Mary’s Yes

A Christmas Eve talk in st Lukes

1. Don’t be afraid. (matt 17, Luke 14 / fear Luke 10, Acts 17), – there’s lots of reasons to be afraid. Some of them are big, some are small – a spider, a doctor’s appointment, Some you can do something about: boiler is broken phone a boiler repair person. Some you can’t do anything about: I hope I meet the expectations of my visitors over Christmas / the people who get my presis.
2. Don’t be afraid: What to do instead – talk to God about it in prayer. It helps to speak it out loud you can hear yourself think. It helps to know that God loves you and hears you. It feels a little bit like Doing Something and that helps. It might be that in the prayer you will remember that there is something you can do – Phone the boiler repair person.
3. Don’t be afraid – one way to remember this could be to leave an angel out over Christmas when you put the baubles away, to leave out an angel, perhaps it will help you to remember the words of the angel.
4. With God, Nothing is impossible. This is what the angel says to Mary. She sees that this is miracle birth is impossible, obviously, because it’s a miracle.
5. This next year you’re/we are going to face all sorts of things that are really difficult – you as an individual, we as a church family – all sorts of impossible – but as we look over last year we see that God has helped us. We know that With God nothing is impossible. That’s the key bit, the With God bit. So leave out your angel, and remember Don’t be afraid because With God, nothing is impossible.
6. “I am the Lord’s servant,” “May your word to me be fulfilled.” That’s a mouthful. This is the great Amen of Mary, this is her saying Yes, Okay, Bring it on, Count me in, I’m up for this. I’m ready for one more adventure. I couldn’t work out what to make my 3^rd point – Okay God I’m ready to help.
7. God needs us to say this. Its more than a creed, a list of what we believe. It is us saying Yes to God’s call on our lives, Yes to God’s invitation. No: we do not know all the implications, Mary knows that this will be hard but she knows that With God, nothing is impossible, that with God she will be held. (John the Baptist knew that and he ended up in prison before his end – likewise St Paul, – and Jesus for that matter)
8. This is not the invitation to the easy life, it is the invitation to a life that matters. And that’s why its important that we say it from time to time.
9. Don’t be Afraid. With God nothing is impossible and Ok God, I’m ready to help. Amen.