The Wind Cries

Luke 1:26-33

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

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A broom is drearily sweeping
Up the broken pieces of yesterdays life
Somewhere a queen is weeping
Somewhere a king has no wife
And the wind, it cries Mary

"The Wind Cries Mary" by Jimi Hendrix

We are currently in the sixth month of the year according to the Jewish calendar. That makes the date of our dear Savior's birth nine months away. It seems like the wrong time to consider Christmas, but a nine-month pregnancy being what it is, the time is upon us to consider this passage.

So imagine you're a teenage girl. I don't mean eighteen or nineteen either, I mean thirteen, maybe fifteen if you're an old maid. You're a virgin because you've followed society's rules. Then you hear these magical words, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” Can life get any better than that?

Then you hear these words, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.” Have you ever noticed when people, even angels say “Do not be afraid” it's time to duck? Those may well be the international signal for “Look out!”

Mary was in for something different. She was a good girl, she did the right things the right way and suddenly everyone is going to think she's a whore! It's logical, it's sensible. Then again, God's wisdom is our folly and vice-versa. You can't blame her for thinking “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you” is a cruel hoax.

Mary was told of her son's future. She was told that he would be great, the Son of the Most High. She was told that he would have the throne of David and reign over the house of Jacob forever. She was told of his infinite reign. It must have been a reassurance, but still...

Mary's life suddenly featured a broom sweeping up the broken pieces of yesterday's life. It wouldn't be easy. She would eventually be shipped off to her cousin Elizabeth's house. There she would be blessed by Elizabeth and her child. It wouldn't be easy, but she would be blessed.

By her blessing the world would be blessed.

Her pregnancy would not be easy. She would be doubted by her betrothed and by her people. She would be forced to ride in the dead of winter in the wilderness. She would give birth in a cave and her baby placed in a feed trough. He would fulfill what the angel promised and more.

"And more" happens next week, Holy Week. Mary wasn't told about this. Surely it would have broken her heart then as much as it did thirty-some years later. And as it was on Easter Sunday so it is today, the wind cries Mary.

Standing in the Fiery Furnace

Daniel 3:26-28

Nebuchadnezzar then approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire and said, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men; the hair of their heads was not singed, their tunics were not harmed, and not even the smell of fire came from them. Nebuchadnezzar said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted in him. They disobeyed the king’s command and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God.

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You don't care for me
I don't care about that
You gotta new fool, ha!
I'd like to laugh at

I have only one itchin' desire
Let me stand next to your fire.

"Fire" by Jimi Hendrix

Let's start with this, Nebuchadnezzar did not dislike Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Shoot, among the Jewish exiles brought to Babylon they were among the King's favorites. The only exile mentioned more in the book of Daniel was Daniel. But still, he's a king and a pagan king at that, so he had his own god and built a statue of the god and decided that everyone had to bow before the statue. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego just couldn't do that and this is where it all began.

Nebuchadnezzar didn't dislike Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, but what king can take sass from his slaves?

So the furnace was lit and was set to burn seven times hotter than normal. It burned so hot, the men who took Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to the fire were burned to death putting them into it. But there was not a singe mark nor even the smell of fire on the three when they came out of the furnace. What was odd was that while only three went into the fire, and only three came out, scripture tells us that there were four in the fire.

Nebuchadnezzar knew when he was licked and demanded anyone who blasphemed the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be torn limb from limb. Nasty. Back to that sass thing, the King knew he couldn't sass the Lord.

The joy is that the power of the Lord is so wonderful that it protects the disciples. In the fires of this age and every age, God protects. Against the kings of this age, against those who worship other gods (and yes, there are many who still worship other gods like money, power, fame, and prestige) our God protects us. It doesn't mean we won't ever be thrown into the fire, but it does say that God is with us when we are.

We have all faced some hot, hot fires in this age; but still, when we are assembled, even in the fiery furnace, God is there with us.