"More Than Ordinary, Unlikely." By Ava Olson

This next post was a sermon my friend Ava Olson shared at her church this morning! I pray it blesses you like it blessed me.

"Good morning Living Water! I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas, whatever celebrating Jesus’ birth looked like for you. If we haven’t gotten the chance to meet yet my name is Ava and I was just recently welcomed into this family to hang out with your kids and help coordinate some of the ministries of the church. I am so excited to continue to get the hang of things here and get to know all of you. I am a Theology student so Pastor was gracious enough to come alongside that journey and ask if I wanted to preach this morning! I am excited to bring us back to the Christmas story for a second. Although it has passed, there is no character like the Virgin Mary, Jesus’ mother, to encourage us into the new year. I often hear that Mary was an ordinary choice for Jesus’ mother. That God chose an ordinary person to do the will of God, and usually that's the message. But I think more than that, she was unlikely. Since she was betrothed, it is likely that Mary was anywhere from 12-14. I’m 19 and honestly, I can’t think of anything that I am less prepared for right now

than motherhood. Being that Nazareth was not a wealthy town and Joseph, her soon-to-be husband, was a carpenter ( a working-class occupation ), the Bible suggests that she doesn’t come from means, which aids in the fact that she would ultimately have to give birth to the savior of the world in a barn. Mary identifies with the poor and the marginalized. She was a young woman under serious social constraints in a patriarchal society. Yet God sees her as completely above and separate from her circumstances. God didn’t see a scandalous woman, a young girl without any money, a female with no respect or prospects. A girl who would have no proper place to give birth. God saw her faithfulness as definitive of who she was. He chose her to birth the son of God. Heading into the new year, us children, women, and men alike can use Mary as a prime example of faithfulness and how it can change not only our circumstances but our mindsets. Let’s take a look at today's passage.

Luke 1:26-38:

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. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

Pausing here - as I read this I found myself thinking deeply about Mary’s reaction in this moment. She would have never guessed that this morning she was going to wake up and hear from an angel standing in front of her that she was

going to be pregnant all of a sudden with the Son of the Most High. To try to relate this experience to something a little more modern-day, superheroes came to mind. It was perfect as I watched Spider-Man a few weekends ago with some friends of mine as we were having an Emma Stone movie marathon. I think many of us know the story of Spider-Man before he became Spider-Man. Nothing may quite compare to the divine nature of Mary’s encounter, but as I watched, I couldn’t help but feel like to imagine myself in the shoes of Peter Parker wasn’t so far off from imagining myself in the shoes of Mary. When Peter Parker first discovers he has superpowers after being bitten by a radioactive spider, he is overwhelmed, confused, and unsure of how to handle this new reality. The moment when Peter first realizes the scope of his powers and the responsibility they bring is a lot like Mary’s experience. Peter didn’t expect this change in his life. He was just an ordinary high school student, and suddenly, he’s thrust into a new reality where his actions have far-reaching consequences. He doesn’t feel ready, and like Mary, he faces uncertainty about his new role. He is called to be a hero, a protector, and the weight of that responsibility is daunting. This is similar to Mary being told she will give birth to the Savior of the world. She is told that she will bear a child who will change everything, someone who will be a king, and her entire life will never be the same. Like Peter, she is caught off guard and must wrestle with how to navigate this massive, life-altering responsibility, even though she feels unprepared for it. I think Mary must have been shocked beyond belief. The passage says that she was greatly troubled by his words. Mary’s initial response to the angel’s words—“greatly troubled”—indicates that she was deeply disturbed or confused. The word “troubled” here comes from the Greek diatarasso, which implies agitation, disturbance, or confusion. This emotional response highlights that Mary was not expecting such an announcement, and it was not just a mild surprise—it was a significant emotional reaction. I love this, even though she was favored by God, the announcement was still confusing, unsettling even. I'll say that again - even though she was favored by the Lord, the announcement of her divine appointment was surprising and confusing, it spurred a deep emotional reaction. This moment was overwhelming for her, as she was confronted with something so far outside of her normal experience. Some of this may come from the honor the Lord placed on her. Due to her status, God’s favor may have been incredibly confusing to understand - women are to be seen as lesser than men and definitely not central to any religious matters. Sometimes even in today’s society women don’t seem central to religious matters. But God chose for Jesus to fully identify with humanity and for Mary to serve as an example to all of us. To reverse what was done in the Garden of Eden, God uses Mary to show the role that women play in His redemptive plan for humanity. The reality is that Jesus will grow up to not only respect and love his mother but to affirm women, radically, throughout His mission. I love Mary’s response to this abrupt announcement. She was very practical and blunt, she says “How will this be since I am a virgin?” The angel explains the immaculate conception and ends with “For no word from God will ever fail” and in response she says plainly. I am the Lord’s servant. May your word be fulfilled. What would it look like if we held this posture in the New Year? In our lives? God, I am your servant! Use me! I picture Mary as having her hands wide open, ready to receive God’s plan for her. What a beautiful picture of this blend of Childlike faith and incredible trust and strength. God saw the posture of her heart. From a theological perspective, God’s omniscience means He knows all things, including how individuals will respond to His calling. God’s knowledge of the future is seen as being complete and perfect. He is not bound by time as humans are, so He knew Mary’s heart, her willingness, and her faith before she was approached by the angel. He had foreseen her character and her response to His call. This does not negate Mary’s free will; rather, it means that God, in His infinite wisdom, chose someone who

would respond faithfully to His invitation. Mary’s willingness to say “yes” to God, despite the overwhelming nature of the message she received, reflects her character and her alignment with God’s will. In many Christian teachings, this is seen as both an act of divine foreknowledge and an act of Mary’s free choice to cooperate with God’s plan. Some theologians refer to this as the mystery of God’s providence and human free will—where God, in His foreknowledge, works within the bounds of human freedom to bring about His purposes. In the case of Mary, God knew she would respond with faith, and her response fit perfectly into His redemptive plan for humanity. Something interesting here from pastor Christine Caine is the idea that maybe this wasn’t the first time the Lord had interacted with Mary before. When we think about it most of us would probably see an angel before us and run away or scream or pee our pants. But the fact that Mary continues this conversation with the angel, her wondering of what kind of greeting this might be, suggests that she’s been greeted before. That she is and has been a woman after God’s heart. That her patterns of behavior and faithfulness have prepared her for this moment of acceptance and surrender to the Lord’s plan for her life. This is why she was chosen. Her faithfulness. I could end the sermon right here. But she still has an emotional reaction because she knows this is rare and special. Angelic visitations are rare in the Bible and even rarer for teenage women. What kind of woman gets chosen to birth God? An unlikely one. Because see God is birthed to our nation through unlikely people. When God had a plan to take His spirit into our lost and broken world we ask for revival but he says I’ve already sent you. He has sent us into our spaces and places whether that be your college, your workplace, your street, your community, your group of friends, he has sent you there to birth him into your environment. Of course we don't have the same task of birthing the incarnate God but we have the same Spirit within us, we are carriers of this Spirit of God. And friends I believe that the hope of the world is the church and nothing else, if you are in this church, and the church isn’t a building its the people, you have a purpose - and it looks like birthing the spirit of the living God in your space. Just like Mary He has chosen YOU! Put His spirit inside of YOU! So that you could bring healing to a broken world. This, friends, is the task of the favored. We are the salt and the light. Let’s remember this as we start this new year. The hope of the world is inside us. Can I get an amen! Now let’s turn back to Mary as our example of how to do this. What do we already know, we know she was not only ordinary but she was unlikely. If you hear one thing this morning hear this. God wants to use you as you are. Regardless of your circumstance, God is bigger than that. Regardless of your family of origin, God invites you into His. Regardless of your mental health history, God wants to use that to help others and restore what you’ve lost. I want to share something personal that I have always believed. What keeps me coming back to church, what motivates me to continue to choose God and learn more about Him why I call myself a Christian isn’t because I have been raised in the faith and it’s what I know. But it is the belief that instead of just dealing with the cards I have been dealt best I can, I get to believe and hope that there is some good that will come out of the bad. That I am still here because God said so. And that THAT God is a restorative God. Once you accept Him and recognize and feel His love for you, the next step into His kingdom is how can He use you. Ask God today, God use me. He will answer. Mary had a willing heart. From Mary we learn that nothing in life matters compared to your Yes to God. Your willingness to join His family, to have your hands open to His plan for your life. God is looking for those who are available to Him. So he sends a message to Mary and asks if she will accept His divine assignment and she says Yes! Now I want to dive a little deeper into the favor of the Lord. Mary is called favored 3 times in this larger segment of Luke chapter 1. From a Greek language context this means 3 things. 1, She has been graced by God’s unmerited kindness, 2, She is being empowered for her role in God’s plan, and 3, God’s approval rests on her, not because of her deeds but because of her willingness and faithfulness. I think sometimes our view of favor differs from this truth. It’s common for us to interpret “favor” as worldly success, material blessings, or a life free from hardship. A good parking spot or for the Bible to speak to us in unimaginable ways every time we open it. However, the biblical concept of favor often challenges this perspective. Favor doesn’t mean life will be easy—it means God is with us, equipping us to fulfill His purposes, even in difficulty. What would life look like to shift your questions from “What can God do for me?” To “How can I partner with God in His plan?” How can we give birth to the Spirit of the Lord in our contexts? Some of us might think my life is turned upside down and so I don’t have the favor of the Lord, but God is saying no that isn’t a sign that you don’t have the favor of the Lord its a sign that you might just have it! The favor of God in Mary’s case didn’t even mean a safe place to give birth. But she didn’t get stoned. Her fiancé still married her. Despite all odds she

made it through this period of her life without social rejection and shame. God's protection in this season looked like keeping her safe even though she was scared and getting her through. She then went on to become someone we continue to look up to today, the Mother of Jesus. She could have been completely stoned to death. The favor of God comes at a steep cost. The favor of God might mean losing the favor of men. Are you willing to say God I receive your favor and I understand it is for service not status. This is not a little price to pay. The reason so many of us, myself included, find it hard to surrender to God’s favor is because we are scared of what it will cost. We are scared of loosing things that we have worked hard for here on earth. We are scared that God may not come through. We are scared that He may not be working in our lives. We are scared but God says in 2 Timothy that we are not created with a spirit of fear. Jesus did not come from Heaven to die and rise again and compel us to follow Him just so that we could live in fear. No, He calls us to live as Mary with our hands open and our posture willing and in complete trust in Him. This is freedom. This is favor. Friends this task is a heavy one. We are the salt and the light we are called to bring light to a dark world we were created to be warriors for His kingdom. We’ve got to do it afraid until we aren’t afraid anymore. The enemy wants to paralyze us in fear. Jesus has defeated our circumstance, we know He is bigger than that. We pray for miracles, we practically act in our struggles and if we don't see healing there we will see it in heaven so God has already won. This is why God has not given us a spirit of fear but of love! So the angel of the Lord says do not fear, because fear will cause you to say no when God is asking you to say yes. Where in your life is God asking you to take a step of faith? Where in your life are you controlled by fear? What is the YES that God is calling you into? Some of you are thinking well I can’t say yes that wasn’t apart of my plan. My to do list is already too long God I can’t burn out again. This leap of faith feels too big, I don’t know if I can be rejected again God. This wasn’t Mary’s plan either. But friends God come to

interrupt our plans with His purposes. And His yoke is easy His burden is light it is better than we could ever imagine. Mary birthed a son on a bed of hay and then watched him get crucified but Romans 8 says there is joy that she is experiencing in heaven that cannot compare to the suffering, the fear, the rejection, the ostracism, the pain she experienced here on earth. 20 minutes. Mary was not planning on getting pregnant with God. I was not planning on being a theology major . When I toured schools I flew straight to the East Coast I looked at Boston I went to New York I checked out the biology pathways and the medical equipment I ended up declaring a major in microbiology at Berkeley. But God turned my world upside down. He threw me a curveball when my mental health got so bad I failed a math class that I should have passed easily, wrecking these plans. I was devastated. A deep emotional reaction. I questioned my worth and my values and spiraled for months. But without that sharp pivot, God wouldn’t have been able to get my attention and say Hey Ava! Actually, I want you over here. Actually, I want to heal what you are hurting from and help you use it for My glory and the good of others. I want you to be all in with me and experience true peace true freedom. And boy is it worth it. It is still hard. Over Christmas I was staying at my grandparent's house and we played a game where we asked each other questions about ourselves and our lives and one of the questions that we all answered was “What is the bravest or most courageous thing you’ve ever done?” I honestly answered majoring in theology. It takes courage to say Yes. Especially when I had other plans. Plans that seem more secure, seem smarter, seem more strategic in the world we live in. But I said yes to supernatural love and companionship because I was created for it and you were too. I have been taken deeper and closer to the living God than ever before and it fills me with more joy and purpose than the career and success I idolized. And my story is far from done. He had to interrupt my plan with His purpose through the pain. And I'm going to say something that stings just a tad but when we

make our list of reasons why we can’t say Yes to God we are not only doubting our potential we are acting as if we are rooted in pride, saying that our limitations are greater than God’s abilities. It is a miracle that I am standing here talking to you all today. And I thank you for listening as God has used all of you to continue to write my story. You are all proof, for me, that God can use me, a broken, hurting, teenage girl with faith. So I stand here with the blessing, the favor, and the honor it is to tell you that He is ready to use you too. The good news is that it's not our own ability but Gods! There is no such thing as a pregnant virgin! We disqualify God because to us it feels impossible! But in this story impossible is where God starts. Impossible is where Jesus’ life begins. I want to keep believing in this impossible. It seems to be where and when God shows up with a miracle. And it doesn’t come to those with money or those with success or talent that would take the credit anyway. But to those whose situations get to a point of impossible and God says this is my time to shine. This is when I turn this around

for your good and my glory. God says I choose You, will you say yes to Me and let Me turn your life upside down. He says Mary I didn’t ask if it was possible, I asked you to say yes. “But God how will this be I am a virgin? How will this be if I don’t have the financial security? God, how will this be I don’t have the safety net? God, how will this be my mental health is so bad right now? God, how will this be my situation is so unstable right now? The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. For no word from God will ever fail. This is what we get to believe in, instead of doing our best with the cards we have been dealt. And I don’t know what you’ve been through, what you’ve seen, what you’ve struggled through. What your darkest nights have looked like. Only God does. But if I know anything it's that He wants to love you through it and give you purpose. That is the truth we get to step into the New Year with. And even on your best days you are no more able to enact this plan than on your worst because the good news is that it isn’t about you. It is Whose you are. It’s not about

you, it's about God's ability. Some of us may feel stagnant in our faith. We’re right in the middle ground. Things have become manageable enough that you don’t feel like you need God or you need faith to get through the day. You said yes a long time ago. God calls you again. God calls you to give birth to the Spirit of the Lord to this generation, again. Because we need it now more than ever. We're going to look crazy. Mary was ready and willing to look crazy. She was ready for the mockers and the reputation and the scorning and the barn. She was ready and she was willing and unto us a child was born! All over scripture we see this. Peter stepping out believing he could walk on water. Jonah getting swallowed by a whale and still coming out alive, managing to work his way to Nineveh, Moses parting the Red Sea with a stick. With these examples we need to start expecting that our lives are going to look confusing when we yield to God's plan! So much of my life this past year can be summed up as I don’t really know what I am doing. I know I am not alone in this. And I don’t really know why I'm doing what I'm doing. I

know I am not alone in this either. But I keep going because I believe that somehow it will make sense down the line. Because I’ve seen it happen before and God will do it again it's just in His nature. A spiritual mentor of mine once said aloud in prayer, “God I’ve got a stick and a Red Sea in front of me!” how foolish Moses must have looked to those around him. How foolish Jesus must have looked on the cross as he was mocked “This is the messiah? This is the king of the Jews?” We must be ready to look foolish. We know that no one in the Bible has done anything significant for the kingdom without looking foolish to the people around them first. It’s okay if it only makes sense to you and God. God is asking are there any Christians who are willing to look foolish to birth me into their vicinity? Our world is desperate. We don’t need the wealthy, we don't need the successful, we don't need the high and mighty, we need the marginalized who are just desperate enough for God to be radical for Christ and look foolish while they live it out. Mary was willing to risk everything to birth the incarnate God to her world. And unto us a child was born! To us a son is given and the government shall be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. And now the Spirit of this living God dwells within us when we say Yes to him. Let us live like it. Mary did. My aunt, pastor Christine Ingebretson raises beautiful imagery when it comes to Mary. She challenges the idea we often hold about her, the visuals that come to mind. We think she is soft and young, naive and soft. I’m not sure how we got to this conclusion given that this 13 year old gave birth surrounded by animals on a stack of hay with no epidural! I picture Mary as a woman who knew God intimately because she said yes to Him as a girl and continued to pursue Him. He greeted her often and she was ready for His request of her when the time came because Mary is a brave young woman who put all her faith in God. Mary showed no signs of halting at the face of danger or fear, in fact, she sings a song of joy. Take a moment and meditate on this song with me.

Luke 1:46-55 says this:

And Mary said: My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, fro the Mighty One has done great things for me - holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.

This is Mary’s response when she realizes the magnificent work the Lord is doing in and through her. May we look to Mary and model her posture of surrender in the coming New Year and say Yes to what we know God is calling us to in this next season.