Uncommon Favor (Luke 1) Chris Altrock and Frank Bolling

May 19th, 2012 was a memorable day. That was the day that Megan and I (Frank) were married. That day stands out for many reasons. One, I married the love of my life. And two, I got to spend a few minutes with my dad getting advice about life.

He had many wise and fatherly things to say, but one comment of his stuck out. He said, “Be a couple, before you are a group.” It was sound advice—enjoy the time with Megan before you welcome a baby into the world. Because a baby will change your life forever (something he kept emphasizing).

We intended to take this advice to heart and wait, I don’t know, as long as we could before having a baby. I thought my dad would be proud of our decision to wait to have children, but I was wrong. Something happened to my father on the car ride home from Shreveport, LA back home to Atlanta, GA that day. The only logical explanation I can think of is alien abduction because that is the only explanation for the dramatic change that my dad experienced. Because he went from practical, sound advice about waiting to have a child to just a little over six months later constantly asking, “When are you going to have my grandchild!”

     I realize what happened. As I have been told several times since then–grandchildren are the reward for having children.  And apparently it will be a big reward for my dad because he is excited.

     New babies bring lots of excitement. And new parents have matched the excitement of family and friends by priming the anticipation through a creative process of reveals. Step 1: reveal that you are pregnant. Step 2: reveal the gender. Step 3: reveal the picture of your beautiful newborn. Each of these reveals builds the excitement and the anticipation, and as you can see people are getting more and more creative and elaborate with how they choose to reveal this good news of a new child. 

Luke probably understood this excitement. After all, he is a physician. He’s the author of the book of Luke and the book of Acts. But he’s also a doctor. And I wonder, as a physician, if he ever delivered babies? Did he ever get called in the middle of the night to help bring a new life to light?

What we do know is that he was intensely interested in the birth announcement of Jesus. Luke gives some of the most intricate and intimate details about this birth. And what he provides is surprising. Very surprising.

Luke is not only a physician. He’s a theologian. Meaning, he’s got a great deal of insight into God and God’s ways. Thus, Luke doesn’t just report Jesus’ birth announcement. He draws our attention to certain elements about that announcement that he believes are critical. Here’s his account:

²⁶ In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, ²⁷ to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” ²⁹ But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. ³⁰ And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. ³² 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 father David, ³³ and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1:26-33 ESV)

One of the most important lines in this birth announcement is the angel Gabriel’s words to Mary: “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” It’s a fascinating phrase. The Latin Vulgate translates “O favored one” as “full of grace.” “Grace” is a literal translation of that word “favored.” But this greeting is not about Mary’s grace. It’s about God’s grace. The angel is saying, “Greetings, O one who has been shown much grace.” “Greetings, O one who is now the object of God’s gracious kindness.”

What’s most fascinating about this phrase is how Luke emphasizes that Mary’s not necessarily the one we’d think would be favored by God. She’s not necessarily one we’d think the Lord would be with. Luke carefully contrasts this birth narrative with the one that comes before it–the birth of John the Baptist to Zechariah and Elizabeth:[1]

·      Zechariah holds an official position among the people. Mary does not.

·      Zechariah is explicitly described as “righteous.” Mary is not.

·      Zechariah learns of the conception of John by Elizabeth in the holy Temple in the holy city of Jerusalem. Mary learns of her conception of Jesus in a backwoods place called Nazareth.

Luke Timothy Johnson writes about Mary, “She is among the most powerless people in her society: she is young in a world that values age; female in a world ruled by men; poor in a stratified economy. Furthermore, she has neither husband nor child to validate her existence.”

Yet Mary is greeted with these words: “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” Mary is unfavorable by all accounts in her culture. Mary’s the one we’d count on not be shown special attention by the Most High God. In fact, this greeting is so unexpected that Mary, Luke writes, “was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.” Me? Favored one? Do you have the right address? Are you talking to the right person? Me? Favored one? The Lord is with me?”

It’s a greeting designed to communicate one simple yet profound truth: God favors the unfavored.

And to make sure we understand just how significant that reality is, Mary stops and sings about it.

Some of you have been to Broadway plays, whether in New York City or at the Orpheum. In most Broadway plays, there’s a lot of action. There’s also a lot of dialog. But at key moments, one or more of the characters will break into song. (I’ve sometimes imagined what real life might be like if it were more like a Broadway play. Imagine going to a restaurant and asking the waiter a question about the menu and he breaks into a song and dance!) But in Broadway plays, generally, the song is placed strategically as a way of helping the audience know the importance of something that just happened. The song takes some piece of action or some bit of dialog that just happened and explores it more deeply.

This is what happens as Luke writes his gospel. After giving us this dialogue between Mary and the angel, and then more dialogue between Mary and Elizabeth, Luke gives us a Broadway musical. Mary breaks into song. And with her song, she wants to help us explore this idea that God favors the unfavored. Here’s her song:

⁴⁶ And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, ⁴⁷ and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, ⁴⁸ for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; ⁴⁹ for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. ⁵⁰ And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. ⁵¹ He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; ⁵² he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; ⁵³ he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. ⁵⁴ He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, ⁵⁵ as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” (Luke 1:46-55 ESV)

What’s Mary singing? Mary is singing that what’s just happened to her is what’s happened to many people like her through the ages. God, she sings, has made a habit out of greeting the most unlikely people with “Greetings O favored one, the Lord is with you!” The Lord, God her Savior, has made a career of showing favor to the unfavored.

God, Mary sings, has a tradition of bringing down the mighty from their thrones and lifting up those of humble estate. He fills the hungry and empties the rich. In other words, God acts in counter-cultural ways. While culture favors only the wealthy, the powerful and the elite, God also favors the lowly, the poor and the victims. He values those on the margins. The neglected. The forgotten. The cast out. God favors the victims of racism, ageism, sexism, and elitism. God calls invaluable those whom others call invisible. God, Mary sings, shows favor to the unfavored. And this is the way God’s always worked.

And this is a theme that Luke wants to highlight not just because it is important, but because it is an essential part of the Gospel. This reality, it appears, is why Luke wrote his two-volume work in the first place.

Look back at how Luke begins his story about Jesus:

¹ Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, ² just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, ³ it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, ⁴ that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught. (Luke 1:1-4 ESV)

Luke writes to a man named Theophilus. He actually writes two volumes to Theophilus because Acts is addressed to the same person (Acts 1:1). These two volumes together, make up one fourth of the total volume of the New Testament.  Thus, we have more words from Luke than we do anyone else in the New Testament.[2]

Because we have so much from Luke written to Theophilus, this raises some questions. First, who is Theophilus? Second, why is Luke writing to him? Theophilus is most likely a patron who has helped make it possible for Luke to research and write these two volumes.[3]

But Theophilus is more than patron. He is a representative of a larger group whom Luke is addressing. Luke is writing to a mostly Gentile readership.[4] Time and Time again we see Luke describing how God extends his grace and mercy to those who are unfavored. Luke says that not only does God favor the poor and women but he also favors the Gentiles! Luke brackets his gospel with references to the inclusion of the Gentiles (2:30-32; 24:47). That may not mean much to us. But in the Jewish world of Jesus’ time, Gentiles were the unfavorable. The outcast. The enemy. They were looked down upon. Considered heathen. Considered unclean. This is who Theophilus is. And this is who he represents.

And Luke says he’s writing “that you—Theophilus—may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.” When Luke talks about certainty here he is not talking about determining the truthfulness of what it written in his gospel. Theophilus is already a Christian and a brother in Christ. Therefore when Luke speaks of certainty, he wants Theophilus to be confident and assured of the truth of the gospel. Luke knows that people like Theophilus may have a lot of doubts about whether or not they have any place in God’s good work on this earth (what Luke calls “the things that have been accomplished among us.”) It’s highly likely that Theophilus is asking, “Me? Favored one? Do you have the right address? Are you talking to the right person? The Lord is with me?” And what Luke wants Theophilus and those like him to hear is that this unexpected message from God, through Gabriel applies to them. Even to them, especially to them, God is saying, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” He wants them to have total assurance and absolute confidence that those words are meant for them.

But what’s perhaps most surprising is what comes next. Because we don’t move just from in Luke’s gospel a birth announcement to a death announcement, from Jesus’ cradle to Jesus’ cross. There’s something in between. There’s three years of Jesus enacting this statement: “Greetings O favored one, the Lord is with you!” Jesus incarnates that statement and enacts it in the life of as many people as he possibly can. This is what the rest of Luke’s gospel focuses on.

Luke draws special attention to the way Jesus befriended, served, helped and healed those who were considered unfavorable in Jesus’ world: sinners, tax collectors, the sick, the lame, lepers, children, women, Samaritans, and others. Luke especially focuses on how Jesus gathers at the table with unfavorable people. Jesus eats with them–a sign in his day of love, grace and kindness. And to each one of these unfavorable people Jesus lives out the words, “Greeting, O favored one, the Lord is with you.” In the words of Luke 7:34, Jesus becomes a “friend to…sinners.”

     Not long ago senior columnist for USA Today Jonathan Merritt wrote about this aspect of Jesus’ life.[5] A prominent Christian leader had recently stated on social media that Jesus didn’t really befriend “sinners.” These were people who were called sinners by Jesus’ enemies, but they weren’t truly sinners.  Instead, they were believers and followers of Jesus. This statement was affirmed by another significant figure in Christendom who wrote that Jesus only befriended people who already believed in him and were already sorry for their sinful lives. In other words, Jesus did not favor the unfavored. He only favored those who had decided to get their acts together. This didn’t sound right to Merritt. So he decided to interview a number of New Testament scholars. And each one affirmed Luke’s statement: Jesus was indeed a friend to the most sinful, most marginal, and most scorned people of his day. It was his way of living out the truth of this statement: Greetings, O favored one!

And then, in volume 2 of Luke,–the book of Acts, Jesus continues to enact this statement. Through his church, Jesus continues to show favor to the unfavorable. The church serves the poor, heals the hurting, befriends the Gentiles, and erases the lines which others have drawn between races, genders, economic classes and nationalities. The church becomes a friend even to sinners. To each unfavored one, the church enacted the favor of Jesus.

And for Luke, that’s the Gospel. The Gospel is not merely Jesus coming as a baby. It’s not merely Jesus dying and being raised. The largest part of the Gospel, the part Luke spends more pages on than any other aspect of the Gospel, is Jesus enacting in his flesh and in his church these words: “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you.”

Emily Colson, daughter of the late Christian leader Chuck Colson, wrote a few months ago about a heart-rending situation.[6] She took her 23 year old son with her to see the recent Muppet movie. Max, her son, is autistic. When the previews began, Max said out loud, “I want to go home.” A little later, he said it again, “I want to go home.” Other movie viewers began to shush Max and Emily, irritated at his outbursts. Then things got ugly. Someone demanded, “Aren’t you going to make him quiet?” A family got up and walked out. People began to jeer at Max. And as Emily and Max got up and left, unable to take it anymore, someone cried out, “He’s retarded.” Others began to applaud Max’s leaving. When one of Emily’s friends heard of the incident, she decided to do something about it. Emily’s friend rented the entire theatre for a private showing of the Muppet movie. And she invited Max and special needs kids to fill the theatre. All 294 seats were filled. Filled with the unfavorable. Filled with the ones to whom Jesus says, “Greetings O favored one. The Lord is with you.”

But even for us Christians, this greeting is not always easy to pass along. A friend of mine named Jonathan Storment recently reflected on the death of Fred Phelps.[7] Phelps founded the Westboro  Baptist Church. This is the church that proclaimed that God hates the unfavored: homosexuals, soldiers and anyone else not righteous enough. And on Thursday Phelps died. He had been kicked out of the very church he founded. He died a bitter man, hating all those whom God hated. A man convinced that God had no favor for many.

And now, Jonathan suggests, most Christians hate Fred and believe that God hates Fred. But in hating Fred, and in believing God hates Fred, Jonathan asks, aren’t we guilty of Fred’s very sin? Aren’t we guilty of saying that God does not favor the unfavored—at least not as unfavored as Fred?

Luke’s gospel stretches us to believe in a God who shows favor to the unfavored—even those whom we may never believe could be shown favor. After all, aren’t we all, in our own unique ways, unfavorable? And don’t we all, in our own desperate ways, need to hear this line from God: “Greetings O favored one, the Lord is with you.”

Luke’s understanding of Gospel compels us to do two things. First, it compels us to believe that, no matter how forgotten or neglected or abused or abandoned or mistreated we feel in our own culture, God is saying to us, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you.” Luke’s gospel compels us to believe that no matter how the racial majority has treated us, how the boss has treated us, how government  has treated us, how a spouse or a parent has treated us, that God’s most important word to us is this: Greetings, O favored One, the Lord is with you.”

     Second, it compels us to be filled with the favor we have been shown and to pour it out into the community around us. To do for the unfavorable in our families, schools, cities, and world what Jesus did in his flesh and in his church. It calls us to use good words and good deeds to convince the most hurt and neglected that they too are favored by God. They too are loved by God. That God is with them every bit as much as he is with anyone deemed favorable or more suitable.

This is the gospel-root for evangelism and social justice. We share good words about Jesus, God, and the Spirit because we know these spoken words of evangelism are part of the way we convince the unfavored in our own world that God favors them. And we share good deeds in the name of Jesus, God and the Spirit because we know these actions of social justice are part of the way we demonstrate God’s favor on the unfavored.

Today, we can be certain that God is with us and has shown us his favor. And we can also be a vessel, used by God, to spread that favor into the lives of others. What will you be filled with, and what will share with the world?