“‘You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you . . . And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son . . . for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.’ Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’” (Luke chapter 2)
Hear the angel’s word: “Mary . . . you have found favour with God. . . . you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.” The virgin Mary conceived. The life of Jesus came incarnate within the darkness of her womb; into the “darkness of human impossibility!” Scripture is full of stories, where God opens closed wombs. Only God brings life to closed wombs. And a woman’s womb reminds us that in the darkness of human desolation, God gives life (Ps 139:13). It is the miracle of Genesis, of creation, of new beginnings in Jesus Christ. And so for us, a pattern was established. Mary became a model disciple of the Lord. And she anticipated this; spilling forth the Magnificant, “My soul magnifies the Lord . . . for . . . surely from now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has ‘magnified’ me!”
There are times in the human situation that a “womb” is closed. But down through the epochs of Scripture, God “opens wombs.” There are times when God shows up. . . a serendipity surprises us! And life is born in the “darkness of human impossibility!” Are you troubled with a “closed womb?” I can’t offer you a three step plan. Yet still, three observations do come to mind.
First, “in the fullness of time,” God opened Mary’s womb. That kairos moment was in the sixth month after God also opened Elisabeth’s womb, previously barren in her old age. God has His time.
But second, where are you in God’s timing? Mary was in a village, in the outback of the Judean desert. They used to say, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Mary had no network. There were surely days that she and Joseph could not even afford a net, a fishing net. They were flat broke! But God sent His angel to the village . . . and the angel said, “Greetings favoured one! The Lord is with you!” Mary did have a network after all, a friend in high places- the highest place! Mary knew God. Are you trapped by circumstances with no exit sign? In prison, Joseph had no network. But Joseph knew God. In the Judean hills David had no network. But he knew God. Moses had a network; then he lost it. But in the desert he found God. Job had a network; but it was taken from him. Yet Job found God. “Come,” he says, “and I will teach you about the hand of God.” Paul too lost his network. But in the desert, he too found God.
In the desert, Mary knew God. No doubt all these people wondered about God. No doubt they wondered if they knew God. But in the silence of the “womb” of human impossibility, they learned God. And all these people were “highly favoured” by the Lord. But the truth is, if you are in Christ, you also are “highly favoured.” You are “beloved of the Lord!” People may forget you, but God remembers you. He knows where you are. He knows how you are. God knows your name, and He knows your number. And God has His timing.
Finally, Mary opened herself to the fullness of God: Are you open to the timing of God? Are you open to the fullness of God? At first Mary tried to reason it all out. She asked the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” Mary knew she had no relations yet with Joseph. Mary is just like the rest of us, walking around the altar with this little “scientist” in us, trying to figure out God with our little mental “microscopes.” Now Mary was also just a little teenage kampong girl. She probably didn’t even know how to read or write. She learned the Scriptures by hearing and singing! But the angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you . . . For nothing is impossible with God.” Somehow, perhaps because Mary was in the desert was learning God, she received the word of the Lord. And she opened herself up to the Spirit of God, and the word of the Lord. “I am the servant of the Lord,” she cried out, “let it be to me according to your word.”
Someone asked a historian if he could briefly summarise the lessons of history. He said he could, in four sentences. Here is his last sentence: “When it is dark enough, you can see the stars.” Time now for a worn cliché: “Let go and let God.” There you are. A barren womb. The despair of human impossibility. You have been there and done that. Yet God can speak a word to you, a word that brings seed and life to your “womb of human impossibility.” But can you make this one hard confession? “I let go. God, I let you . . . Be merciful to me, a sinner.” Good news! God favours underdogs. He came to one, as one Himself.
So Mary sang, “He has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty.” Some of you know about Evensong. Let me close on the MorningSong: “Be it unto me . . . according to your Word; and there shall be a performance . . . of that which was spoken; for nothing is impossible with God.”
” . . . when Babylon’s seventy years are completed I visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise . . . For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. . . . When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29)
Monte Lee Rice (© Copyright December 2008)
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