Control and Anticipation

How many of you have had surgery where they administered anesthesia? Do you remember the feelings and thoughts in minutes waiting before they administer the anesthesia? Do you watch when the anesthesiologist injects into your IV? How about the feeling when you are signing the release papers?  How about the day that you are going to the hospital, will everything be ok? Will the surgery be successful? What will it feel like? What if I don’t wake up? What if they find something really bad? How about when you help load a loved one into an ambulance? Earlier this year, I called 911 because Laura was having some heart issues. When the ambulance arrived they checked her over to be sure that she was stable. Then gave us the news that they would be transporting her to the hospital. We decided that she would be transported to Advent Hospital near Winter Park. As I kissed her and told her that I loved her the ambulance attendant told me that I should follow along behind them. But, if they turned on the lights and sirens do not try to keep up. All was going along just fine until we reached Haines City. On went the light and sirens! I could only watch as they disappeared into the traffic ahead. All kinds of things entered my mind as I sat helplessly in the traffic!

This past year has taught us all many things about ourselves and each other. We’ve discovered the many, many things in our lives that we lose control of once started! Sometimes, we turn over the control only to find out that we never really had it in the first place. Our sense of control was actually an illusion that we are actually in control. Back at the beginning of this year none of us imagined that we would still be in the midst of the pandemic. Our government has closed businesses and limited attendance at many gatherings. I am certain that each of us has wondered if we have or have had Covid-19. If I get it what will it be like and how will I do. When will this all end? When will things finally get back to normal? If we have a new normal what will it be like? Only a few weeks ago, we all hoped and prayed for a vaccine. As we all know, today the CDC is making plans to distribute a vaccine approved by the FDA. The long process of rolling out the Covid-19 vaccine has begun; doctors and nurses have received the first immunizations.  

Now that we have a vaccine, we have a new dilemma before us: “to take the shot or not.” New numbers indicate that up to 40% of the population will not get the vaccine. There are currently no plans for mandatory vaccinations.

I’m sure that there are lots of different reason but among other reasons, the one that I hear quite often is; how do I know that it’s safe, can I really trust the government?

Then the statement, “I am not going to intentionally allow someone to inject something into my arm.” In other words, I will not give up control of my body. Once injected, it is done!

Control and Anticipation! Part of every single one of our decisions, right? We try to anticipate what the results might be once we turn over the control, knowing that we cannot turn back! Wait! What about the other options?

Can you imagine what Mary felt when visited by the angel Gabriel? “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you!”  Perplexed would probably be an understatement, right? But wait, there is more! Much more! The angel Gabriel continues, “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.” “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” said Mary. “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be call Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let be with me according to your word.”

It makes me think, wow what faith and trust! Giving up control! Hang on, we are going on an amazing journey! I’m curious how many of you would honestly say that there’s at least one area of your life, that you love to control? Some of us are confused about something going on in our lives right? Probably asking, Why is this happening? I never thought I would experience this. Lord, I can’t handle this, I don’t know what to do. I want to take control. I need to figure this out. I need control. Mary was surely in this situation as well. We read in verse 29 that Mary was perplexed, how about, agitated, confused, disturbed? Don’t we like to control the things around us? We do it with our kids: how they dress, who they hang out with, where they will go to college, and if we could who they will marry. Our spouses, did you know that there is a right way and wrong way to load the dishwasher? With social media, we want to control what people think about us. We can filter, change, and edit. We can even change our appearance.

The more we want to control, the more we fear losing control. The more we fear losing control, the more we seek to control. It’s a vicious cycle. No doubt Mary was confused, the Holy Spirit (how will that work?)  however, Mary had the faith to let go.

She really had no way of knowing where it would lead. She showed us that it takes faith, however, on the other side of our faith, we will experience the faithfulness of God, the God who is always there with us. Here’s the idea-we don’t always have the power to control, but we do have the power to surrender. When we surrender to God, there is no telling what the journey will look like or where He will take us on the way to our Salvation. Get ready for a great ride!

Mary didn’t know the end of the story. She didn’t know that three decades later her first born would be on the cross. She didn’t know that He would die and then God would raise Him from the dead. She didn’t know that all the angels would sing, and He’d ascend to heaven, and be seated at the right hand of God the Father. She had no way of knowing any of it.

In the same way none of us know what’s going to happen in our particular situation, even when we try to control it. Mary had a choice to make. We would expect that she had her dreams, she chose between her plans and God’s destiny. She had to choose between her control and God’s calling. The thing that I love about Mary is this. Even though she didn’t understand the plan, she trusted that her Father had a purpose. Mary gives us a wonderful example by being faithful in her obedience.

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?”

Jesus is telling us: if you cling to your life, you will lose it. But instead, if you give up your life, if you surrender it to me, you will find it. Surrendering means to give up the control, to trust in Him. In surrendering to Jesus we gain something that no matter how hard we try, we will never ever accomplish on our own. We gain our Salvation.

Thousands of years ago, God made a promise to send a Savior to the world. From the Book of Isaiah, we read in Chapter 9 about that promise, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be on his shoulder, and his name will be called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David, and over his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord will do this.  God fulfilled that promise through Mary. And there are many more promises He’s fulfilling even now.

Even though He isn’t going to ask us to carry “The Light of the World” in our womb, He is asking us to carry that light in our hearts. When we have that light in our hearts, we can then share the Light of Christ in our dark world. Perhaps a dark world just like the one Isaiah was describing. He told of the hope that what was to come. He didn’t indicate how long the people were to wait, though. We are also called to wait and anticipate the coming of our Lord. As we are nearing the end of the season of Advent and the Celebration of the 1st coming of the Light of the World. We also are to wait in hope and anticipation of His coming again. While we wait, what are your plans for tomorrow evening? Many people are excited to see what’s now being dubbed the “Bethlehem Star” of 2020. Tomorrow evening December 21, just after sunset in the western sky just above the horizon, Jupiter and Saturn will come into such close alignment that they will appear to be one. Calling to mind the “Bethlehem Star” the Magi followed to find the newborn Messiah. Alignments between these two planets are rather rare, occurring every 20 years or so. But this one is exceptionally rare because of how close the planets will appear to be to one another. You’d have to go all the way back to just before dawn on March 4, 1226, to see a closer alignment between those objects visible in the night sky. The day this Christmas star appears happens to be the Northern Hemisphere’s winter solstice, which is the day of the year when the North Pole is tilted the furthest away from the sun. Making this day the shortest and darkest day of the year for us!

Now could this star be the same star the wise men followed on their way to find Jesus? I doubt it! But isn’t it a great gift for us, right here in Advent? Perhaps, it may somehow help us to put ourselves into the mindset of those who longed for the long awaited and promised Messiah!    

As I said earlier, in the coming weeks or perhaps months, we will have the opportunity to make the choice of whether or not we will get the vaccine for Covid-19. Even though, there will be plenty of debate. I want you to consider this: The decision to get the shot or not isn’t really the most important point here.

The point that I would like to make this morning is that the vaccine will not save any of us. While it may help stop the spread of Covid-19. It’s saving work is only temporary. With or without the vaccine we will all pass on from this earthly life one day. We will all die. There is only one way that our death isn’t the end, there is only one vaccine that can do that, and we can only get that vaccine in one place. We receive that eternal life giving vaccine only when we turn over the control of our lives by surrendering to Jesus. When we surrender control of our lives, our hearts are then prepared to receive the daily visitation of Jesus. Why not make today that day!

Amen