Annunciation Sermon

Annunciation Vespers
March 25, 2010
Luke 1:26-38
And of His Kingdom there will be no end

In the name of Jesus, amen. In the heart of Lent, as Holy Week is just days away, the Feast of the Annunciation reveals the heart of God, the heart of God overflowing with grace, with mercy, with divine and lasting peace.

The angel Gabriel came down from heaven and did his angel-thing. An angel is a messenger, and Gabriel was one of God’s messengers. Gabriel came not with his own words but with the words of God the Father. And this message concerned God the Son. The message that Gabriel delivered to the virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph concerns us.

Gabriel came with a job to do. He brought a strangely glorious, a confoundingly wonderful message. You, Mary, have found favor with God. Not because of anything Mary had done, as if she had earned God’s favor, but because of what would take place. You will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you will call his name Jesus. 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 father David and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. All of that was future, will and shall. But what great promises were given that were set to find fulfillment in nine months!

On this day, Jesus, the eternal Son of the Father, true God, begotten of the Father, took up residence in the protective womb of Mary so that in nine months he would be revealed as Jesus, true man, born of the virgin Mary and our Lord. If we rejoice with exceeding joy at the birth of salvation in December, we also rejoice this day in the work that Gabriel did, announcing the mysterious and marvelous love of God for His humanity.

Gabriel plays an important role, but he is merely a supporting character. The blessed virgin is likewise important, yet she is not the primary focus either. The attention for Annunciation is placed where it always is placed: on God the Father, on His Christ and on the ever-present Spirit.

Annunciation is about God’s love- love for sinners, love for those who have strayed, so basically a pure and steadfast love for all people. It was out of love that God sent His Son on this day, to become incarnate, to put on human flesh and live in this world.

Annunciation has lasting significance in terms of divine love. When Gabriel went the first time to Nazareth and found Mary and gave her this great Good News, the world was struggling. Mary was a faithful Jewish woman, waiting patiently for the consolation of Israel, for the birth of the long-expected Messiah. So was Joseph. So was Simeon and Anna and Zechariah and Elizabeth. On a religious level, there was oppression as religion became a burden. The sacrifice had to be perfect, absolutely perfect. The prayers had to be offered sincerely, absolutely sincerely. The worship had to be holy, absolutely holy. The religion of joy and comfort had morphed into a crushing burden. Civilly, the Roman rulers were equally oppressive, taking their taxes and offering no benefit in return. The Romans cared nothing about Judaism, viewing it as something trivial and insignificant. There were many gods, so we’ll let the Jews worship their peculiar god. And the Romans let the Jews govern themselves in terms of religion. And the faithful suffered.

Annunciation was needed. It still is. For suffering is still the rule of the day. God’s people suffer. Unbelievers suffer. Famine doesn’t care whether you fear God or not. Earthquakes shake everyone. Fire burns the good and the bad alike.

In our day religion continues to oppress. Sacrifice is still demanded to be perfect, perfect in terms of how much money you give. Prayers have become an opportunity to dictate to God when he will act and how he will act. Worship has become a holy performance, for the sake of the performer more than anybody else. In secular matters, what do we notice? Soccer leagues schedule their games on Sundays. Jobs are not only open 24 hours a day, but seven days a week. Churches have a harder time buying property because municipalities would rather sell that parcel of land to a business for the tax revenue it might generate.

We need this day, nine months before the Savior’s birth, to celebrate the tender compassion of our God. The Son of the Most High will be given the throne and he will reign over the people of God forever. Jesus reigns as king. He is our leader. He is our champion. He is our judge, judging us for our faults, commending us for our faithful living, always judging us according us to our mercy. And Jesus reigns as our redeemer. Of his kingdom there will be no end.

The kingdom of God is eternal, going on into the ages of ages. The kingdom of God incorporates us. And the declaration of God through his eternal and living Word continues, declaring us righteous, holy, forgiven through the life, the death, the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, the son of Mary, the son of the Most High God. Amen.