Impossible Possibilities
Perhaps, I should have preached a sermon series called “Conversations with an Angel,” for there are so many of them that are part of the Christmas story. This is one of the first ones, of course – Mary’s conversation with the Angel Gabriel. But by the time this conversation takes place, Zechariah has already had a conversation with an angel in the Holy of Holies of the Temple. But then, he couldn’t tell anyone about it, for the angel had taken away his power of speech. Of course, I suppose a conversation with an angel can leave a person speechless... or dumbfounded. And even today, we tend to question the sanity of those who claim to have such conversations. But on that particular Christmas, two thousand years ago, those conversations almost seemed commonplace. There was the conversation an angel had with Zechariah to tell him of John’s birth… the conversation an angel had with Mary to tell her of Jesus’ birth… the conversation an angel had with Joseph to convince him not to divorce Mary… then, there was the conversation that the host of angels had with the shepherds on the hillside… and the conversation an angel had with the Wise Men to tell them to return to their own country by another route… another conversation an angel had with Joseph, this time telling him to flee to Egypt with Mary and the baby… and yet another conversation an angel had with Joseph, this time telling him to return to Israel.
At the time of our story this morning, it will be another three months before the baby John is born and Zechariah can tell the world what happened in the Temple six months earlier. What an amazing pregnancy that must have been… with Elizabeth carrying the child she has always wanted… the pregnancy she has prayed for and cried about… the baby that she (and everyone else) was convinced she would never have… and a husband who couldn’t talk! Now, it is Mary’s turn… though she didn’t know about her elderly cousin, Elizabeth, until the Angel Gabriel told her. I wonder what kind of a reception Mary got when she told her parents the next day that a) she was pregnant – scandal of all scandals! – and b) her old, barren cousin Elizabeth was also pregnant. I am convinced that Mary climbed on the donkey and rode to Elizabeth’s house more to check out the angel’s story than to visit her elderly cousin. After all, if they were so close, why would she not have known what was going on before the angel told her?
Maybe Mary didn’t tell Mom and Dad about the angel until after that trip to see Elizabeth. After all, stories about conversations with angels are kind of like UFO sightings. I’m sure it is easier to tell your own tale, if you can back it up with corroborating evidence from someone else. It’s amazing, but two UFO stories are easier to believe than just one. One impossible possibility is, frankly, impossible… but two impossible possibilities somehow make both stories more believable. And by the time the sixth or seventh one rolls around, no one is amazed any more… either by UFO sightings or conversations with angels. Impossible possibilities have become the norm! Think about it: when the first Joseph was carried off to Egypt and his brothers later traveled to Egypt for food, you had this sense that going to Egypt was a major journey that took a long time and involved a lot of planning and effort. But when Mary’s husband, Joseph makes that same journey with his wife and a brand new baby, the journey is reduced to one sentence. It’s no big deal. And why does he make the journey? Because an angel told him to do so… period. No questions asked. He just does it. It’s amazing!
But let’s go back. It is still early days yet… and those who are visited by angels are still asking lots of questions. In fact, Zechariah tried to argue with the angel, which is probably why he was silenced. Mary, for her part, was puzzled and asked how such a thing was possible… but then she accepted the angel’s words with the response that later got her canonized as a saint: “Here am I, the servant of the Lord. Let it be with me according to your word.” How would you or I react to a conversation with an angel, I wonder. It probably would depend upon whether it was the first conversation or the sixth one. And I’m not sure I would have the courage to tell anyone about it until later… until the facts were evident. I’m sure several people saw the lights in the sky above Stephenville last January and just decided to take an aspirin and go back to bed without saying a word to anyone. The second time the lights appeared, more than fifty people reported them. Amazing! The impossible possibilities become possible.
What do you believe is possible? And how does your response reflect your belief? Did Zechariah argue with the angel because he was older… wiser… more experienced … and, therefore, more skeptical? Did Mary say “Here I am… let it be” because she was younger… more innocent… more trusting… and, therefore, more gullible? And, in the end, did it matter what their response was? Either way, God had decided to act in this place… at this time… with these people… and events unfolded in history despite Zechariah’s skepticism… or Mary’s acceptance. God was not waiting for any human being to give his or her approval.
When I met with my pastors’ group in Weatherford last week, I confessed to them that, the longer I stay in one place, the more my expectations of God are limited by what the people around me believe is possible… to the point that, I will not even ask God for things that I do not expect God to do… that those around me do not believe God will do. I don’t pray for impossible possibilities any longer. That is a hard thing for your pastor to confess, but that confession has also opened the door for change. As Sylma and I have prayed together this week – sometimes just the two of us and sometimes with others – we have prayed that the power of God will be unleashed in this place and through our ministry. Sometimes, we have prayed for specific things. Other times, we have simply prayed for God to do whatever God wants to do… with us… with this church… and with our ministry here. We have already been amazed at the results.
Many decades ago, the author J.B. Philips published a book entitled, “Your God is Too Small.” I will admit that it has been awhile since I have read that book, but, perhaps, it is time for me to read it again. In that book, J.B. Philips argues that our knowledge of how things work limits our belief of what is possible. We put God in a box… the box of what we know… of what we believe is possible… the box of what fits current scientific data. We limit the God we confess to be omnipotent… omniscient… and omnipresent. One of us is lying: either God is the God that we confess God to be… or God is simply the "Resident Policeman," the "Grand Old Man," the "Meek-and-Mild" baby-servant or the "Managing Director" we met when we were in Sunday School. Which is it?
The truth is that our hearts long for the omnipotent… omniscient… omnipresent God of our confession, but our minds believe in the God that is in the box of what we can comprehend. The result is that our faith is weak… and there is a restlessness in our souls. We simply don’t believe that the “Great Adventure” that Mary had… that Elizabeth had… will happen to us… or even to someone in our town. And the longer we live, the more impossibilities we have in our lives. That is why Zechariah was so skeptical. He knew that what the angel was talking about was impossible. He had lived long enough to know. What about us? What are we skeptical about? Do we truly believe that there can be peace in the world… even though we pray for it? Do we believe that our church can reach the “unchurched” people in Stephenville? Do we believe that we can restore broken relationships in our own lives… or heal past hurts with others? Do we believe that someone we know can have a strong relationship with Jesus Christ? Do we believe that some troubled person we know can overcome an addiction… or save their marriage… or be healed of their disability?
The “Self-fulfilling Prophesy” is real… for we do act on our beliefs. Our actions reflect what we believe is possible. If we do not believe that something is possible, we make decisions that limit our own actions and our opportunities… making the impossible truly impossible. What would happen if we stepped out in faith to do the very things that today we believe are impossible? How many doors would open if we simply knocked… instead of passing them by because we believe that they won’t open? How many windows in your soul have dark curtains pulled across them because you – yourself – have kept those windows closed and those curtains drawn?
The God we serve is a God of possibilities… even of impossible possibilities! How else could a virgin conceive… a barren older woman give birth… a god become incarnate… a carpenter become a king? What is the impossibility in your life… and when did you last give God the freedom to act on it… without restricting God’s actions by your own unbelief? Christmas is about impossible possibilities. It is about a baby being born in a manger who would save the world from itself. It’s about God coming to us… to be with us. It is about you and me having strength for today… and hope for tomorrow. It’s about us… opening up the windows of our souls to the possibility of impossible possibilities… and it all starts with a conversation with an angel. Have you had one today? Maybe you should. Amen.
Luke 1:26-38