In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
Luke 1:26-27 NIVUK
What do you want to be when you get older? I wanted to be a train driver. But there are two problems with that. Have you seen how late my family arrives on a Sunday morning? And worse... I can't drive. So that career choice was out.
Then I wanted to be a professional footballer. I know, I'm a Scottish male, right? But I wasn't very good. Or very fit. No, that would not be enough for me to play for the Scottish national team. Or even Hamilton Accies.
For a while, I even dreamed about being a rock star. Those of you who knew me in my teens and early twenties will know that for a while I had the hair... but that's about it. When the pandemic stopped us from singing in church, I think my wife was quite relieved. Let's just put it that way.
Mary's dream might seem a little more limited, particularly nowadays. But, while many of us in church might have a problem with her situation, if we try to understand it then we'll get a better idea of what was happening here.
Mary was a girl. I know. How well have I studied this verse!?!? Mary was probably a young teenage girl - around 12-14 years old. Girls in those days didn't go to school. They couldn't get a job, except as a maid or a slave. Their best hope was to marry a nice man who would take care of them.
Now, before we all get angry about this, we need to understand that the first Christmas was around two thousand years ago in the Middle East. It wasn't Afghanistan. Or even the Deep South. Things were very different then.
And I'm not saying that I agree with it. If anyone asked to marry my daughter when she was 12-14 years, I know what I would have said. But in those days, Mary and her family were actually getting quite a good deal.
Allow me to explain. The Bible tells us that Joseph was a carpenter (Matthew 13:55). He made things out of wood. The Bible also tells us that people in his area knew what he did. This means that he had a reputation, so he wouldn't need to go looking for work, work would come looking for him. And this, in turn, would mean that Mary would have money - she would be financially secure.
We also see in the Bible that Joseph treats Mary with love, respect and compassion - better than many men would (Matthew 1:19).
Mary's family would also likely receive presents from Joseph's family for letting the wedding take place. And I don't mean a new phone or a computer or a games system. No, I mean something that would be valuable and important to them, like money or animals.
So although this wedding might be something that we don't feel good about because Mary is young and some people think Joseph was in his 30s, Mary's family would probably have thought it was a great idea - for them and for her.
Mary was about to do something really important and special. She was engaged to Joseph, but not quite married yet.
And then in a split second it's all at risk.
An angel visits her and says she will have a baby. A baby that won't be Joseph's.
Our heads would be spinning. Joseph would break off the wedding - that much would be sure. In fact, the Bible tells us he actually thought about it. Her family would have been furious. As an unmarried woman, she may well have found herself without someone to look after her, unable to work and very poor.
Yet her reaction is absolutely extraordinary:
‘I am the Lord’s servant,’ Mary answered. ‘May your word to me be fulfilled.’ Then the angel left her.
Luke 1:38 NIVUK
She is about to start a new life. She is about to be someone - the wife of a carpenter. And God seems to be putting all that at risk. Yet Mary still trusts Him completely.
Some of us know how that feels - when your whole life seems to have come crashing down around you.
In 2001, I was a missionary in Romania. I had been there for three years. I spoke the language. I was preaching in churches every Sunday. I was leading teams. I was even fixing computers. I loved my job. Then I got the call. "Paul, you need to come home. Your dad is really sick." I rushed home and he died two weeks later. I had to stay home. I couldn't be a missionary anymore.
A long time later, I had quite a good job for a good company - for ten years. They were making lots of money. It seemed to be very safe. Then I got an email: "We're closing the Glasgow office." I lost my job.
Maybe that's happened to you, or to someone close to you. Maybe they had such great plans, but something happened and those plans aren't going to happen anymore.
That's how it could have felt for Mary. Yet in a really tricky situation, and despite being so young, she is calm and trusts in God. And do you know what? Out of what could have been an impossible situation, she got something even better than she planned. She became Jesus' mother. She gave birth to the boy who would one day save the world.
So when we receive difficult news, and it seems like our world has come crashing down; when we had great plans, and it seems like God is messing them up, then remember this: He's probably got something much better planned for you. All you have to do is trust Him - just like Mary.
So we've seen two groups of people who were on the outside looking in - Zechariah and Elizabeth, who had no children, and Mary, who was a teenage, unmarried girl. The third group of people were outsiders too, because, although people benefited from what they did, they didn't like it. Because these men were shepherds.
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