A sermon by: The Rev. Gene Tucker given at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, IL; Sunday, December 21, 2008
II Samuel 7: 4, 8 – 16; Psalm 132: 8 – 15; Romans 16: 25 – 27; Luke 1: 26 – 38
Ever think about how much of our lives have to do with being full or being empty?
For example, consider the following: we are either full to the brim after a Thanksgiving meal, or empty with hunger. We are filled with joy, or drained (emptied) with sorrow. We have a full gas tank in our cars, or are running on empty. (I could go on to cite many other examples.) A good deal of the business of daily living has to do with being full, being empty, or somewhere in between the two.
All of these things are connected by the thing that holds – or doesn’t hold – whatever it is we’re thinking of: a meal, our hearts, or gasoline (to tie these three items to the examples cited in the previous paragraph), that is, a vessel.
So, let’s turn our attention to today’s Gospel, the account of the annunciation of the angel Gabriel to the Blessed Virgin Mary, for Mary is the chosen vessel of the Lord, the one chosen by God to be the bearer[1] of His Son, Jesus Christ.
The first thing we might consider as we look at this very familiar account (which most of us could probably recite by heart, or could paraphrase very well) is Mary’s situation and the possible, very human, responses to Gabriel’s announcement….So, let’s begin there. We’ll cast all of these responses in terms of her fullness (her ability) or emptiness (her lack of will or lack of power) with regard to God’s invitation.
An empty vessel: In earthly terms, Mary has little to offer Gabriel, or God….she is young, but living in a society that valued age, she is female in a culture where men called the shots. She is poor in a culture where wealth and power meant a lot. Moreover, she is single: notice her reaction to Gabriel’s message….she says, “How shall this be, since I have no husband?” Mary is pretty empty, pretty powerless. She lacks the ability to respond to this announcement of God’s plans for her. Perhaps she might have considered her low condition (young, female and poor), and might have wondered how a son born to her could inherit King David’s throne. Though Luke doesn’t tell us, such thoughts aren’t beyond the realm of possibility for Mary to have pondered.
A vessel which is already full: But if Mary was poor and powerless in many respects, yet it’s probably safe to assume that she did have plans for her life. I think we’re on safe ground if we surmise that Mary’s fondest hope would have been that she would be a mother to children, perhaps lots of them. In the culture and in the time in which she lived, that was a woman’s career choice – most often the only career choice that was open to them. So, perhaps when Gabriel’s words struck her ear, she might well have thought about the sort of future she had planned on to this point in her life. Though Luke doesn’t tell us, maybe she might well have wondered how Gabriel’s message fit with the hopes and dreams she had for her life – for we all have those sorts of hopes and dreams for our own lives. Being human, perhaps Mary might have been tempted to silently respond, “Sorry, your plan doesn’t fit with my plan for my life. My heart and mind is already pretty full with those plans. I don’t have room for your plans for my life.” Again, Luke doesn’t tell us Mary’s reaction, other than to record her words, “How shall this be, since I have no husband?”
An empty and unworthy vessel: Though there’s no way to know for sure, perhaps Mary felt unworthy to take up her role in God’s plans as Gabriel lays them out to her. Maybe she might have reacted to this grand design of God by thinking to herself, “If this child which is to be born is to inherit King David’s throne, then God ought to get Himself another candidate, someone who’s connected to the rich and powerful of the nation. I am unworthy of such a calling because I am unable to deliver that sort of a background.” Again, Luke doesn’t tell us. We come to this consideration only out of our shared humanity with Mary, for that might well be how we would react in similar circumstances. Put in other words, this reaction essentially says, “My vessel has a hole in it, it is incapable of holding the gift you are offering me.”
But how does Mary react? She simply says, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”
By her reaction, she is essentially holding out the vessel of her life. She is saying, “I am willing to be the vessel, the means, by which God’s plan unfolds.”
Notice that she doesn’t ask for all the nitty-gritty details of the plan. Nor does she offer doubt (though she does question the means by which the plan will unfold).
I think, as I reflect on this very familiar text, that the depth of faith that is evident in Mary’s reaction flattens out….for the text, whose story is so familiar to us, tends to read like a history book. But put ourselves in the same situation, and the drama comes to life! Mary’s response demonstrates great faith, for the events that would now unfold through her would bring risk, danger and loneliness: we can say these things because of the very traditional, honor-and-shame culture in which Mary lived 2,000 years ago….to be pregnant without being married carried with it the risk of shame, the loneliness of being shunned, or even the danger of being driven out of the community in Nazareth where she lived, or worse.
Yet Mary’s reaction shows her deep faith and willingness to follow God’s call and God’s plan for her life.
Mary’s response makes possible the coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Mary’s faith and faithfulness, God’s grace is poured out on all of us. Truly, Mary’s cup overflows (to quote Psalm 23: 5), and we are the beneficiaries, for the grace of God is made known in the coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Most High. The blessings transcend the events of the first century, for they extend into the 21st century, and to the end of time itself.
And so, we, in our time, in our culture, and in our lives, are also called to be vessels of God’s grace. We are called to be “God-bearers”, by being God’s chosen vessels, carriers of God’s grace. For we receive the blessings which overflow from Mary’s faithfulness, her Son, Jesus Christ. We are called, like Mary, to respond to God’s limitless grace.
How will we respond?
Being human, we could respond in some of the ways humans tend to respond, ways we considered earlier in this sermon. We could say to God:
- I’m an empty vessel: “I can’t follow your call and your purposes for my life, God, for I lack the means, the will, the power, and the resources to do so.” This response hold out an empty vessel to God.
- My agenda (vessel) is already full: “I’ve got plans for my life, God, and what you’re proposing doesn’t fit into those plans.” So, we put our hands over the vessel of our hearts and our minds, and close them both to God’s call.
- I’m an unworthy vessel: “You can’t mean me!” we say. “I am absolutely unworthy to do your will, God, for I am unable to do the things I think you are calling me to do. Get yourself another candidate, a better one,” we say.
But Mary’s example, Mary’s “yes!” to God, is our model. For we, like her, are called to offer the vessel God has made us to be, to offer it back to Him. We are called to simply hold the vessel of our lives and our abilities out there, and to allow God’s grace to fill them. For God’s grace goes beyond our mere human abilities, and God’s grace will accomplish that which He purposes (see Isaiah 55: 11), hopefully with our cooperation, but, if not, then without us, but through someone else.
But if we respond and offer ourselves to be vessels of God’s grace, then God’s grace is made known in Jesus Christ, God’s grace flows from God the Father through God the Son (made man by the cooperation of the Blessed Virgin Mary), to us, and then to others.
May our response stand in faithfulness with Mary, as we say, “Yes!” to God’s call, “We are the servants of the Lord. Be it to us according to your will, Lord.”
[1] The technical term for Mary’s role as God-bearer is "Theotokos."
