December 11, 2022 Sermon
Sermon title: "Not So Meek Mary!"
Scripture: Luke 1:46b-55
(Other lectionary choices include Isaiah 35:1-10, James 5:7-10, and Matthew 11:2-11.)
Luke 1:46b-55
Mary’s Song of Praise
46And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, 47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. 51He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. 52He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; 53he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. 54He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever."
The scripture we heard today is Mary the mother of Jesus magnifying God's name in praise. Sometimes this passage is called the Magnificat because that's the first word in Latin that Mary says: "Magnificat", meaning, "My soul magnifies the Lord...." Mary is praising God for choosing her to bear God's only son. And it starts out pretty nice. However, as you read along, Mary starts to say some radical things. Did you hear her say that he (God) "has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts"? Uh-oh! Not so Mary Meek and Mild, right? What's next ? She says, God "has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly." Does "Apple Cart" come to anybody's mind? It certainly does mine, because Mary is talking about upsetting that apple cart! And finally, Mary says God "has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty." Actually, what Luke has Mary saying here is supposed to make us think of what Hannah said in the Old Testament. Hannah was the mother of Samuel, and what Mary says is reminiscent of Hannah's song in I Samuel 2:1-10. {{Read I Samuel 2:1-10. - 1Hannah prayed and said, "My heart exults in the Lord; my strength is exalted in my God. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in my victory. 2"There is no Holy One like the Lord, no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. 3Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. 4The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble gird on strength. 5Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry are fat with spoil. The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children is forlorn. 6The Lord kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up. 7The Lord makes poor and makes rich; he brings low, he also exalts. 8He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and on them he has set the world. 9"He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness; for not by might does one prevail. 10The Lord! His adversaries shall be shattered; the Most High will thunder in heaven. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king, and exalt the power of his anointed."}}
Hannah is happy because she is finally going to have a son - Samuel - and she dedicates him to the Lord. Samuel ends up picking David as the king of Israel. Is Luke trying to show that Hannah and Mary are related in a certain way? I think so! Both play important parts in God's plan.
Back to Mary and her not-so-meek remarks.... We have all heard the phrase, "the hand that rocks the cradle", meaning - usually - the hand of a baby's mother.....although I do think there was a scary movie not too long ago with that title, and I think it referred to the hand of a wicked or twisted nanny! But I like to think that Mary had a good influence on her son Jesus, even if he was sent from God. In fact, I like to think that both Joseph and Mary were pretty good parents, and they both contributed to how Jesus turned out. Consider again today's Scripture reading: we have MARY's words suggesting that God cares for the poor, and the rich he sends empty away. Mary is suggesting that God is going to turn things upside down, and if you've heard any of my past sermons, you may recall that I said Jesus talked about the last being first, and the first, last. Where did Jesus get his ideas if not from his mother Mary? True, we call Jesus the Son of God, so maybe some of his ideas came from his Heavenly Father. But the woman God chose to bear his only son wasn't any slouch, either! And if what we heard her say today is any insight into how she thought, we have a picture of a woman with a highly-developed SOCIAL conscience.
The Scottish scholar William Barkley says Mary's words speak of three revolutions of God. When Mary says that God "scatters the proud in the plans of their hearts", she is talking about a MORAL revolution. Says Barkley, Christianity brings the death of pride, "Because if people set their lives beside that of Christ, it tears away the last vestiges of their pride." When Mary says that God "casts down the mighty - he exalts the humble", Mary is talking about a SOCIAL revolution. "Christianity puts an end," says Barkley, "to the world's labels and prestige." If you think about it, it is Luke who has certain poor shepherds at Jesus's birth, not kings and princes! Barkley tells a wonderful story about a wandering scholar named Muretus in the middles ages. He was poor, and as he was walking through some Italian town, he became sick and was taken to a hospital that served mostly indigent people. Doctors were talking about him, and they were discussing his situation in LATIN, never dreaming that the poorly-dressed man could understand! They were considering using him for medical experiments! He looked up and spoke to them in their own learned language, "Call no man worthless for whom Christ died." That must have shocked those doctors!
The third and final revolution Barkley mentions is an ECONOMIC one. When Mary says, "He has filled those who are hungry - those who are rich he has sent empty away", she is saying, "A Christian society is one in which no one dares to have too much while others have too little, a society in which everyone must get only to give away." I'm not sure I agree with Barkley on that one, but at least it is the ideal. Barclay says there is a certain loveliness in Mary's words, "but in that loveliness is dynamite. Christianity brings about a revolution in individuals and revolution in the world."
One more thing......the Scripture we read today is AFTER Mary is told by the Angel Gabriel in the Annunciation that Mary will bear God's child. Author Debie Thomas says Mary starts to feel "holy bewilderment". In her words, "It is not that the Annunciation leads her out of doubt and into faith; it is that her encounter with the angel leads her out of certainty and into holy bewilderment. Out of familiar spiritual territory and into a lifetime of pondering, wondering, questioning, and wrestling. She was much perplexed. Or, as she puts it to Gabriel, 'How can this be?'"
What Mary has to do is "to consent to evolve. To wonder. To stretch. She has to learn that faith and doubt are not opposites - that beyond all the easy platitudes and pieties of religion, we serve a God who dwells in mystery. If we agree to embark on a journey with this God, we will face periods of bewilderment."
Welcome to Mary's life....and your own! Amen.
Pastor Skip
