"Nothing Will Be Impossible With God
a condensed version of the sermon delivered by Rev. Kirk Moore on Sunday, December 21, 2008 at Union Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, in Somonauk, Illinois.

PODCAST of "Nothing Will Be Impossible With God"

Hail Mary, full of grace.

The Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou amongst women,

and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,

pray for us sinners,

now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Here is a prayer said by countless Roman Catholic Christians on a daily basis. Some say it out of habit. Some say it for comfort. Others may say it as a way to enter into a connection with God. Still others may see it as a prayer to help them do the things that they know that God wants them to do.

Here’s a little bit of "I’m a protestant, so I think this is right" background of it.

The first line – "Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee" Comes from Luke 1:28. In this week’s Bible reading from Luke 1:26-33, it is translated "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you."

The next line comes from Luke 1:42 (Not in the short version of this week’s reading, but really close to it!). Elizabeth, Mary’s Cousin (who was pregnant with John the Baptist) said "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! (Saying "Jesus" was added by early Catholic Church leaders)

Then there’s the second part of the prayer – it does not come from the Bible. It is also not a prayer that either worships Mary or sees her as God.

It asks Mary to pray for those speaking. Kind of like you asking someone to pray for you or for someone else.

Pray for us, Mary.

Mary -- is a favored one of God – or Full of Grace.

Mary, an engaged teenager, was going to be the mother of Jesus. Do you think that, at least at first, she dreaded that reality? She was not yet married and she was going to be a mother. And the father was not the man she was pledged to marry.

Yes – Mary is a favored one of God.

When Jesus was older and preaching in Nazareth the people tried to quiet him down. They said that his mother and brothers and sisters were outside. Jesus said to them (In Mark 3)

³³"Who are my mother and my brothers?" he asked. ³⁴Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! ³⁵Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother."

Mary was dismissed. And a favored one of God

Mary got to witness her son’s crucifixion. In John 19:

²⁵Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," ²⁷and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

Mary mourned – and she was a favored one of God.

Favored one of God – Here are a few other 'favored ones' of God in the Bible

• Moses – Wandered in the desert for 40 years.
• David – Made mistake after mistake – His kingdom lasts forever (according to our Advent candle Bible reading today) but it wasn’t always rosy!
• Esther – Risked her life to save a people she tried to keep secret
• The Prophets -- were often killed or imprisoned for the words they spoke
• Paul – Spent a whole lot of time in prison.

I know that I’m only showing one side of things. Being full of grace shouldn’t mean that things are going to get harder.

Or should it?

Knowing that God loves us no matter who we are or where we are on life’s journey is an easy part.

Following God and living our lives for Jesus has a whole lot more to it.

We don’t – we can’t earn God’s love or forgiveness or salvation. No matter how good we are and no matter how we live our lives, we cannot earn God’s favor. But because we are children of God we simply do live our lives a certain way. It’s like that ‘tree thing’ I talked about a couple of weeks ago. Trees bear fruit – it’s just what they do – not what they have to do because someone told them to, it is what their DNA says to do. As children of God our DNA says that we live God’s love.

And that way may include many hardships.

We may be ridiculed for our faith.

We may take stands on issues that anger others.

• (Our denomination, the United Church of Christ, has taught this by example by being what our denomination’s president has called "first in truth-telling."
• Our denomination and its forebearers were the ones who took an abolitionist stance. Rev. Samuel Sewell wrote the first anti-slavery pamphlet in America, "The Selling of Joseph." in 1700.
• We were the first to ordain an African American – Lemuel Haynes in 1785
• Congregationalists weren’t afraid of civil disobedience – we were behind the Boston Tea Party
• We were the first to ordain women—Antoinette Brown in 1853.
• We were behind the protest that led to a landmark FCC ruling in 1959 that the airwaves were public – not private. The decision leads to a proliferation of people of color in television studios and newsrooms.
• We were the first to ordain an openly gay minister – Rev. Bill Johnson in 1972.

We may know that we are called to do things in our lives that are going to stretch us WAY BEYOND where we are comfortable or even where we think possible.

I believe that God calls each of us to be willing and to follow where God leads.

• It might lead some people to take some time every week volunteering with a group that serves those in need.
• It might lead some people to give more of their finances toward the work of Christ in the world.
• It might lead some people to take extended time off school or work to serve others
• It might lead some people to change careers
• It might lead some people to begin talking to their friends about their faith
• It might lead some people to do something they knew they should do but didn’t think they had the courage.

I’m sure Mary, full of grace, did not think she had the strength or the courage for what was to come in her life. I believe that she thought that the path she would walk would be impossible. But she did trust that God would provide it. Instead of letting ‘impossible’ thoughts be at the center, she said this:

"Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word."

Can we say that together today?

"Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word."

Or maybe it can be even shorter – something you can say several times a day

"Here am I, the servant of the Lord"

The next few days are ones of celebration. They are also days of stress. What a great time to say when you wake up,

"Here am I, the servant of the Lord"

How about when you are traveling to visit relatives and the kids are in the back seat bickering with each other about who has the most room.

"Here am I, the servant of the Lord"

Very late Christmas Eve (or early Christmas morning) when the presents aren’t yet wrapped and the "some assembly required" gifts come in a bag filled with 200 pieces.

"Here am I, the servant of the Lord"

On Christmas morning at 5:45 when you wake up to the excited voices of those saying "Can we get up and open presents" and your first inclination is to say "SHUTUP and GO BACK TO SLEEP!"

"Here am I, the servant of the Lord"

Over the next couple of weeks as you spend more time with your brothers and sisters as usual and you really start to get on each other’s nerves and you really want to yell and scream at them:

"Here am I, the servant of the Lord"

Back at work when your boss or your employees are not doing what you want them to do and you really want to yell and act all nasty

"Here am I, the servant of the Lord"

Back at school when others make fun of you because you aren’t dressed in the perfect style or someone calls you a church freak or something like that.

"Here am I, the servant of the Lord"

Whatever the time: You can say it out of habit. You can say it for comfort. You can say it as a way to enter into a connection with God. You can say it as a prayer to help you do the things that you know that God wants you to do.

Easy? No? Impossible?

Listen to the words of the Angel to Mary – just before she said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord"

Nothing will be impossible with God.

Close with prayer.

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