1. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. The message from God’s Word for this 4th Sunday in Advent is taken from Luke 1:39-56. It’s entitled, “Mary’s Song,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2. It’s the sort of joy that is brought about by the mutual consolation of the saints when they encourage one another through hard times. We may not know what Mary's opinion was about Elvis or horses, but we know that she was a good girl who loved Jesus, and her betrothed, Joseph too. We might call him a fiancé, even if by our standards she was way too young to have such a thing. She was as old as 15 or as young as 13 when she got the news for which all generations would call her blessed (Luke 1:48). We would all agree no matter her age, she was mature beyond her years. Her faith was especially mature. Mary took the news of her unexpected pregnancy as a blessing. "Behold I am the servant of the Lord, let it be according to your word," Luke 1:38 says.
3. But there is no doubt Mary’s was a difficult blessing. We all want to be blessed, but this wasn’t the sort of thing that warrants a “hashtag blessed” shoutout on Instagram. I checked. Nowhere did I see an image labelled #blessed that captured a pregnant teenager jumping for joy at the prospect of breaking the news to her parents, "No, it really was the Holy Spirit!” And to her fiancé, “I didn't cheat on you!" This is the sort of blessing most of us pray to do without. Being the Lord's servant is rarely easy.
4. Mary’s relative, also pregnant and living in the hill country, was what we would call a Godsend, a nice excuse to leave town while Joseph and her parents sorted things out and decided what to do. But the rumors would start. Even today, people greet her with the same suspicions as the wise old maids of Nazareth. Mature beyond her years? More like thirteen going on thirty-five, as my mom used to say when trying to warn me of girls, I only wanted to get to know all the better.
5. But at her relative Elizabeth's house, Mary could let her hair down and rejoice. Elizabeth had none of the suspicions that clouded the judgment of spinsters in Nazareth. Elizabeth greeted Mary with a warm joy filled with honor that the Mother of her Lord would deign to visit her. Here, she could delight in the news and riff on the song of Hannah found in 1 Samuel 2. Hannah was the mother of the Old Testament Prophet Samuel. She had long been childless when the Lord answered her prayer for a child. Her husband, Elkanah, had many sons and daughters by his other wife, Peninnah, who would taunt Hannah with her children out of jealousy for the attention Hannah received from Elkanah. So, Hannah broke out in song rebuking the proud when she had a child. Mary’s song, the Magnificat, is a joyous tune that still graces many a retreat calling the Virgin Mary blessed because of the blessing of our Savior Jesus she bore for all of us.
6. Mary sings in Luke 1:46, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.” Hebrew and Aramaic poetry, such as that recorded by Hannah, or throughout the Psalms, isn’t characterized by rhyme and meter to be sung in harmony, but rather by trying to say the same thing in two different ways. Mary’s song here in Luke 1 is poetry on a grand scale. Here, Mary praises her God for all that He has done. He is her Savior, and it is His salvation that she carries in her womb. Jesus has done mighty things for her, so she recognizes that He is holy. Here in the refuge of Zechariah's house and the shadow of her relative Elizabeth’s praise, she has been rescued from the proud who would bring her to shame. The joy of shared faith overwhelms her. It is the sort of joy that is brought about by the mutual consolation of the saints when they encourage one another through hard times.
7. In his sermon for the Fourth Sunday in Advent, Swedish Lutheran Pastor and Theologian, Bo Giertz, maintains that Luke first heard these words from Mary herself. So, we too, hear the story from Mary’s Song. We hear her sing for joy and join her in praising our Lord who exalts the humble. She sings in Luke 1:50, “ 50And his 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.”
8. The proud are scattered, but the God of the universe shows mercy to those who fear Him. In this life, those who fear God are often scoffed at and taken advantage of by the proud. Hannah and Peninnah’s own story played out in this very same hill country where Mary visits Elizabeth. Many would scoff at Elizabeth, an old, barren lady and consider her cursed. Many would think it a hard thing for Mary to be with child of dubious patronage. But here, in the sufferings of this world, these women find great joy in the power of His arm who promises and delivers blessings against all odds. God shames the proud with foolishness and shames the strong in the world with what is weak, whether it’s young virgins or old maids as St. Paul writes in 1 Cor. 1:7.
9. Mary sings in Luke 1:52, “52he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate." Satan has claimed the earthly throne. The Devil sits within the house armed with his minions. He gets drunk and abuses the servants that don’t belong to him. There is nothing anyone can do (Luke 11: 14ff). But, our Savior Jesus, stronger one has come to play the game of thrones with him. He has taken on the form of a servant, humbled Himself to be born of a virgin. The Devil will retaliate, but not even his great servant Herod will be able to upset the plan of a babe, born in a manger. One little Word will fell him, the Word made flesh in a little child who comes, "to bear, and fight and die." And when He comes again, He will be, "crowned with glory like the sun that lights the morning sky" (“The King Shall Come When Morning Dawns,” LSB 348). Then all the petty games of thrones we play will be exposed, and we will see the flies circling the hills upon which we fight. The humble will be exalted with He who sits at the right hand of God.
10. One little Word will fell him, the Word made flesh in a little child who comes, “to bear, and fight and die.” In Luke 1:53-54 Mary sings, “53he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away. 54He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy.” The words of Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount echo his mother Mary’s song. Jesus says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied" (Matt. 5:6). Here too we are reminded of Hannah's complaint. She couldn’t eat no matter how much she hungered. No matter how much food her husband gave her at the yearly feast, she felt empty without the gift of a son. Feasting is for the merry. But now the hungry are fed a feast at a table in the midst of their enemies. Jesus, the Son of Mary comes to bring righteousness to those that hunger that they might be satisfied. He helps His servant Israel as often as we eat His bread and drink His cup in remembrance of Him. There in the Lord’s Supper we receive His forgiveness and His righteousness as we proclaim His death until He comes.
11. Mary sings in Luke 1:55, “55as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” So, the covenant that God made with Abraham is fulfilled: out with the old and in with the new. The promise of salvation will be shared with the seed of Abraham ever anew. The countless stars that shine in heavens at night, the grains of sand on the seashore a constant testimony to all of the heavenly host beyond number, the answer to the question, shall those who are saved be so few? No, they shall not be so few who are numbered among the saints, for Jesus, this Son of Mary shed His blood for all, and gave His life for the world His Father loves. Amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus until life everlasting. Amen.
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