“Why me?”
Luke 1:26-38 (December 24, 2023)
It was a day like any other, the day an angel came to visit Mary. At least that’s how I imagine it: It was quite an ordinary day … with a very unexpected occurrence.
Here’s how one artist has portrayed the scene. Mary sits on the side of her bed, half-dressed. She is young and innocent, and a bit dishevelled.
She’s not entirely sure what is happening to her. How could she be, there, in the presence of a heavenly being? Before her stands Gabriel, sent from God.
“Greetings, favoured one!” the angel declares. “Are you talking to me?” she asks.
Notice the expression on her face. We’re told that Mary “was much perplexed by these words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.”
She may be perplexed, but she’s not frightened. The angel speaks to reassure her: “Do not be afraid, for you have found favour with God.”
And then the strangest words tumble out of the angel’s mouth. Mary tilts her head as she tries to take them in: “Conceive. A son. A kingdom.”
Wait, what? “How can this be? Since …”
Well, you know the situation. Mary has long been promised to a man named Joseph … but she knows nothing of either birth, or the human intimacy that must come before it.
“How?” she repeats, with genuine curiosity.
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Mary’s life is about to change, dramatically. That’s how it is when God decides to do something. One ordinary day, you’re minding your own business, pretending there’s nothing else that matters.
And then … it happens! Not usually because of an angel. But something catches hold of you. Something from the recess of memory, perhaps. A stirring in your heart. A glimmer of light, God’s light. A sudden awareness that you are not alone, and never have been. And it’s up to you – whether you deny or welcome it.
And that brings us to our question for today. All through Advent we’ve been wrestling with questions, each week a different one. And here is today’s: “Why me?”
It often comes as an expression of complaint. As in, “Why did this unfortunate, unwelcome, unappreciated thing have to happen?”
“Why did I get that parking ticket? Why was my house broken into? Why did my car stop working, leaving me stranded at the side of the road?
“Why did that deal fall through? Why did that relationship not work out? Why did I have to receive that dreaded medical diagnosis?”
“Why me?” Often the question is unanswerable. But we ask it anyway. “Why me?” expresses a feeling that something has come to us that we don’t deserve. And where, we ask, is the justice in that?
Why would God intrude upon Mary’s life, upsetting its order and stability, and sending her down a path that will change her life forever? It’s a path she hadn’t asked for. “Why me?”
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If you’ve had a child – any child – you know what a life-altering experience that is. And part of what we see in Mary is how much she shares in common with the rest of us.
Mary is not unusual. She’s an ordinary teenage girl. I say teenage, because that’s when most women married in first-century Palestine.
She had no particular qualities that we are told of. The angel mentions nothing about her character, or religious inclination. We can only speculate about that.
And, in a way, it doesn’t matter who you’ve been – whether good or bad, old or young, rich or poor, big or small. None of that will ever prevent God from reaching out to you, inviting you to be part of God’s plan.
This is God’s doing, God’s initiative through and through. We were reading this passage in our Advent Bible Study last week, and one of the participants remarked that Gabriel’s visit is more like announcement than request. God shows up and simply declares “This is what I am doing!”
Of course, Mary also agrees to it. Which is a beautiful thing: to willingly participate in the work of God. To be open to the Spirit’s gift of life! Whenever we do that, any one of us might become bearers of God’s love, and birthers of God’s kingdom!
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This is such good news! It’s what incarnation is all about: God entering into our flesh-and-blood world. Coming to live in the very midst of our humanity. So near to us! Immanuel, God with us.
We hear it every year in the season of Christmas. But can we still be amazed at the utter audacity of it? God values our earthiness! Honours it. Embraces it. Lifts it up and makes it holy.
If God’s own self will come and live in Mary’s womb, endure the messiness of birth, emerging to greet the world there amongst the animals, in the dust and smell of a stable … Well, God can be present anywhere, anytime. There is nowhere we can be where God is not!
God with us. With Mary and her people, ordinary folk. With you and me. With all the “nobody specials” of the world.
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“Why me?” I want you to consider this question again. Not as a complaint. But just the opposite! Consider it as Mary’s wonderment, and our wonderment, at the amazing grace of God.
Not “why me” because my life has been so inconvenienced. But “why me” that I should be shown God’s favour? That you, God, would send an angel to visit, here in this back-of-the-woods place?
Why should I, of all people, be included in your comings and goings? Why make me part of that company of saints who’ve been loved by you, and incorporated into your great kingdom? “Why me?”
Remember Elizabeth, Mary’s relative, whom she came to visit? Mary entered the house. And at the sound of her voice the child in Elizabeth’s womb leaped for joy.
Filled with the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth blessed Mary. And listen to what she has to say: “Why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?” (Luke 1:43)
https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=54191 [retrieved December 23, 2023]. Original source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/swperman/221074981/." width="238" height="114" />“Why me?” It’s not a complaint! It’s an expression of resounding joy! “Why am I so fortunate to be here in this place? Why should I be graced with your lovely presence? And the presence of my Lord!
Have you ever felt like you were the luckiest person in the whole wide world?
When you looked into the eyes of someone you loved? When you caught a glimpse of astonishing beauty in God’s creation? When you listened to a piece of music that sent shivers down your spine? When someone did something for you that was generous and good and completely undeserved?
“Why me?” I am so fortunate. Thank you!
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Listen to this poem, part of a collection of poems written by inmates in prison. The author looks through a mirror one day and sees only darkness in his life.
But then looks again, and discovers a glimmer of light. A voice that says:
“You have one more chance
What are you waiting for?
Try one more time
Don’t look at the past.
Because …
I am ready to shine through you the rest of your life.
thank you LORD
Jesu Cristo”[1]
“Why should any of us be graced with forgiveness and love and new beginnings? Why should we be given the gift of Jesus? God with us, here in our flesh and blood lives. The mystery of the incarnation! It’s startling, astounding. Completely unexpected. “Why me?”
What amazing grace is given to us at Christmas! And to think now that we too might become part of God’s working in the world! Just think of that! “Why me?” Why not me?
To you be glory, God who brings heaven to earth, through Jesus Christ our Lord! Amen!
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QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION:
- When have you said, “Why me?”
- How is God gifting you this Christmas?
- How might you be part of God’s kingdom way?
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[1] Poetry from Prison: Lifting Up the Lowly, By Liz Milner. Posted 17 December 2017. https://www.journeywithjesus.net/essays/1595-poetry-from-prison-lifting-up-the-lowly, Accessed Dec. 19, 2023.