going to seem since a loved one died this past year. We want to guide our field ed congregations, families, or students towards a more meaningful Advent celebration, but when we read in the newspaper about an unarmed man being shot 50 times or more than 400 people dying in a typhoon in the Philippines, it is hard for us to find meaning in much of anything. It all seems impossible.
But if we think it seems impossible, we need the word that Luke offers us today. “Nothing will be impossible with God.” The same Jesus whose impossible conception is announced to Mary is the Jesus who is able to take us in our impossible cynicism and give us true hope that the world will be turned around. The despair that threatens to overtake us will never get the last word, because “nothing will be impossible with God.” This promise is given in the future tense, because as God worked a miracle in the past, so God will continue to work miracles in your life, in my life, and in all of creation until everything is transformed. This is a promise so wild that it seems impossible. But “nothing will be impossible with God.”
Isaiah tells us that “the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.” The light of Christ may seem so bright that it could blind you with its impossibility, but open your eyes! “Nothing will be impossible with God.” To paraphrase Mary, “Here we are, the servants of the Lord; let it be with us according to God’s word.”
