Fulfillment
Sermon
Living Between the Advents
Preaching Advent in Year B
Object:
The closer Christmas gets the more the tension builds. Can't you feel it? When Christmas Eve arrives the children will be nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of presents dance in their heads. And parents will find their sleep very hard, as they think about the charges on their credit cards. Yes, it is coming. Soon there will be no shopping days left before Christmas; then, the preliminaries will be over and the main event will arrive.
So will the anticipation of our culture be fulfilled. More importantly, however, is the fact that the anticipation of the church will be fulfilled, too. For weeks now we have observed this season of Advent, the time of preparation for the coming of Christ in the manger of Bethlehem, and the time of preparation for his future coming in power. We will continue, I suppose, to await the Second Advent, but the time for the celebration of the first one is here. We are on the edge of our seats, waiting for something to happen.
Mary was waiting for something to happen, too. She was betrothed, which means that she had entered into a legal marriage arrangement, but the relationship had not been consummated. So she was waiting for the marriage to become "official," for her life as "Mrs. Joseph" to begin. Many of you know what that is like, making all the arrangements, preparing the house, saving the money. It was an exciting time for Mary, this time of anticipation, this time of awaiting fulfillment.
Yes, Mary was waiting, she was anticipating. And something indeed happened, but it was not that for which she was waiting -- it was something else altogether. Because into her everyday expectations, into her everyday hopes, into her everyday dreams, God came! And when God comes, something happens. And oh, did something happen in the life of Mary! And oh, did something happen in the life of the world!
So in the midst of her anticipation Mary experienced fulfillment from God. We can learn some things about the fulfillment of our hopes from her experience.
Fulfillment Comes Where We Are (vv. 26-30)
When Gabriel came to Mary he came to her where she was and how she was. He was a messenger from heaven who came to Mary on earth in her village of Nazareth. Mary is now in heaven enjoying God's ultimate fulfillment, but at this point in her life, she did not have to go to heaven to find fulfillment; heaven came to her. We can look forward to the great events of the future, and we should: the event of Christ's Second Coming, the event of our entry into the celestial beauties of heaven, the event of the resurrection -- but we can also find great fulfillment here and now. Mary did, and we can, too, because of the event that brought her fulfillment: Christmas!
Fulfillment not only comes to us in our physical location, it also comes to us in our personal location. It comes to us where we are as people. He comes to us in his grace and in our weakness. The angel said to Mary, "You have found favor with God" (v. 30). Earlier he had called her "favored one" (v. 28). The word "favor" is the word "grace." God came to Mary just like she was. He comes to us just like we are, wherever we are.
Paul Tillich has told of some Jews who lived for a time in a grave in a Polish cemetery. There they found a place where they could escape the Nazi gas chambers. A woman gave birth to a baby in that grave, assisted by an elderly grave digger. When the baby was born, the grave digger prayed, "Great God, hast Thou finally sent the Messiah to us? For who else than the Messiah himself can be born in a grave?"1 Commenting on that story, Welton Gaddy said, "Well, that child was not the Messiah, but an important point about the Messiah had been made. Christ comes to us in the depths -- at our worst times, in our weakest moments. Christ is born."2
Yes, Christ comes to us in the depths, if that is where we are. He comes to us in the heights, if that is where we are. No matter where we are, there he comes. His coming is an act of grace.
Fulfillment Comes In The Promises Of God (vv. 31-33)
When the angel came to Mary, he came to tell her something, and when he spoke to her, he spoke the language of promise. The words he spoke to Mary stand in the tradition of Old Testament messianic prophecies.3 For centuries the Hebrew people had received promises from God that one day a Messiah would come and would deliver God's people from all their oppression. There was no expectation, however, that the fulfillment would come in the person of a baby born in a stable and placed in a manger.
But before the baby came there came more words. There came more promises. "You will conceive in your womb and bear a son." "He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High." "The Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." Words. Promises.
We might not blame the Hebrews for feeling like the continually put-off lover who has had the same conversation with her intended too many times.
"You said we were going to get married."
"We are."
"When?"
"Soon."
"How soon?"
"Real soon."
And the woman thinks to herself, "Words. Promises. Again." Finally she says, "Let's set the date and see the ring." It is hard to find marital fulfillment in words and promises. Too often a suitor's actions do not match his words.
The angel came to Mary with words and with promises. Now, in her case, the thing shortly came to pass. Such, however, is not always the case. We have made progress as Christians when we find fulfillment in the promises and words of God and do not insist on seeing the "proof."
We need to be reminded that the Word of God is an active thing. Old Testament messianic prophecies were not just words; they were the beginning of a process that was sure to be completed. As Sidney Greidanus has reminded us, the Hebrew term often translated "word" (dabar) also means "deed." He comments, "Whenever the prophets faithfully proclaimed the word of God ... that word was not merely something 'which was said,' information about God's will for the present or his plan for the future, but that word was a deed of God, setting in motion the content of the message."4
Can we come to see fulfillment in the Word of God? Will we believe his promises to us? Will we believe that his Son really come to us in our lives? God has said that he will -- so he will! It is set in motion; it will happen.
Fulfillment Comes When We Believe (vv. 34-38)
Mary's final statement in this exchange with the angel was, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word" (v. 38). Fulfillment comes when we believe, for believing leads to submission to the will of God. For the believer, fulfillment in this life is finally found in submission to God and to his will.
Lest we think that Mary slid easily into this belief and fulfillment, let us notice that Mary had questions and concerns, problems and hesitations. The greeting of the angel had troubled her (v. 29). She heard the word that she would have a son but she pointed out that she, at that point, had no husband (v. 34). A good, solid question, that one! You see, doubts and questions are allowed, even for God's faithful ones, but they should be stepping stones on the path to submission.
There is a certain co-dependency in such discipleship. God allowed Mary to learn from, and to be inspired by, the life of her kinswoman Elizabeth. As reassurance to Mary that this remarkable thing would indeed happen, Gabriel told her of Elizabeth's pregnancy (v. 36). Similarly, we can be taught and inspired by the experiences of God's fulfillment that other believers have, and, when we experience his fulfillment, we can share the experience with others. We need each other as we submit ourselves to God.
Still, when all was said and done, Mary chose simply to believe and simply to submit. In a Christmas sermon, Walter Brueggemann said, "Bet on the baby."5 Mary bet on the Word of God concerning the baby, and the baby came. He fulfilled the promises and purposes of God. Will you "bet on the baby?" Will you believe the promises of the Lord and, with eyes of faith, see that his Word is taking place through the baby?
To live between the Advents is to live between two events of fulfillment. Jesus came in Bethlehem, thus fulfilling the prophecies about the coming Messiah. Jesus will come in power, thus fulfilling the prophecies about his Second Advent. In between, we find fulfillment where we are by believing God's Word and submitting ourselves to his will. Such fulfillment requires that we "bet on the baby." Will you?
__________
1. Paul Tillich, The Shaking of the Foundations (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1948), p. 165, cited in C. Welton Gaddy, Tuning the Heart: University Sermons (Macon: Mercer University, 1990), p. 148.
2. Op. cit., Gaddy.
3. Gail R. O'Day, Pulpit Digest (November/December, 1990), p. 89: "The Gospel Lesson shows how the Messianic hope of 2 Samuel 7 was carried forward into the New Testament. The language of verses 32 and 33 is particularly important in this regard, because it is a deliberate echo of 2 Samuel 7:12-16."
4. Sidney Greidanus, The Modern Preacher and the Ancient Text: Interpreting and Preaching Biblical Literature (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988), p. 3.
5. Walter Brueggemann, "A Time Bomb Among the Superpowers," Pulpit Digest (November/December, 1990), p. 17.
So will the anticipation of our culture be fulfilled. More importantly, however, is the fact that the anticipation of the church will be fulfilled, too. For weeks now we have observed this season of Advent, the time of preparation for the coming of Christ in the manger of Bethlehem, and the time of preparation for his future coming in power. We will continue, I suppose, to await the Second Advent, but the time for the celebration of the first one is here. We are on the edge of our seats, waiting for something to happen.
Mary was waiting for something to happen, too. She was betrothed, which means that she had entered into a legal marriage arrangement, but the relationship had not been consummated. So she was waiting for the marriage to become "official," for her life as "Mrs. Joseph" to begin. Many of you know what that is like, making all the arrangements, preparing the house, saving the money. It was an exciting time for Mary, this time of anticipation, this time of awaiting fulfillment.
Yes, Mary was waiting, she was anticipating. And something indeed happened, but it was not that for which she was waiting -- it was something else altogether. Because into her everyday expectations, into her everyday hopes, into her everyday dreams, God came! And when God comes, something happens. And oh, did something happen in the life of Mary! And oh, did something happen in the life of the world!
So in the midst of her anticipation Mary experienced fulfillment from God. We can learn some things about the fulfillment of our hopes from her experience.
Fulfillment Comes Where We Are (vv. 26-30)
When Gabriel came to Mary he came to her where she was and how she was. He was a messenger from heaven who came to Mary on earth in her village of Nazareth. Mary is now in heaven enjoying God's ultimate fulfillment, but at this point in her life, she did not have to go to heaven to find fulfillment; heaven came to her. We can look forward to the great events of the future, and we should: the event of Christ's Second Coming, the event of our entry into the celestial beauties of heaven, the event of the resurrection -- but we can also find great fulfillment here and now. Mary did, and we can, too, because of the event that brought her fulfillment: Christmas!
Fulfillment not only comes to us in our physical location, it also comes to us in our personal location. It comes to us where we are as people. He comes to us in his grace and in our weakness. The angel said to Mary, "You have found favor with God" (v. 30). Earlier he had called her "favored one" (v. 28). The word "favor" is the word "grace." God came to Mary just like she was. He comes to us just like we are, wherever we are.
Paul Tillich has told of some Jews who lived for a time in a grave in a Polish cemetery. There they found a place where they could escape the Nazi gas chambers. A woman gave birth to a baby in that grave, assisted by an elderly grave digger. When the baby was born, the grave digger prayed, "Great God, hast Thou finally sent the Messiah to us? For who else than the Messiah himself can be born in a grave?"1 Commenting on that story, Welton Gaddy said, "Well, that child was not the Messiah, but an important point about the Messiah had been made. Christ comes to us in the depths -- at our worst times, in our weakest moments. Christ is born."2
Yes, Christ comes to us in the depths, if that is where we are. He comes to us in the heights, if that is where we are. No matter where we are, there he comes. His coming is an act of grace.
Fulfillment Comes In The Promises Of God (vv. 31-33)
When the angel came to Mary, he came to tell her something, and when he spoke to her, he spoke the language of promise. The words he spoke to Mary stand in the tradition of Old Testament messianic prophecies.3 For centuries the Hebrew people had received promises from God that one day a Messiah would come and would deliver God's people from all their oppression. There was no expectation, however, that the fulfillment would come in the person of a baby born in a stable and placed in a manger.
But before the baby came there came more words. There came more promises. "You will conceive in your womb and bear a son." "He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High." "The Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." Words. Promises.
We might not blame the Hebrews for feeling like the continually put-off lover who has had the same conversation with her intended too many times.
"You said we were going to get married."
"We are."
"When?"
"Soon."
"How soon?"
"Real soon."
And the woman thinks to herself, "Words. Promises. Again." Finally she says, "Let's set the date and see the ring." It is hard to find marital fulfillment in words and promises. Too often a suitor's actions do not match his words.
The angel came to Mary with words and with promises. Now, in her case, the thing shortly came to pass. Such, however, is not always the case. We have made progress as Christians when we find fulfillment in the promises and words of God and do not insist on seeing the "proof."
We need to be reminded that the Word of God is an active thing. Old Testament messianic prophecies were not just words; they were the beginning of a process that was sure to be completed. As Sidney Greidanus has reminded us, the Hebrew term often translated "word" (dabar) also means "deed." He comments, "Whenever the prophets faithfully proclaimed the word of God ... that word was not merely something 'which was said,' information about God's will for the present or his plan for the future, but that word was a deed of God, setting in motion the content of the message."4
Can we come to see fulfillment in the Word of God? Will we believe his promises to us? Will we believe that his Son really come to us in our lives? God has said that he will -- so he will! It is set in motion; it will happen.
Fulfillment Comes When We Believe (vv. 34-38)
Mary's final statement in this exchange with the angel was, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word" (v. 38). Fulfillment comes when we believe, for believing leads to submission to the will of God. For the believer, fulfillment in this life is finally found in submission to God and to his will.
Lest we think that Mary slid easily into this belief and fulfillment, let us notice that Mary had questions and concerns, problems and hesitations. The greeting of the angel had troubled her (v. 29). She heard the word that she would have a son but she pointed out that she, at that point, had no husband (v. 34). A good, solid question, that one! You see, doubts and questions are allowed, even for God's faithful ones, but they should be stepping stones on the path to submission.
There is a certain co-dependency in such discipleship. God allowed Mary to learn from, and to be inspired by, the life of her kinswoman Elizabeth. As reassurance to Mary that this remarkable thing would indeed happen, Gabriel told her of Elizabeth's pregnancy (v. 36). Similarly, we can be taught and inspired by the experiences of God's fulfillment that other believers have, and, when we experience his fulfillment, we can share the experience with others. We need each other as we submit ourselves to God.
Still, when all was said and done, Mary chose simply to believe and simply to submit. In a Christmas sermon, Walter Brueggemann said, "Bet on the baby."5 Mary bet on the Word of God concerning the baby, and the baby came. He fulfilled the promises and purposes of God. Will you "bet on the baby?" Will you believe the promises of the Lord and, with eyes of faith, see that his Word is taking place through the baby?
To live between the Advents is to live between two events of fulfillment. Jesus came in Bethlehem, thus fulfilling the prophecies about the coming Messiah. Jesus will come in power, thus fulfilling the prophecies about his Second Advent. In between, we find fulfillment where we are by believing God's Word and submitting ourselves to his will. Such fulfillment requires that we "bet on the baby." Will you?
__________
1. Paul Tillich, The Shaking of the Foundations (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1948), p. 165, cited in C. Welton Gaddy, Tuning the Heart: University Sermons (Macon: Mercer University, 1990), p. 148.
2. Op. cit., Gaddy.
3. Gail R. O'Day, Pulpit Digest (November/December, 1990), p. 89: "The Gospel Lesson shows how the Messianic hope of 2 Samuel 7 was carried forward into the New Testament. The language of verses 32 and 33 is particularly important in this regard, because it is a deliberate echo of 2 Samuel 7:12-16."
4. Sidney Greidanus, The Modern Preacher and the Ancient Text: Interpreting and Preaching Biblical Literature (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988), p. 3.
5. Walter Brueggemann, "A Time Bomb Among the Superpowers," Pulpit Digest (November/December, 1990), p. 17.
