The reading
Luke 1:26-56
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a
town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was
Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her
and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much
perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The
angel said to her, “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.” Mary said
to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her,
“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 called
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 it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed
from her.
In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean
town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted
Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb.
And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry,
“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why
has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as
I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And
blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was
spoken to her by the Lord.”
And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the
Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on
the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me
blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown
strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their
hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the
lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the
promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
The message
The last part of today’s reading is one of 7 or 8 hymns that
were part of the worship, life, education and community of the very early
church. It can be thought of as the first Christmas Carol. Mary’s words are often called the magnificat (the latin word for magnify from the first
sentence of the song). These words have
been part of our worship for the past few weeks (this is the song that we sing
right before our communion meal begins).
Mary proclaims this song of praise, thanksgiving, joy and trust in
response to the strange news that she will be overshadowed or overcome by God,
conceive and bear a child, who will be the long expected savior.
In response to the strange, complicated and confusing news
Mary hears from the Angel and from her relative Elizabeth, Mary says these
words of praise, submission and hope for change. Mary does not just sing a sweet or beautiful
song. Her words are confrontational. E.
Stanley Jones, the Methodist preacher and scholar, called Mary’s words at this
time "the most revolutionary document in the history of the world” (seriously,
filling the hungry with good things, sending the rich away empty, knocking the mighty off their literal and
figurative thrones and seeing, lifting
up the lowly, that’s a big change from how things were and are). Mary’s words
are even dangerous. William Temple, the
Archbishop of Canterbury, instructed missionaries to poverty-stricken India
never to read Mary’s words in public because it could easily incite riots in
the streets. (if the poor heard these words and felt called to make them happen, how could they without destroying or
upsetting everything). Mary’s words are
also a statement of trust in God’s word, no matter how crazy it might all
sound.
There are 2 other songs in the bible proclaimed by people
with significant roles in the story of Jesus Birth.
There is "Luke 1:67-79
“Blessed be the Lord
God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them He
has raised up a mighty savior for us in
the house of his servant David, as he spoke through the mouth of his holy
prophets from of old, that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand
of all who hate us.
Thus he has shown the
mercy promised to our ancestors, and has
remembered his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our ancestor
Abraham, to grant us that we, being
rescued from the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all
our days.
And you, child, will
be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people
by the forgiveness of their sins.
By the tender mercy of
our God, the dawn from on high will
break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of
death, to guide our feet into the way of
peace.”
This is Zechariah’s song. He is the father of John the
Baptist. In Latin it is called the benedictus (from the first word, blessed). After Zechariah hears and experiences his
share of amazing and unbelievable things, he filled with the Holy Spirit and he
proclaims this song of celebration focused on God keeping God’s promises.
The other song around Jesus birth is Luke 2: 29-32
“Master, now you are dismissing your servant
in peace, according to your word; for
my eyes have seen your salvation which
you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the
Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”
This is called Simeon’s song
or the Nunc Diminitus (Latin for
the first words, now you dismiss) The only mention we have of Simeon
is Luke 2:25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man
was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy
Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he
would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and
when the parents brought in the child Jesus. Once he sees the baby Jesus,
Simeon knows that the promise has been fulfilled, he has seen the Lord Christ,
he responds with these incredible words of joy.
Instead of focusing on the history and context of these
songs, I want to talk about what they mean to me. Each one is part of worship. Mary’s song in
our Advent services. The words tell me me Christmas is coming and Christmas is about
Jesus. (words I need to hear when things get overwhelming, which they always do
and I get sick, which I always do) .
Zechariah and Simeon’s songs were part of the evening and late night
services at seminary. I didn’t go to
them too often, but at times when I was struggling, upset or anxious, I went. I also think of Simeon’s song when people who
have had a big impact on my faith and work pass away and I can say “you are
dismissing your servant in peace”.
Each one of these songs happen after an encounter with the
Holy Spirit. They are responses to God’s
amazing grace. They are creative,
powerful and contain a lot of truth in a few words. These ordinary, God trusting
people express the incredible story of God’s interaction with the world. I often lament the loss of creativity and
innovation in church, the ways we attempt to communicate with the same old
words, music and expectations. These words also challenge me to think about how
we respond to God’s grace, to God’s news and where exactly I will be when the
great reversals in Mary’s song come to be.
I invite you to think about these songs this week as we
prepare for Christmas.
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