DECEMBER 14th, 2025 PASTOR DON PIEPER
Luke's Gospel Of Grace Isaiah 7:1-3a,7-14 / LUKE 1:26-38
“THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! OR IS IT?”
Our gospel reading had some striking similarities with last week's reading. First, there's the appearance of an angel – it's not like that happens every day! It had been over 500 years since the last one – and it's the very same angel no less! Second, he brings news of a supernatural birth..., and third, as with Zechariah, there's a bit of hesitation on the receiving end. Luke informs us that “Confused and troubled..., Mary asked, 'How can this be? I'm still a virgin'.” (Luke 1:29, 34)
The Greek word Luke uses to describe Mary's state of mind is dia-ta-rax'they. It means to be confused, deeply unsettled or greatly troubled – to find yourself completely out of your element!
Like Zechariah, Mary's first reaction was that of fear and confusion. Gabriel encourages her by addressing her troubled uncertainty: “Don't be afraid, Mary. Nothing is impossible with God.” (Luke 1:30, 37)
It brings to mind once again C.S. Lewis’ Narnia stories. Lucy finds her way into an enchanted land of snow one summer by way of a mysterious wardrobe. When she tells her sister and brothers of her experience they refuse to believe her. Her sister, Susan, even tells the professor theyre staying with of Lucy’s over active imagination, and that “It was like talking to a crazy person”.
Later, as she herself stands in snow-covered Narnia, Susan articulates her doubts and fears with a single word: “Impossible!” Fear repeatedly robs Susan of her potential. In the following book, having failed to believe Lucy and trust in the Lion’s words yet again, Susan turns to Lucy and says, “Sorry I'm that way.” It's no coincidence that Susan’s fearful first utterance in Narnia are the evil witch’s last before being defeated by the resurrected lion, Aslan: “Impossible!”
So what do you do when fear freezes you in your tracks? How do you respond when you feel, like Zechariah and Mary, that you are out of your element? What do you do when what you're asked to believe, what the majority out there or around you say, is 'impossible'?
Interestingly enough scripture speaks to this issue more often than any other, more than even the command to love one another. The single most often stated command in all of scripture, stated some 366 times in the Bible, one for every day of the year, including leap year, can be reduced into two words: 'Fear not!' Or in the Luke's classic Greek: mai phoboo, from which we get the word, phobia.
(Luke 1:30)
Why are these words so crucial? Because fear disrupts faith and is the main obstacle to trusting and obeying God. John Ortberg tells of the time he and his wife and another couple went up in a hot air balloon in which the basket only came up to their waist... After hearing their pilot's story, John's wife said, “You mean to tell me we are a thousand feet up in the air with an unemployed surfer who started flying because he got drunk, crashed a pickup and isn't even sure how to bring this thing down?”
That's when the other wife said her first/last words:“You're a pastor! Do something religious!”
So I did; I took an offering! My story like yours is in part the struggle between faith and fear. We each get only one shot at this thing called life. The question is, do you trust the pilot flying this thing?”
(from John Ortberg's If You Want to Walk on Water You've Got to Get Out of the Boat)
All of us have fears that grab hold of us and influence us. Ever since falling off a double-decker slide on my head when I was six, I’ve had a terrible fear of heights. My parents thought there might be permanent damage; my siblings are convinced there was! They're probably right!
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Some, jump at the sight of a spider, (arachnophobia). Others of us are afraid of falling, which is (basophobia)- or of the dark, nychtophobia. Others of falling, on spiders, in the dark - messyphobia A common fear for parents this time of year are those terrifying words: some assembly required!
You know who you are! Monty Python provided us fearophobiacs a hero to rally behind – Sir Robin of Camelot. Remember him? He's the one who nearly fought the fierce marmot of Annor, and who almost stood up to the vicious chicken of Bristol. He traveled around with a minstrel who sang of his less than heroic exploits and of his phobia-ridden tendency...
“Bravely fled Sir Robin, Sir Robin ran away. When danger reared it's ugly head, he bravely turned his tail and fled; yes, brave Sir Robin turned about, and gallantly he chickened out!
Bravely fled Sir Robin, Sir Robin ran away.”
For some reason he was always trying to get his minstrel to stop singing. There is such a thing as good fear however: the fear that keeps a child from touching a hot stove, or an adult from driving recklessly, or a man from dressing the way he wants – primarily out of fear of what his wife will do! I don't know how many times my mother stopped my Dad...: 'Dear, that tie does not go with that shirt!'
If fear only happened when it was needed, it wouldn’t be a concern, but the problem is that fear so often becomes that force within us that becomes paralyzing instead of motivating. The number of commands in the Bible suggests that fear generally plays a destructive role in our lives and faith. Truth is, personal or spiritual growth always involves risk, and risk always involves fear.
Most people don’t fully grasp how scary not only Mary’s encounter with the angel was but what
it was he was proposing. Whenever angels interact with people in the Bible, it prompted tremendous fear. These aren't babies with wings, these are truly fearsome, formidable beings.Ever read Revelation? What's more, Mary was, in effect, being asked to risk everything – her reputation, her family’s honor, her safety, her very life. A woman found guilty of being sexually active outside of marriage back then was liable to being stoned to death. When it became known that her child did not belong to Joseph, Mary had much to fear. She risked everything when she complied with God’s radical plan.
That's what makes her final response to Gabriel so powerful! “I am the servant of my God. I live to do your will.” (Luke 1:38) Every time we sing that line during Lent, in the Holden Evening Prayer service, I choke up. It was natural for her to be afraid, and yet she embraced the risk in faith!
In the movie Chariots of Fire, English runner Harold Abrams runs against Scottish champion, Eric Liddell, and loses for the first time in his life. The pain of failure is so great he decides he cannot race again. “Harold,” his girlfriend says, “this is ridiculous. It’s a race you’ve lost, not a relative.”
Harold moans, “But I’ve lost.” “I know. I was there,” she answers. “You were marvelous. He was more marvelous. He won this time, but if you can’t take a beating, perhaps it’s for the best.” Suddenly Harold explodes: “I don’t run to take beatings – I run to win!” A cool silence fills the air, and then finally and firmly she says, “Harold, if you don’t run, you can’t win.”
To run the best race you can, and win – that is glorious. To run the race, to give your best and lose – that’s painful - but it is not failure. Failure is refusing to run the race at all!
I’m so thankful that alone among the gospel writers Luke provides us such a keen and in depth look into the heart and character of Mary. Faced with an imposing and intimidating individual and situation she was overcome with fear. God’s word for her? “Do not be afraid, Mary.” (Luke 1:30)
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Confronted with a challenge that seemed impossible at best she was deeply troubled: “How can this be since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34) Her question reflects her deeprooted uncertainty – but it also simutaneously connects this moment with the prophet's promise: “The Lord will give you a sign! Behold! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and he will be called Immanuel, (which means 'God is with us'!)” (Isaiah 7:14) It was a sign given originally to the king and his people “whose hearts trembled with such fear that they were like trees shaking in a storm!”
(Isaiah 7:2)
Knowing that God works his perfect and wonderful plan in those who place their trust in Him Mary did what Ahaz would not, she courageously stepped out on to the risky road the Lord had called her to tred. “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.” (Luke 1:38)
In just a few minutes she went from a place of fear, to one of confusion to one of clarity and courage. She didn’t necessarily know where this challenging road would lead but she knew who would be sitting in the pilot’s seat and she trusted him to the core.
Dathan was an angry, violent and defiant man when he met a Christian who led him to Christ. But when asked about being baptized at the beach he admitted that he was terrified and struggled to even talk about it. He eventually told the pastor that when he was eleven his best friend was attacked by a shark while the two of them were swimming together.
His pastor told him there were other options and then sought to encourage him: ‘The likelihood is so low that you would get attacked by a shark, you would know it was God’s will for your life if a shark did attack you.’ Strangely enough, Dathan didn’t find that very comforting, but the pastor wasn't finished. ‘But Dathan, if you live, if by chance no shark kills you and you survive the experience, then you will know without a shadow of a doubt that God has kept you alive, that He has a purpose for you to fulfill. We could do this in a pool or Jacuzzi but I think for you, it really ought to be the ocean.’
A couple of weeks later Dathan was baptized in the Pacific Ocean. As soon as he returned to the beach he threw himself onto the sand and wept. When asked later what had overwhelmed him he said it was no longer fear that was the issue; it was the knowledge that God has a purpose for his life.
Like Dathan, we've been called to follow Jesus which is risky business. There be sharks in dem waters. Again and again the scriptures call us to conquer our fears, not by avoiding the risky path or choice, but relying on a supernatural strength that doesn’t come from within but from above.
That day I nose-dived off that slide all but left me paralyzed with a fear of heights. To this day I can get vertigo simply standing on a chair! One day I found myself clutching, the railing of a high dive diving board. I was like a staligtite, frozen in fear. If I could’ve climbed back down I would’ve but other kids were on the ladder waiting, encouraging me with words like: ‘Go already, icycle boy!’
Fortunately, my brother Frank was the one right behind me, and he began to encourage me, telling me how he would be in right after me to make sure I was alright. As I looked back at him, he smiled and said, “Don, it only lasts a couple of moments. Just pretend your Lou Costello from one of those old Abbott and Costello monster movies you like so much.”
That’s how I nailed the high jump that day – yelling ‘Abottttt!’ all the way down...!
I think if God had anything to say to you right now, it might be this: “This here, it only lasts a couple of moments. Trust me. I'm right behind you. Whenever you act in risky obedience and jump in in response to my call and invitation – that you will have forever. So 'mai phonoo' – 'Fear not!'”
(Luke 1:30)
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Let’s pray: Thank you, Lord, for your servant, Mary. Thank you for those, like her, whose faith inspires us to be courageous. We, too, are your servants. Help us to likewise trust in you, to trust in your promises knowing that “the word of God will never fail”, for“nothing is impossible with God”. (Luke 1:37)
Help us to raise our voices up to you in the midst of life's troubling moments, as did she, and declare: “Oh, how my soul praises the Lord! How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! For the Mighty One is holy, and He has done great things for me! He's filled the hungry with good things!”
(Luke 1:46, 49, 53)