Advent-ure Day 9: Mary Receives a Visit

In Galatians 4, we are told that Jesus came into the world at just the right time to perform God's redeeming work:3Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world.4But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,5to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
It may have been unexpected to Mary, the one called to give birth to the Christ Child, the Messiah, about whom it was written in Isaiah 7:14: "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel." But, carefully and methodically, God worked His plan of redemption. He chose a special girl who responded with worship and willingness, not knowing what she might face, even recognizing that she could face ridicule, as well as retribution from Joseph. But, she was confident of God's call. Her response can challenge us in how we deal with the Lord's instructions to us.

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In the 1st chapter of Luke, we see the initial encounter between the angel Gabriel and Mary, who would become the mother of Jesus. There are three components of this visit:

First of all, he greets her with: "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!" (verse 28)

He then shared the message of the call of God upon her life in verses 30-32:
30 Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
31And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.32He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.
Finally, in answer to her question in verse 34, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?," we're told in verse 35:35And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
His closing words, in verse 37: "For with God nothing will be impossible."

I really think that God specializes in the unexpected.  And, that's a great lesson from the story of Mary.  Well, sure, for those waiting in anticipation of the coming of Messiah, that was certainly something that was predicted, but the people of that day did not know how He would come, nor the time or place or person who would give birth to the Messiah.  We're told in Isaiah 7 that a virgin would bear the Christ Child - but who?  Who would have thought it?  Certainly not Mary.  But, that's the kind of God whom we serve - going far and beyond what we would imagine.

At this time of year, charity can be unexpected, as well.  I came across a little heartwarming story recently on the ChristianHeadlines.com website.  I traced it back to the BBC.com site.  It's about a British lady named Hayley Dolbear.  She said that, "Some years ago I had to make a decision about whether to get gifts for my two children, or a tree." She added: "When a neighbour offered her unwanted one I just burst into tears."

Now in "a much more stable place", Miss Dolbear said she wanted to help spread the Christmas cheer to other people in need, so she began to collect Christmas trees and formed what has been described as a "treebank."

She said that, "People often upgrade their tree and this is better than sending them to landfill. "

Many trees came from charity shops which were "inundated", but other people turned up at her door offering trees and decorations.

A friend stored everything for a year and the trees have now been moved to St John's Church Hall. The vicar there, the Rev. Clifford Stocking, said he was pleased to help when Miss Dolbear asked if she could put "a few trees" in the hall.

"I wasn't expecting 150 of them, but I think it's a brilliant idea," he said.

Dolbear told Christian Today that trees had been coming in from "left, right and centre" and that she had just taken a call from Tesco offering 500 pounds' worth of chocolate tree ornaments.  That article references her quote from the Wisbech Standard: "The response has been crazy. It has been a bit emotional. I can't believe people's generosity. I have piles and piles of decorations, lights, ornaments, boxes of brand new wooden decorations. You name it I've got it. What started as a little idea last year has grown into this massive thing."

So, here you have a young lady who received a gift unexpectedly - a simple Christmas tree.  She was so appreciative of that gift that she decided to spread the same sort of gift to others, and the generosity has flowed.   

Over 2000 years ago, God showed up in a profound way in the life of a young girl, who was told that she would give birth to the Savior of the world - that's massive!   But, in a more simple way, perhaps God has shown up unexpectedly in your life and He is calling you to respond.  Your first step can be to give Him the praise for how you have encountered His presence.   It's important that we acknowledge how we have seen God work in our lives.

And, then, maybe there is a gift you have received, and recognizing God's faithfulness in your life, He is calling you to be charitable to others.   In our appreciation to God, we can respond to Him by showing grace and mercy to other people, radiating His mercy and showing His love.

The coming of the angel to Mary was certainly unexpected, but she responded in gratitude, with a willing heart, to God.  We can be challenged to respond graciously as well when we encounter His hand.