Today’s scripture is Mary’s song of praise, also known as the Magnificat. It seems to find its way into the lectionary every year, even though it only appears in Luke’s gospel; and it is, for me, one of the most important Advent scriptures.
Now, I don’t know what impressions you have of Mary, but I know that studying the Magnificat has had a big influence on my impression of the mother of Jesus.
I remember growing up, being in my share of Christmas pageants as a child (like Linus in the Peanuts special, I was always a shepherd); and Mary—I don’t remember Mary ever saying much in those pageants. She had the spotlight, but not a lot of lines.
The few words that she did speak were spoken quietly, with wonder and reverence, like when the angel greets her, and she responds, “How can this be?” And then, “May it be so.”
I do not remember, from those pageants of my childhood, hearing Mary sing her song of praise; and certainly not the whole song.
“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!… 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!”
These are attention-grabbing words! I think if they had been included in the pageants of my childhood, I would have remembered them.
But in fact, there have been many people throughout history who’d rather we not remember these words.
Mary’s song of praise was actually banned from being read or sung by rulers and governments. It was banned from being read or sung in India during the British colonial administration; banned in El Salvador and Guatemala in the 1980’s; and, after mothers of disappeared children in Argentina put Mary’s song on public display, it was banned there as well.
It’s not hard to see why…
The Lord has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly…
Mary’s song presents a bold vision of a new world order, a new world that is nothing like the old world where power corrupts, and where rulers oppress the people.
And the Mary who sings this song, she’s not a meek, docile, submissive Mary. Her hand is in a fist, and raised in a show of power.
And she is ready for change! She is Dorothy Day; She is Rosa Parks; She is Dolores Huerta. She is Malala Yousafzai. She is Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and Katherine Gobels Johnson.
When you listen to the words of Mary’s song, you realize, that’s the kind of woman Mary was.
I’m not sure why we usually see Mary portrayed so meek and mild. Maybe patriarchy has something to do with that.
Because if you read through her song of praise, and if you pay attention to the words, you begin to realize Mary had spunk. She was feisty.
And just where did Mary get this bold attitude from? Who were her influences?
I think some of it, she got from Hannah, the mother of Samuel.
Hannah appears in 1 Samuel, chapter 2. There, we read about how Hannah was fierce and determined in her prayer life; so much so, that when the priest saw her praying, he accused her of being drunk.
And when God answered Hannah’s prayer, Hannah sang a song to the Lord that went like this:
My heart exults in the Lord; my strength is exalted in my God… the bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble gird on strength. Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry are fat with spoil.… The Lord 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.” (1 Samuel 2)
It all sounds kinda familiar, doesn’t it? Mary’s song is, in fact, based on this ancient song of Hannah.
Mary’s bold attitude may also have come, in part, from Miriam, Moses’ sister. In Exodus 15, we read that, after God rescued the Israelites from Pharaoh by leading them through the Red Sea, Miriam sang a song to the Lord, that went like this:
Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider he has thrown into the sea. (Exodus 15) Like Hannah’s song, and like Mary’s song, Miriam also sings of a reordering of society, in which those at the top and those at the bottom find their places reversed!
Mary’s bold attitude may also have come from her cousin Elizabeth. After all, Mary sang her song in response to Elizabeth’s blessing upon Mary, when Elizabeth said to Mary: “Blessed are you among women.”
These words of Elizabeth, in turn, echo the words of blessing sung by the prophet Deborah, in the book of Judges. Deborah was a bold warrior, judge, and prophet, who pronounced this blessing upon Jael, yet another bold woman from the Bible.
So, all this is to say: Mary’s boldness did not arise out of a vacuum. Her challenge to the ways of the world, the ways of empire, the ways of oppression, did not come out of the blue.
And Mary’s own life circumstances probably also contributed to her bold attitude. Like many Jews living under Roman occupation, she was oppressed; like many women living in a patriarchal society, her rights were limited.
But Mary shared a vision for the way the world could be, a vision shared by the ancient prophets.
Mary’s radical vision of the way this world could be, is the vision God has for the world. It is the “new heaven and new earth” Isaiah talks about, when everyone’s thirst and hunger are satisfied, regardless of how much money they have, and where good news is brought to the oppressed…
It’s the vision spoken of by Amos, who spoke of justice rolling down like water, and righteousness like an everflowing stream…
It’s the vision spoken of by Micah, who spoke of justice and kindness as what God requires…
This is the vision that became central to Jesus’s ministry. When Jesus talked about the “kingdom of God,” or “the kingdom of heaven,” he was talking about a new world, a world of justice and steadfast love. A world where (as I’ve already said) the poor are lifted up, and the mighty are brought low; where the first are last, and the last, first. It’s a world where the blind see, but many who see walk around as if they are blind.
Mary shared this vision, and like many in her time, she was awaiting the coming of the Messiah, the one who would usher in this new age.
So when the angel told her that she would be the one to give birth to this messiah, this son of God—and when her cousin Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, confirmed this miraculous event—Mary realized that the hopes and fears of all the years were about to come together, through her; and no wonder Mary burst forth in a song of praise! No wonder she drew on the spirit and words of Hannah, Miriam, and Deborah, in giving praise to God for what was happening and what was about to happen.
That vision is alive today. As Christmas draws near, we once again lift our hearts in praise to God, the giver of peace; and we pray that God’s kingdom may come on earth, as it is in heaven; that peace may prevail upon the earth, that all people will be able to live in harmony, that parents won’t have to fear for their children’s safety, that the hungry will be satisfied with good food, that the voice of the poor will be heard, that the earth itself will find healing and restoration.
And so we actively engage in the “work of Christmas,” as described by Howard Thurman:
to find the lost,
to heal the broken,
to feed the hungry,
to release the prisoner,
to rebuild the nations,
to bring peace among the people,
to make music in the heart.
This is what we are called to do; and we are called to do it with all the boldness of Mary.
And it is my hope that First Christian Church can continue to engage in this work and these tasks of ministry, to do this “work of Christmas,” and to do so boldly.
It takes a certain amount of boldness to start a church. When I arrived in my office for the first time, I found some historical information about our church that the ladies who meet in our history room left for me, and I read about William T. Major and the 13 charter members who started FCC way back in 1837. What a bold vision they had!
At least some of their bold spirit remains with us today.
It takes a certain amount of boldness for a church to proclaim itself as open and affirming, as FCC has.
It takes a certain amount of boldness to build and install a helping shelf, and to invite the community to make use of it. Nearly every day I see people at our helping shelf, so I know it is blessing many lives.
It takes a certain amount of boldness to join with others in working to eliminate medical debt;
…And it takes a certain amount of boldness to share space with the Boys and Girls Club, an organization that empowers young people to reach their full potential; because of my experience teaching, I know how important that is.
So, this work of Christmas: we are doing it! In these ways, and in so many other ways as well!
And I give thanks for the ministry, and I give thanks for all of you who make it possible.
Your presence, your prayers, and your generous support are what makes it all happen.
And when we pray “thy kingdom come, on earth as in heaven;” and when we work with the Spirit to make God’s kingdom come; that kingdom, that new world, that vision of Mary and the prophets, becomes real and present in our world today.
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