Ordinary People, Extraordinary Events
There was once a television program called “Mission Impossible.” If you are too young to remember the television show, you may have seen one of the movies by the same name, starring Tom Cruise. The television show always began with a tape recorded message that described the impossible mission… and that tape recorded message always began, “Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is…” Given that tape recorders had not been invented in first century Palestine, it seems reasonable to accept that an angel would have been sent to deliver the message instead. The message that the angel delivered that day had the same three components that you could find in any episode of the television show. Explicitly stated or sometimes implied were the words “You have been chosen…” the words that indicated that the gifts that Mary possessed… that God had given to her… were the right ones to accomplish the task. Then, there was a description of what was to occur… the content of the mission itself… the birth of the long awaited Messiah. And finally, there was the assurance that there would be a team that would work with her in the accomplishment of this great mission and the identity of those who were already part of the plan… the Holy Spirit… her cousin Elizabeth… and so on.
What is important for us to consider today is the opening phrase: “Your mission, should you choose to accept it.” What would happen to our favorite Christmas story if Mary, on the day that the Angel Gabriel visited her, decided that this was not a mission she wanted to accept? What would happen to Bethlehem… the stable… the shepherds… the angels … the wisemen… if Mary had said, “No, thanks” to God? Fortunately, we do not have to consider that alternative, for Mary’s closing words, reported in our sermon text today, were simply, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”
One of the programs they showed on television this week was Biography’s People of the Year 2005. While I was cleaning the house and trying to get Julian’s room ready for him, I only caught glimpses of the program during the two hours that it aired, but some of the people they chose caused me to pause and think. Two people who were mentioned were former Presidents Clinton and Bush. These two statesmen teamed up to draw the world’s attention to some of the major natural disasters of 2005… like Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the earthquake in Pakistan. Now, in some ways, we expect our presidents (past and present) to take advantage of photo opportunities and their residual celebrity to draw attention to things that are important to them. President Carter did that for Habitat for Humanity after he left the presidency. Princess Diana did it for land mines. What was extraordinary, in the case of Clinton and Bush, was that these two politicians from opposite sides of the fence joined forces to focus our attention to some of the world’s critical humanitarian needs. Did they have to do so? No. They did not have to do so. They could have stayed at home… slept late…indulged in their own self-centered pleasures. Their generous pension and perks basically allow them to do whatever they would like to do for the remainder of their natural lives. No one would have criticized them for staying out of it. But they both chose not to do so.
Two others who have used their celebrity to bring the world’s attention to critical issues today are Hollywood’s Angelina Jolie and U2’s Bono. These two celebrity superstars have deliberately sought out opportunities to effect change in the world by using their celebrity… and their wealth… to draw our attention to social and political issues that are creating significant human suffering. They do not have to do this. They could just entertain us… and, perhaps, appear at one of the many fundraising opportunities that celebrities endorse… strictly for the attention and publicity that those fundraisers generate. But these two have gone beyond “Live Aid” or being a token spokesperson for the Red Cross to demonstrate ways in which we can get involved to influence public opinion and political outcomes for those who have no power… no voice… and no hope for peace and prosperity. It is true that we tend to think more about Angelina Jolie’s love life than about her efforts to improve the living conditions of orphans and children in war-torn countries, but she has done enough to convince me that she is not just a frivolous decorative sidelight. Her extensive travels as a United Nations spokesperson, her own children adopted from Southeast Asia and Africa, like Bono’s meetings with various heads of state, have had a positive influence on public opinion and political effort in those areas.
These are individuals who have been recognized for the ways in which they have stepped forward to do something they did not have to do… something that would make the world a better place in which to live. They live in extraordinary times… and have been involved in some extraordinary events, but they are, basically, ordinary people. It may be hard for us to identify with them, for their celebrity status preceded their humanitarian efforts. But there were others whose lives began a little more humbly than these… but whose efforts to change lives has had such an impact on the world that celebrity followed. Do you remember Lenny Skutnik? He was the young man who jumped into the frigid Potomac River on January 13, 1982, to rescue a woman who was in danger of drowning in the Air Florida airline crash. Why would he risk his own life in an attempt to save the life of a total stranger?
Another individual who comes to mind is Lech Walesa, the feisty, mustachioed leader of the Solidarity movement in Gdansk who stood up to the oppressive Communist government of Poland to lead the Poles out of communism and later became their president. Another is Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who led a mass struggle for racial equality that changed the face of civil rights in this country forever. Still another is Mohandas Ghandi, whose philosophy of nonviolence and passion for independence began a drive for freedom that doomed colonialism in India and Africa. And then there was Pope John Paul II. A tireless moral voice in a secular age, he reminded humankind of the worth of individuals in the modern world, beginning with his stand against the Nazis during World War II.
Who were these people? Were they human beings to whom God had given an unusual amount of intellect… physical strength… or superhuman powers? No. Some may have had the fortune of being born into families with a greater share of resources, but most were not. Lenny Skutnik was a mechanic. Lech Walesa was an electrician. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the son of a Baptist preacher. Pope John Paul II was a poor parish priest in Poland. They all had to work for a living. But at some point in each of their lives, they were put into situations where they had to make a choice… and the choices they made changed their lives. They were ordinary people…who took part in extraordinary events… and because they did not walk away from the burden of responsibility that lay before them… because they were willing to perform a task that others would not undertake… or even consider… they changed the course of history… and they changed us.
Mary was an ordinary peasant girl from Palestine. There was nothing that distinguished her from others of her generation. In fact, what strikes us as we read this story is how ordinary she is… and how ordinary her life was… until the day the Angel Gabriel came. Mary was probably a teenager. Most women of her time became married in their early teens. She could trace her lineage back to King David, but she, herself, was not a princess… nor was she wealthy. Her fiancé was a carpenter, but he, too, was just an ordinary peasant. There was nothing to indicate, to an outsider, that this young woman would participate in an event that would change the course of history. Then came that fateful day and the angel’s visit.
“You have been chosen…” How many times… in how many different ways… have we heard these words before? “You have been chosen…” Abraham was a farmer… Joseph was a slave and a prisoner… Amos, Moses, and David were shepherds… Peter was a fisherman… Paul was a tent maker… ordinary people… working class people… not wealthy… not educated… not elite… not celebrities… just ordinary people. God uses ordinary people to accomplish great things. Why? Why does God choose ordinary people to participate in extraordinary events? God chooses ordinary people to participate in extraordinary events so that God’s glory will be fully revealed to all who hear the story… so that all those who witness these events may testify to the greatness of the miracle… and the awesome power of God. Do you remember the sermon that Peter preached on the day of Pentecost? Peter… the uneducated fisherman from Galilee … stood up and preached to a crowd of people in the streets of Jerusalem and his words were so powerful that three thousand (3,000) new believers were baptized on that day. Mission Impossible? I think so. Without the power of Holy Spirit on that day, the glory of God would not have been revealed in Peter’s actions. But Peter knew that he wasn’t alone and that God would give him the words to say.
On the day that the Angel Gabriel came to Mary, Mary must have been blown away by the enormity of the task that lay ahead of her… giving birth to and raising a child who was the son of God… the Messiah. I wonder how many times in the weeks and months that followed the angel’s visit, Mary just wished she could be an ordinary peasant girl again… an ordinary peasant girl with an ordinary fiancé living quietly in a tiny village. I wonder if she ever wanted it all to just go away. We will never know. What we do know is this: When the time came for her to become a part of the big picture, she said, “Yes.” When the Angel Gabriel said, “You have been chosen…” Mary… trusting in God’s power and God’s love… trusting that God would be with her… said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word."
We, too, have choices to make, for God has a plan for each one of us. When we hear God’s call, each of us might ask, as Mary did, “How can this be?” For the task that is laid before us might seem like “Mission Impossible” to us. But then the words that the Angel Gabriel said to Mary will whisper in our ears as well, “Nothing will be impossible with God.” For we are never alone and there is always a team that works with us to accomplish any task that God puts before us. God, himself, will be with us. The only requirement, when we hear the words, “Your mission, should you choose to accept it…” is to say, as Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word" … and then to wait for great things to happen. Amen. Luke 1:26-38