"Just Let it Be" - Luke 1:26-35 - December 12, 1999

Last Sunday afternoon, our church staged a live nativity for the community. It has been our custom to include live animals and our youth dress the parts of Mary, Joseph, angels and shepherds. But, this year the weather did not cooperate. It rained all afternoon. However, that didn’t dampen the spirit of 3 of our youth who decided to carry through with the commitment they had made to take part in the nativity. We had Joseph, Mary, and an angel. Like the postal person who delivers the mail in all kinds of inclement weather, our principle characters came through.

The most animated by far was our angel, Gabriel. She was dressed in white, complete with wings and halo. She never complained or wavered in her role. Serenely and joyously, she presided over the scene, a mortal symbol of the good news of God. One couldn’t help but think of Mary’s response to Gabriel, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord." Incidentally, these three committed youth appeared in the newspaper on Monday.

This story of Mary and her encounter with Gabriel is about another servant of the Lord. She of course found favor with God and was chosen to be the mother of Jesus. When Gabriel announced to her that she would give birth to a son she was perplexed. But Gabriel told her that the Holy Spirit would come upon her and she would conceive and that the child to be born would be holy. "Here am I, the servant of the Lord, let it be with me according to your word."

Mary resolved that the word given to her from Gabriel was good enough. She said, "Let it be." No matter what era we grew up in we have all been impacted by the music of that era. For us Baby Boomers it was the Beatles. One of their greatest hits was the song, "Let it Be." The words are as follows:

"When I find myself in times of trouble,
Mother Mary comes to me,
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
And in my hour of darkness,
She is standing right in front of me,
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be."

Let it be. But, how difficult it is for us to let it be. When we can’t find a rational explanation for something extraordinary it haunts us. Last week I was having trouble with my E-mail. For some reason it failed to connect to the server. I checked the parameters and settings, and for days could not resolve the problem. Finally, I through my arms up in frustration and said, "The heck with it." One day later, while working with my computer I noticed that my password had only 6 digits. It was supposed to have 8. Somehow it had been altered. I installed the correct password and my E-mail was on line again.

How frequently do we lose sleep at night, worry, pace, fuss and fume about problems that we can’t solve? We become obsessed with answers and explanations only to become totally overwhelmed and anxious over things we can’t solve. When we are willing to "let it be" the problems sometimes solves itself or the answer comes when we least expect it.

To let it be means to let God be God. To let go of the need to figure everything out, or to have a rational explanation for everything that happens. Sometimes we just have to resolve that things are the way they are for reasons beyond our control.

Why was Mary able to say, let it be? First, she had a deep, abiding faith. She trusted in the wisdom of God and therefore could submit to God’s plan. How often do we find our personal agendas in direct competition with what God would have us do? Mary and Joseph probably hoped to have a happy marriage in the quiet little village of Nazareth. God, however had different plans for them.

Remember the scene where the Grinch was totally puzzled by the faith of the Whos. He said, "How could it be so?" "It came without ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes and bags!" "And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before!" "Maybe Christmas," he thought, "Doesn’t come from a store." "Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!" (Dr. Seuss, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas)

Mary also had the support of her relative, Elizabeth. She too, was going to give birth. Mary, therefore, found herself in a position where she didn’t have to be alone. She had someone close to her to share her experience. And, Mary’s fear was met with the assuring presence of God through the angel, Gabriel. "Be not be afraid," Gabriel said, God cares for you.

To say, "Let it be," means to resolve that because of circumstances beyond our control things are going to be different than we had anticipated. That could be a shift in our priorities. It could mean we will be embarking on new adventures. Or, it might mean our life has many surprises in store for us in the future.

Lewis Redner was the organist at Holy Trinity Church in Philadelphia. His pastor, Rev.. Phillips Brooks wrote the words to the song, "O Little Town of Bethlehem." When the Christmas season of 1968 drew near, Rev. Brooks asked Lewis Redner to compose a simple melody to go with his words. He wanted the children to sing it on Christmas Eve. Redner struggled for several days, without inspiration. Then, on the night before the children were to sing, Redner fell asleep, exhausted, still lacking a tune. In the middle of the night he awoke with a tune and jotted down some notes. He went back to sleep and the next morning he wrote out the harmony.

One of the all time Christmas favorites is the result of one of God’s faithful who had to let it be. To let it be means to give God a chance to work within us and through us. To give time for the creative juices to flow and produce miraculous results.

Perhaps each of you needs to ask this question. "What does God want me to do with my life and am I giving God a chance to work through me ?" What is it that you can’t let go of, or, what is it you can’t say, "Let it be" to?

To say let it be really means to say "yes" to God. That because of the fact we are finite we can’t possibly comprehend how God works, only that God does. Mary accepts God’s plan for her life and consequently gives birth.

When we are willing to let it be or resolve that God is in charge of our lives we are opening the door for new birth within us. To resolve to let it be means to give way for the creative power of God to do something extraordinary with our lives.

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio