"Lamp Post" -- Sermon from December 23, 2023

Bethlehem Lutheran Church Podcast

One of the ideas behind our theme of rePHRASE was how perspective changes the way we interpret a story. This week’s focus text is a good example of how a little different perspective can help us relate to a familiar story that we may find unapproachable with our past perspective. The Annunciation, when an angel visited Mary to tell her she would carry the Son of God, often depicts Mary as at peace with the unbelievable life-changing news. Pastor Chad invites us to take a different perspective of the story, the word describing Mary as perplexed is better translated as: deeply troubled. The news was a major disruption to Mary’s plan for life. We know disruption, we know what it is to be deeply troubled when our life isn’t going according to plan. Understanding the Annunciation from this perspective helps make it relatable and offers us hope that we can find the same comfort that Mary found in trusting God’s plan!