An Inconvenient Grace
Every children’s Christmas play has its angels. And that only makes sense. In the Bible, angels play a major role in the story of Christ’s birth. It’s an angel who informs Mary she’s about to be a mom. It’s an angel who assures Joseph that, in spite of her pregnancy, his fiancé has been faithful. And it’s an angel—accompanied by an angelic choir—who announces Christ’s birth to shepherds tending their flocks by night.
In the three weeks between now and Christmas, we’ll reflect on each of these angelic visits. As God’s messengers, what did each angel come to say? Who did they say it to? Most important, how does their message apply to you and me today?
We begin with an angel named Gabriel. God sent Gabriel to deliver a message to Mary. So, who was Mary? From a this-world perspective we can only say that she was “common”. Though strong in faith, she hailed from Nazareth—a backwater Galilean village with a bad reputation among the religious purists of the day. It’s almost certain she was a teenager—a virgin engaged to be married to a descendant of King David. Was Mary attractive or plain? The Bible doesn’t say. Either way, it’s Gabriel himself who reveals Mary’s greatest attribute. Addressing her in Luke 1:28-30 the angel announces, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you! …Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.”
So how did Mary find favor with God? Did Mary earn favor with God? Was the Lord with Mary because she was such a “good person”? The Bible says no. While some believe Mary was sinless, the thought betrays her own testimony in Luke 1:46-47. There she acknowledges her own spiritual need in her song of praise, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior…”
And so, we see that the favor Gabriel assigns to Mary is not rooted in personal righteousness. God’s favor is a gift offered to all. Paul affirms this in Ephesians 1:6 when he describes God’s “glorious grace” using the same Greek wording found here in Luke 1:28. In other words, the “favor” Gabriel refers to is the favor of saving grace!
Can I get personal? If Gabriel came to you today, would he call you “favored one”? Could he rightly proclaim, “The Lord is with you”? In other words, have you experienced God’s saving grace? It’s the grace that comes by means of repentance and faith in Jesus who died on the cross to pay our sin penalty and rose from the grave to share his life with us.
If so, may I remind you of what God’s saving grace meant for Mary in regard to her earthly life. In this world, being favored in Christ will mean being inconvenienced by Christ.
Gabriel’s visit changed everything for Mary. Read Luke 1:26-38. You’ll see it. While glorious, God’s favor wasn’t easy for Mary. Not in this world. For Mary, God’s favor meant being pregnant out of wedlock. Her reputation was tarnished. Her engagement to Joseph threatened. When she came to term, God’s favor meant delivering her firstborn in an animal stall—then fleeing to Egypt under the threat of death. Later, God’s favor meant hearing her sinless son wrongly condemned and watching him die an excruciating death.
Of course, on the day of Gabriel’s visit, Mary could not have anticipated every trial God’s favor would bring. Nonetheless, convinced of his faithfulness, she confidently replied, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).
As sinners saved by God’s grace can we not say the same knowing full well “that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18)?
Lord, may we trust you like Mary trusted and rejoice in the “inconveniences” we encounter in this world because of the favor you’ve bestowed on us in Christ.