Less is More: It's Not All About You

Advent is a season of preparation and anticipation. [1] It is the season of preparation for the coming of Christ and the season of anticipating and longing for his coming. During this season of preparation, we will be looking primarily at the story of the birth of John the Baptist, the consummate man of preparation who said of Jesus, "He must become greater; I must become less" (John 3:30).

During Advent this year, where do we need to become less and let God become greater?

Luke 1

Commentary

v27 Technically, parthenos, the word translated twice in this verse as "virgin," can also refer to a young, unmarried woman (i.e. a woman of virginal characteristics). Likewise, alma, the word used in Isaiah 7:14 and translated as virgin, can also refer to a woman before the birth of her first child.
v28 The verb tense here is significant, meaning literally, "Hail, one favored continually now [by virtue of] having been favored in the past!

This prompts the question: If God favored you in the past will he continue to favor you as well?

v34 The NIV softened the sense of Mary’s question, which is literally, "How will this [be] since a man I am not knowing [i.e. having sexual relations with]?" We can quibble over the various meanings of words, but Mary’s question is unambiguous.

v35 The first 2 of the verbs of Gabriel’s answer sound ominously irresistible. Compare the other instances of "come upon" (Luke 11:22; 21:26; 21:35; Acts 1:8; 8:24; 13:40; and James 5:1) and "overshadow" (Luke 9:34; Acts 5:15). When the Spirit acts, how often is the human response fear and awe?

v36 I mentioned prophetic signs last week. It’s a bit of a stretch, but I guess one can view Gabriel’s revelation of Elizabeth’s pregnancy as such a sign.

Application

In the mythologies of the time, the coupling of heavenly beings—gods, angels, or demons—with humans was a common theme. [2] For example, many Greek epic heroes—Achilles, Hercules, Perseus, Theseus, et al—were alleged to be the offspring of gods. However, the mythic coupling of humans with heavenly beings was usually savage—frequently rape—and often had dire consequences for the human mate and/or their families. Paramours of Zeus were frequently victimized by Zeus’ wife, Hera. The heroes themselves were frequently involved in prophecies that brought death and destruction to the family.

Perhaps the most famous mythic rape of a mortal is portrayed in the William Bulter Yeats poem Leda and the Swan. Zeus assumed the form of a swan and raped Leda, wife of Tyndareus, King of Sparta, thereby conceiving Helen (later known as Helen of Troy).

Is that what happens when God enters into our lives? Does God, our Creator, Lord of the universe, to whom all will eventually bow (Philippians 2:9-11) force his way into our lives? Do we have any say, any right of refusal, to what God does in our lives? The Bible says:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. (Romans 8:28-30)

What, then, shall we say in response to this? Do we have the power to tell God, "No thanks, I’ll pass for now."? Do we have the right to tell God, "Not today, but ask me again tomorrow."?

"What, then, shall we say in response to this?" This is Paul’s exact question in v31! He answers his question with another question: "If God is for us, who can be against us?" The answer is: ourselves! We want God to work in our lives ... but only so far. We want God to fix the things we want fixed ... but leave the rest alone. Frequently we are scared to let God loose in our lives. Even if God is for us, we can be against ourselves!

But consider the difference between the story of Mary and the myths of Leda and others: The story of Mary begins with a proclamation of favor—great favor, continual favor. The God that loves Mary—and you, and me—loves with a sacrificial love:

I love you so much I will put my godhead aside for a bit. I will come to earth as a normal human being. I will live with you. I will suffer with you. And I will die with you. But my death will be for you, and because I die in your stead, if you give yourself to me, you will live with me forever.

No other god in the panoply of religions makes an offer like this! No other god in the panoply of religions loves as the god of Mary loves. The gods of other religions mirror human love. Love is legal tender that is demanded from those who owe you something; love is an egocentric emotion related to how good another makes you feel; love is the polite face for lust, vanity, pride, and envy. The "lover" often hurts the "beloved."

However, God loves us before we ever think of loving him (Romans 5:8). God pours out his love on those who never love him in return, who never even think of him. God never demands that we love him back. What a self-effacing love, for the Creator of universe to create you, to love you, and never to demand that you do anything for him. However, when we turn to God, when we respond to God’s favor, as God’s children made in his likeness there is only one response that works: surrender. Complete surrender. We don’t surrender because he forces us to; we don’t surrender because it is our duty; we surrender because anything less is not loving him in kind. Anything less than surrender is loving the way the world loves—not the way that God has loved us.

In v38, as Mary surrenders herself to God, one may imagine her still fearful, one may imagine her confused, or worried. However, one must imagine this child of God responding with a love that mirrors her Father’s sacrificial love for her.

Points to Ponder

You will never know the full power of God in your life, you will never know the joy of full surrender, until you know the reality of God’s love for you. Do you know in your heart that God loves you?

If you are not sure that God loves you, are you holding on to something—some past secret, some private sin—that you think is keeping you from God? God knows you better than you know yourself, and he still loves you. Can you admit to God what you’re holding on to and ask him to take it away and give you love in its place?

Can you let go & trust in God to care for you?

End Notes

1 - How is your preparation going? (I don’t mean the shopping; I mean the preparation of your heart for God!)

2 - Curiously, of the Ancient Near East religions, Judaism was perhaps the only one with no myths of conjugal visits by deities. This is a big deal! When one religion stands in stark contrast with all other religions, one needs to examine what’s going on. Judaism testifies to the holiness, transcendence, and one-ness of God; the God of the Jews would never be confused with Zeus! (Curiously, though, Jewish folklore does contain stories of fallen angels mating with humans to form the Nephilim.)