A Miracle for Mary
Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins
Lessons & Carols (Advent 4, 9 am)

+May God’s word be spoken, may only God’s word be heard. Amen.

Luke 1.28: “Upon entering, the Archangel Gabriel said, ‘Hail Mary full of grace; God is with you!”

The angel hits the ground running. Right off, the angel offers affirmation.

Mary is pregnant. She didn’t plan to be. But here she is. And now an angel shows up, which could be a little overwhelming. But this peasant girl in an occupied territory who is unexpectedly pregnant gets a word from God: There is grace in the midst of all this drama and uncertainty. Hail Mary – FULL OF GRACE.

Now, what is grace, exactly? It’s unmerited favor. It’s a gift. It’s just there. We can’t earn it. We can’t lose it. God gives is freely and abundantly. It’s a free gift of unmeasurable love. Ten minutes ago Mary thought her world might be coming to an end. Now she hears from an angle that she is just chock full of grace.

How can she be sure that she has access to all this groovy grace? Because, as the angel clearly explains to her: God is with her.

That’s the comfort and the assurance that comes from our theology of omnipresence. There’s not a spot where God is not, so God must be here, with me, even when everything seems terrible. And if God is with me, God’s grace is available to me, and God’s grace is equal to every need.

Hail Mary full of grace, God is with you.

And then in verse 30 of Luke’s first chapter, the Archangel says to her, “You have nothing to fear.”

Life can be hard, even unfair. But we can take it. We can face it. We can rise above it. We can get through it. We can even find blessings along the way. We can face everything and rise; we can go to peace instead of to pieces. Because God is with us, and God’s grace is ours in abundance. Fear has no power over us…no more than we give it anyway.

A Course in Miracles teaches us that a miracle is change in perception from fear to love. Mary learns today that God is omnipresent Love, a loving presence and power that will always be with her. She can turn from her fears and toward the power of divine Love. That’s the miracle. Other exciting things will occur, even some very good things, but the primary miracle is one we can all share today: Hail Congregation, full of grace. You have no reason to fear, because God is love and God is with you.

And this is the good news. Amen.