Sermon for 10/06/24: LWML Sunday

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“The Servant of the Lord”
Luke 1:26-38

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

What has God called you to do? We Lutherans talk about a very big word: vocation. In the narrow sense, a vocation is what pastors and missionaries have: a direct Call from God to serve in His Church. In that sense, you might think it’s easy for pastors to say what God has called us to do; after all, we serve God directly as His Called and Ordained ministers of the Gospel.

But the word vocation has a wider meaning, and it applies to all of us. The Small Catechism helps us to understand this. As you confess your sins, the Catechism tells you to “consider your place in life…” It tells you to ask yourself, “Are you a father, mother, son, daughter, husband, wife, or worker?” Each of these is a vocation, a task to which God calls you. Think about what you do in the course of your days. Are you a farmer or rancher? Are you a nurse? Do you coach a team or perform in a choir? Do you have a neighbor who needs your help or needs to hear the Gospel? Do you volunteer your time and talents? Are any of you ladies perhaps a part of the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League? What else do you do? All of these things and more are vocations, and God has called you to them. By your faithful service in those various tasks, you give glory to God and you love and serve your neighbor.

We heard Last Sunday how God uses the holy angels as messengers, among other things. This week we see Gabriel in his vocation as messenger. This is no chubby-cheeked cherub, no mild mannered, soft-spoken guardian in a sweater vest. This is a divine messenger, a being who reflects the holiness and righteousness of God. Some accounts list Gabriel among the archangels. A mere human standing before such a being would certainly have reason to be terrified—much like when a police officer or a pastor shows up at your door unannounced, only more terrifying, because at least the police officer and the pastor are common occurrences.

But that’s not what Mary finds so troubling—and that is exceptional enough. But what about that news? “Mary, I know you’re a virgin and all, but you’re gonna have a baby. Oh, and your pregnancy has happened by the power of the Holy Spirit.” How overwhelming it must have been for Mary to hear that she would be part of the fulfillment of the most important prophecies ever. You may recall that Isaiah prophesied to King Ahaz, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” You may also recall the promise God made to the satanic serpent in the Garden of Eden: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” This Son, this Seed of a woman, this Child—promised to Adam and Eve, to Abraham the Patriarch, to King David, to King Ahaz, and to all those who clung by faith to that promise—this Child shall be the One to defeat Satan forever. And Mary—sweet, innocent, virginal Mary—was chosen by God to be the mother of God. This is to be her vocation.

That’s what Mary finds so troubling. Gabriel wasn’t kidding when He said, “The Lord is with you.” The Lord through whom all things were made would reside in her womb. The Word made flesh to dwell among sinful humanity would grow inside her until He would be born in Bethlehem. It would not be easy for Mary. She would be the object of scorn. Joseph, her betrothed, would seek to divorce her. And that’s before the Child was born. When Jesus was a mere eight days old, old Simeon prophesied that “a sword” would pierce her heart. Later, Mary would run through the streets of Jerusalem with Joseph, trying to find the Child who had wandered away from her to be where He knew He had to be: in His Father’s house. Finally she would stand at the foot of the cross on which her Son would hang, weeping as she watched Him die His innocent death, suffering, bearing the sins of mankind as He had said He must do. She may not have known all the details at first, but she knew this would be a rough life. Nevertheless she answered Gabriel, “Let it be to me according to your Word.” And Mary would be okay. After all, the Lord is with her.

And the same is true for you: The Lord is with you. You may not have the same struggles as Mary—certainly none of you are pregnant with the promised Messiah—but everyone has their own difficulties. No matter your vocation—father or son, mother or daughter, boss or worker, teacher or student, pastor or layperson, and all the rest of the things you do every day—the Lord has called you to serve Him in these various tasks of your life, and each vocation carries its own troubles, especially when you try to live according to your faith.

But one thing you can be sure of is this: the Lord is with you. This is not some imaginary presence. He is with you physically, in the flesh, just as present with you now as He was in Mary’s womb. “The Word became flesh.” He has never stopped being flesh, and He has never stopped being present with you. He placed His name upon you in the waters of Holy Baptism. He speaks His Word into your ear—the same Word by which all things were created. He feeds you with His own flesh and blood, hidden in and under the bread and wine. He is present with you, just as He has promised. Find Him in the font. Find Him on the altar. Find Him where His Word is preached in truth and purity. Don’t worry that you can’t see Him; you have His promise, and His Word does not fail. So do not be afraid. Whatever it is that you face in your life, whatever the challenge before you, know this: the Lord is with you. He will not make you face any of your trials or tasks alone. God grant you faith and courage so that you may say, “I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your Word.” In the name of the Father and of the Son (†) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.