“Nothing will be impossible for God.” That’s what the angel told Mary and isn’t that good news. Whew. Dealing with the coronavirus and returning to normal will not be impossible for God. Finding a way to create a more just and peaceful society free of racism will not be impossible for God. Making a world where there are no more hungry people will not be impossible for God. Since the story from the gospel concerns a domestic matter – Elizabeth getting pregnant after years of trying – we can presume that our personal concerns also fall under the angelic purview as well. Having a family where everyone gets along will not be impossible for God. Being able to forgive those who have hurt us and be forgiven in turn will not be impossible for God. Finding peace and serenity even while grieving the loss of a someone we love will not be impossible for God. Look at the prime example of this truth in the story of the Annunciation itself. It will not be impossible for the Son of the Most High to be born in the human condition. It will not be impossible that the child to be born will be holy, the Son of God. It will not be impossible for God to stoop down and share a life like ours in all things, but sin. It will not be impossible for the God who spangled the sky with the Pleiades and Orion and created the platypus, the pachyderm, and the python to enter human life so completely that he would need to learn how to walk, to spit, to snap his fingers. If that doesn’t prove that nothing will be impossible for God, what would!
A closer look at the story of the Annunciation story should make us pause in thinking of all those divine possibilities. It is not impossible for God, the Word, to become flesh, but for this to happen Mary must play her part as well. Her fiat, her “May it be done to me according to your word” was necessary before God could do the seemingly impossible thing. Nor is that limited to Mary. Look at all the examples of God doing impossible things – society, family, world — they all demand that we play our part for the divine plan to become fulfilled. Yes, God can do seemingly impossible things but God needs us to do it! This says something very profound about God. If I were the almighty (and I suspect I am not alone in this) I would be using divine power to make things happen. A thunderbolt or two discretely applied might do wonders for our body politic. But no, God counts on us. I’m reminded old Italian story about Luigi who goes to church every day and pours out his heart before God, begging, “Dear God — please, please, please…do me this favor and let me win the lottery.” This lament goes on for months, for years. Finally his sincerity and longevity so impresses God that one day a voice comes booming into the church addressing the man, “Luigi, I hear your prayer but do me this favor — please, please, please…buy a lottery ticket.” What a mighty God we serve – but God has chosen not to impose the divine will upon us but partners with us in the kingdom-task of making this world look more as it is supposed to look – a place of love and justice and kindness and mercy. Our heavenly Father is not one to coerce us into doing the right thing whether we do so or not. Rather, God invites, cajoles, asks, entices, persuades us that the godly way is the right way, that the divine plan is better than mine, that together nothing will be impossible.
In the back of my head this talk of doing impossible things reminds me of Alice in Wonderland. Alice tells the Red Queen, “‘There’s no use trying,’ she said; ‘one can’t believe impossible things.’ ‘I daresay you haven’t had much practice,’ said the Queen. ‘When I was younger, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.’” The Bible tells us that nothing is impossible for God but do we act out of that belief? Do we trust that the possibilities we have with God? You can imagine Mary being tempted to think: “I’m just a young girl. How can the likes of me bring God into the world. How can it be possible that God would choose someone who was so inexperienced to do something so important?” You can imagine Joseph thinking, “I’m just a working stiff. I know a lot about wood and how to use a blade but that’s my skill set. How can it be possible that an ordinary bloke like me be responsible for creating a space for the presence of God in the world?” Every one of us is tempted to think: “I try to be good. I try to do the right thing but I have faults and failings, limits and frailties. The idea that I have a role in making God’s kingdom come, God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven is beyond the likes of me. How can it be possible that I am supposed to be a missionary in the providence of my everyday life? How can it be possible that God would use me to bring Jesus into my home, my work, my school, my neighborhood when I am not that sure about things myself?”
Maybe the Red Queen had it right. Maybe we have to practice believing impossible things in order to understand the part we play in bringing them about, as Mary did. I believe there will be adequate health care on the South Side of Chicago. I believe that there will be an end to gun violence in our city. I believe that every child will be given the opportunity to grow in wisdom, age and grace. Impossible, you say? With God, all things are possible. Witness the impossible thing we celebrate in Advent: Emmanuel, God is with us, Jesus is in our midst, sharing our life, filling our hearts, walking our path, loving us completely. Come, Lord Jesus, come.
