Advent
4 – Series C (December 20, 2015)
“Pro-Life,
Pro-Faith, and Magnifying the Lord” (Luke 1:39-56)
“My
soul magnifies the Lord,” Mary sings. Is God so tiny that he needs
a magnifying glass to be seen? Of course not. That’s not the way
Mary uses that word. She means to praise him, exalt him, extol him,
make his name great to others as she declares his praise. On the
other hand, consider this wonder of wonders. The Son of God himself,
the Living Word, the Creator of the universe, became so tiny in his
mother’s womb that it would indeed have taken a magnifying glass to
notice him.
As
we read this account of Mary’s visit to Elizabeth, or “The
Visitation” as we call it, you might say that this is a “pro-life”
text. Two babies in their mother’s wombs, both with such
remarkable futures ahead of them – lives of great purpose, lives of
ultimate purpose – in spite of the fact that they both met with
horrible deaths. Nevertheless, this was God’s plan to save the
world and bring eternal life to all who believe in the message of the
cross.
“Blessed
is the fruit of your womb,” Elizabeth says to Mary. That goes for
all babies, of course. The psalmist says, “…you formed my inward
parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you
for I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Ps. 139:14). That goes
for John, too … a precious gift to elderly, childless Zechariah and
Elizabeth. But it’s true especially of Jesus and Mary. The
uncreated God takes flesh from his mother’s womb by the power of
the Holy Spirit. A body is prepared for him to perfectly do the will
of the Father. A body is prepared for him to offer a perfect
sacrifice for the sins of all (Heb. 5:5-7).
What
do we do with those words, “Blessed are you among women” and
Mary’s own words, “from now on all generations will call me
blessed”? We often hear the song “Ave Maria” sung at
Christmas. It’s not typically sung in Lutheran churches. Still,
we do highly honor Mary as the mother of the Lord. She is the
Blessed Virgin. She is the Mother of God. If Jesus is God, and Mary
is his mother, then we can call her that. Calling her the Mother of
God makes a solid, biblical, theological point about the nature of
that Holy Child that she bore. He is True Man, but he is also True
God.
When
I taught at a Roman Catholic high school, this prayer was said at the
beginning of every home room period: “Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is
the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us
sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.” I could say the
first part. I just couldn’t join in on the second part. Even if
the saints in heaven do pray for us, nowhere in Scripture are we told
to pray to them. Jesus is our only mediator between us and God the
Father (Romans 8:34; Heb. 7:25).
Our
text is also a “pro-faith” text. Here, we see three remarkable
examples of faith. The word of the Lord stirs up faith in our
hearts.
God
stirred up faith in Elizabeth. She praised God and acknowledged Mary
as the mother of her Lord. It takes faith to believe that this baby
whom you cannot see is the Lord.
God
stirred up faith in John. Three months before he sees the light of
day, he leaps for joy in the presence of the unborn Child whose way
John would be born to prophetically prepare. It takes faith for an
unborn baby in his mother’s womb to get excited in the presence of
the Lord.
God
stirred up faith in Mary. She listed to the message of the angel.
And she believed. It takes faith to believe that God has given you
such an awesome responsibility to be the mother of the Savior of the
world. It takes faith to compose such a magnificent song as the
Magnificat, a song that has become a significant part of our evening
liturgies. How was this young girl from a town of no significance
able to give us this gift? Well, Mary had heard the Scriptures. She
borrowed from Hannah’s song of praise at the birth of Samuel. She
borrowed from the Psalms. And obviously and above all else, the Holy
Spirit was upon her. Mary sings for all of us. We join her in
singing, and through this Word, God stirs up faith in our hearts.
We
live in a world that does not magnify the Lord. He is an
insignificant part of the lives of so many people. For some, he is
not a part at all. At times, we act as though he is an insignificant
part of our lives, when we neglect to let his Word shape the way we
live and the way we speak, when we don’t give him a second thought
during the week other than on Sunday morning. For this we must
repent.
So,
repent. Then, in faith, magnify the Lord by making his name great in
the world. Make his name great in the way you speak and in the way
you live. “Hallowed be thy name,” we pray in the Lord’s
Prayer. Make his name holy. Magnify it. The Small Catechism
explains, “God’s name is kept holy when the Word of God is taught
in its truth and purity, and we, as the children of God, also lead
holy lives according to it. Help us to do this, dear Father in
heaven! But anyone who teaches or lives contrary to God’s Word
profanes the name of God among us. Protect us from this, Heavenly
Father!” So you see, it’s not just false teaching that profanes
God’s name. It’s false living, too … words and deeds contrary
to God’s Word.
But
in the Magnificat, Mary proclaims how in this tiny Baby in her womb,
God has come to deliver us from all our sins, and does so in
surprising ways.
God
acts contrary to our expectations. He has shown strength with his
arm. For the Israelites, their deliverance in the Exodus was always
in view. Certainly, God bared his mighty arms in the plagues and the
parting of the Red Sea. But here, God shows his strength in those
tiny arms forming in Mary’s womb which one day would be stretched
out in weakness on a cross to bear the sins of the world.
In
a world that glorifies power and wealth, God brings down the mighty
and sends the rich away … those who are arrogant and proud, those
who rely on their own strength, those who rely on riches and wealth
rather than on God. Instead, he exalts those of humble estate and
fills the hungry with good things … those who humbly and
repentantly recognize their need for a Savior, those who know they
have no resources of their own. Recall Jesus’ words in the
Beatitudes, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven … Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matt. 5:3, 6).
Finally,
Mary reminds us all how God always keeps his promises, even when it
seems a long time in coming. How long had they waited for the
Messiah to come? Ever since God promised in the Garden that the seed
of the woman would crush the serpent’s head (Gen. 3:15). Ever
since God told Abraham that in him all the families of the earth
would be blessed (Gen. 12:3). And now, here was the Messiah, soon to
“first reveal his sacred face.” Mary sings, “His
mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation … He
has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he
spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever.” Mary
sees what Gabriel has told her as the fulfillment of all of the
promises to Abraham – a kingdom, a people, a great name, and a
blessing to the nations. In the child she would bear, Mary sees the
fulfillment of all of God’s promises. So when you hear that
Christmas pop song, “Mary Did You Know?”, you don't have to keep
asking did she know, as though there's no answer to the question.
The answer is “yes, Mary knew,” and the Magnificat proves it.1
So
magnify the Lord today that YOU know. You know who your Savior is.
God has lifted you up out of your humble estate, exalted you as a
baptized Child of God, and placed you in his kingdom. Make Mary’s
song of praise your own, and in word and deed magnify the Lord who
has given you faith to believe in the Savior, the one who gives you
eternal life in his perfect life, death, and resurrection.
Advent
is quickly coming to a close for another year. We rejoice that God
kept his promise to send a Savior. And no matter how long it takes,
Jesus will keep his promise to come again at his Second Advent.
Amen.
1
Thoughts at the end of this paragraph borrowed from the Rev. John
Fraiser
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