A Bold Vision (Luke 1: 46-55)

 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.

"Magnificat" (Luke 1)

There was no room for Mary and Joseph at the inn. The only place to lay their baby when he was born was in a manger.

But why was there no room? Would no one in that town have seen that here was a woman who was about to give birth, and who needed a safe, decent place to do so?

Wouldn’t the ancient codes of hospitality have convinced at least someone to say, “The emperor’s census has us all booked up, but hey, we’ll find room. We’ll make room, for this poor woman in labor…”

But no one did. No one welcomed them in. Mary and Joseph were treated like animals.

Literally.

That’s where they ended up: among the animals.

On December 4 - the same day I had my surgery, in fact - there was a community meeting in Signal Hill to discuss and get feedback regarding a new development in town that would include shops, restaurants, and 199 new market-value apartments.

I actually live about 20 feet inside Signal Hill city limits, and I’ve seen a presentation about this proposed development before, at a neighborhood meeting I went to. I liked what I saw, and so did others who were at that small neighborhood gathering.

But at the big community meeting December 4, vocal opposition to the project was fierce.

Many of those who opposed the project didn’t want apartments in their neighborhood. They didn’t want renters in their neighborhood. Actual quotes from the meeting include complaints about “those people coming into our neighborhood,” “people who don’t really care about the community.” One person said that renters are a “different class of occupants” who have no “pride.”

There were a lot of stereotypes and generalizations in their comments...

As you know, we have a serious housing crisis going on right now, and more housing of all types are needed. This is important to me, since I not only live in Signal Hill, but I am also a renter.

But even more important, right now, is this: If Mary and Joseph were to arrive in Signal Hill, or in Long Beach, or in Lakewood, would they find a place to stay?

Or would they be cast out, with the animals?

Mary and Joseph wouldn’t be able to afford a typical apartment rent. They’d need subsidized, low-income housing. They were poor.

But that’s not all they had going against them. Not only were Mary and Joseph poor; they were from Nazareth. Prejudice against people from Nazareth was high. One of Jesus’ disciples even said outright: “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”

I may be a renter in Signal Hill, but at least I don’t have to face the prejudice that Mary and Joseph faced, the prejudice that many in our society do also face; prejudice based on where they come from or what language they speak or what accent they have…

Mary and Joseph most definitely had a Galilean accent. They came from Nazareth. They were poor. They were oppressed.

They were animals.

And there was no room for them in Bethlehem.

Yet God chose them to be the parents of Jesus. God could have chosen anyone, but God chose them. Emmanuel - “God-with-us” - arrives in the form of the baby born to this poor, mistreated couple from no-good Nazareth.

And when Mary is made aware of all this, of how God has chosen her, and looked favorably upon her…

She is overwhelmed with joy.

And she sings out God’s praise….

“My soul magnifies the Lord,” she sings… “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…”

And then Mary keeps singing. She sings about how God scatters the proud, and brings down the powerful, and lifts up the lowly; and fills the hungry with good things, and sends the rich away empty….

Oh, wow!

These are words of hope! Words of joy!  Words of resistance and revolution!

And these are kingdom values.

I read recently about a group of evangelical pastors who met with President Trump, and how they are so happy to have a president who is bringing what they called “kingdom values” back to the White House and back to our nation.

And I couldn’t believe it.

How can those pastors so misunderstand what are the true values of God’s kingdom?

It’s so obvious. So plain.

Scattering the proud! Lifting up the lowly! Filling the hungry with good things!

It’s understandable that these values are not liked by those who have wealth and power. It’s no surprise that they would be upset by such ideas. This is not trickle-down economics; this is trickle-up grace!

And this song of Mary, this Magnificat, has been banned - literally banned - by some authoritarian rulers in history.

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.

And I imagine there are some in our own society who wish they could also ban it.

The values of God’s kingdom are a challenge to society. But that’s because these values are good news to the poor and oppressed. Good news to the downtrodden. Good news to all those who have been treated as animals in times past and present.

Mary and Joseph were treated like animals, but it was those who denied them a place to stay who acted like animals.

Many today are treated like animals, but as people who celebrate Christmas, we can let them know that there is good news, that God takes special notice of the poor and lowly, and God works to lift them up. The downtrodden and oppressed have such a special place in God’s heart that God became one of them in the form of Jesus, born in a manger.

And anytime we show kindness to people such as these, and anytime we work to lift up the poor, and defend the rights of the vulnerable, and stand for justice… we re-present Christ to the world once again, and we let people know that Christ is alive, and that Christ is present, bringing wholeness to this fragmented world.

Sermon: "Breaking the Silence" (Luke 1)

You may have heard: Merriam-Webster’s word of the year for 2017 is “feminism,” which means that “feminism” was the most looked-up word at merriamwebster.com this past year. 

According to Merriam-Webster, people started looking up “feminism” in January, after the women’s march. People looked up “feminism” in February after Kellyanne Conway said she didn’t consider herself a feminist, because feminism seems to be anti-male and pro-abortion. (Feminism isn’t necessarily either of those things, but that’s what she said.) People looked up “feminism” over the summer, after watching “The Handmaid’s Tale” on TV and “Wonder Woman” in theaters. And people looked up “feminism” in the fall, after the “#metoo” movement gained traction, when women began sharing their stories of sexual harassment and assault.

Back in the time of Mary, the mother of Jesus, feminism wasn’t really a thing. The idea that males and females are equal - which is what feminism is - was not present.

In the first century, women were not considered equal to men. Women belonged in the background. In the shadows. Where they were neither seen nor heard. All public communication involving a woman took place through her husband. She herself was not heard… Remember in the Disney movie, when Mulan complains that her father is too old to fight, and Chi Fu says “You would do well to teach your daughter to hold her tongue in a man’s presence…” ?

That’s what it was like.

 In public, women’s voices were silent.

Yet, in the Gospel of John, Jesus met a Samaritan woman at a well, and he - get this - started a conversation with her. 

Not surprisingly, she was taken aback.

She said: “How is it that you, a Jewish man, are speaking to me, a Samaritan woman?”

Eventually she realized that he was a holy man... But when the disciples showed up, the scripture says they were “shocked” that Jesus was speaking with a woman.

Women - at least in the presence of men - were expected to keep silent. 

The Gospel of John never gives the woman at the well a name. By contrast, the apostle Paul named many women in his letters; he recognized their leadership roles in the early church; and he even addressed them directly; not through their husbands.

Paul, you could say, was a feminist.

I know: you don’t think of Paul this way. Didn’t Paul write that women were to keep silent?

No. He didn’t. Not all the epistles that bear Paul’s name were actually written by Paul. Other writers wrote in Paul’s name. This was an accepted practice in those days. They wrote in Paul’s name, because they were putting Paul’s thoughts to paper...but they just couldn’t bring themselves to accept Paul’s radical ideas about women.

It is thought that Luke was a companion to Paul, so it’s no surprise that in Luke’s gospel, women are named, and their leadership is recognized. It’s no surprise that, in Luke, we learn so much about Mary, the mother of Jesus.

Our scripture today tells us that an angel of the Lord named Gabriel came to Mary. However, it’s not clear that Mary recognized him as an angel.

Angels seem very recognizable to us; they dress in all white and have wings and halos and carry harps. 

But Gabriel, for some reason, often got mistaken for a normal human.

When Gabriel appeared to Daniel, Daniel did not realize that he was an angel. Daniel said that he “looked like a man.”

When Gabriel appeared to Muhammad, Muhammad did not realize that he was an angel. According to Islamic tradition, it was Muhammad’s wife’s cousin - a Christian priest - who convinced Muhammad that Gabriel was actually an angel, calling Muhammad to be a prophet.

So it’s very likely that Mary did not, at first, recognize Gabriel as an angel. He appeared to her as a normal man; and he said to her: “Rejoice, favored one! The Lord is with you!”... 

But Mary’s response to these words was confusion. She was perplexed. She wondered:

Who is this strange man?

Why is he speaking directly to me?

What does he mean by “favored one?”

When a strange, unknown man calls you “favored one...” you might be a little skeptical and suspicious, especially if you are a woman in the first century...

And Mary pondered what sort of greeting this might be.

It’s possible - quite likely, even - that Mary had received from men too many “blessings,” too many unwanted “favors...”

You know what I’m talking about, because it’s been in the news so much these past few months. In our own time, too many women have received too many unwanted, unsolicited “blessings” and “favors” from men. And as a result, too many women have felt intimidation, shame, and fear because of it. So they have held onto their shame in secret. They have kept their voices silent. 

Was this man who appeared to Mary just another one of them, intent on using his status to intimidate, harass, and possibly assault her?

But Gabriel 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 for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Well. OK! That was different. Not exactly the words of a man who uses his power to harass women.

But Mary still wasn’t completely convinced. 

She said to the Gabriel, “How can this be?”

Then Gabriel explained it to her, and he mentioned that Mary’s cousin, Elizabeth, was also pregnant. 

Well, how could any normal human know that? Perhaps this was no ordinary man, but a heavenly being, a messenger from God, and perhaps what he was saying was true.

It is then that Mary said, “I am the Lord’s servant. Let it be with me just as you have said.”

Now, Mary believed, but at the same time, she still had some doubt. Wouldn’t you? 

So she journeyed to her cousin Elizabeth to see for herself that Elizabeth was, in fact, pregnant, which confirmed that Gabriel told the truth…

Mary is tough and scrappy. I’ve also heard her described as raw, wild, and courageous. She challenged the angel’s words until she knew they were true, until she knew that he was who he said he was.

And then, once she visited her cousin Elizabeth, once everything was confirmed, then, she spoke out. She broke the silence. She became a silence breaker.

And even though it was a time when women’s voices were silenced, Luke, astonishingly, recorded her words.

Mary said, “With all my heart, I glorify the Lord! In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior. He has looked with favor on the low status of his servant. Look! From now on, everyone will consider me highly favored because the mighty one has done great things for me. Holy is his name. He shows mercy to everyone, from one generation to the next, who honors him as God. He has shown strength with his arm. He has scattered those with arrogant thoughts and proud inclinations. He has pulled the powerful down from their thrones and lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty-handed. He has come to the aid of his servant Israel, remembering his mercy, just as he promised to our ancestors, to Abraham and to Abraham’s descendants forever.”

This is not the poem or song of a meek, mild, docile woman! It is the poem of a silence breaker. The words she proclaimed are nothing short of revolutionary.

In her poem, Mary announced that the unjust structures that have fashioned her and her people into a lower state of existence were being reversed. In her poem, she praised the God of the Israelites who had freed her people from the slavery of Egypt and Babylon.

Freedom. Liberation. Revolution.

In her poem, as Rachel Held Evans points out, Mary declares that “God has made a home among the very people that the world has cast aside.”

Spiritual activist and writer Ryan Kuja points out that over the centuries, Mary’s words have been seen as a threat to dictators, power brokers, and autocrats. These words have been banned by authoritarian governments throughout history; governments which tried to silence her. 

They were banned from being read or sung in India during the British colonial administration; banned in El Salvador and Guatemala in the 1980’s; banned in Argentina during the Dirty War years, when the mothers of disappeared children put Mary’s song on public display and in response, the government forbade the words in public places.

Why do most of us not notice how shocking, how revolutionary, Mary’s words are? Why have generations of church leaders tried so often to silence her song?

We know the answer to that. Mary’s words have been banned and silenced because the church has been led mostly by men through the centuries, men who have tried to align the church with the powers and authorities of the world. 

Church leaders throughout Christian history have chosen power over piety. They have sought power for themselves, yet Mary’s song talks about the powerful being pulled down from their thrones. 

Mary is a threat to that, so the church ignored her words and re-imagined her as mild, meek, docile, and obedient - the perfect woman, as far as they were concerned. They presented her this way to the world, even though it’s the exact opposite of Mary as she is described by scripture.

And certainly today, there are still far too many leaders in the church who seek to align themselves with the powers and authorities and rulers of this world. There are still far too many leaders in the church who twist and distort what the Bible says about the poor, about scattering those with powerful thoughts and proud inclinations, about pulling down the powerful from their thrones, and lifting up the lowly. 

That message, which is at the core of the gospel, is a threat to their desire for power, so they twist the gospel’s message into something else.

Which is why, this year, we need to pay special attention to Mary. We need to pay attention to Mary in a way we’ve never paid attention to her before. 

Mary is a silence breaker. Mary breaks the silence that has been forced upon her by men. Forced upon her by society. Forced upon her by religion. Forced upon her by government. Forced upon her by centuries of theological malpractice committed by those who seek to twist the gospel into something that supports their own selfish desire for power.

Yet even after all these efforts to silence her, Mary cannot be kept silent. She is strong. She is in control of her own life. She demonstrates that she doesn’t have to accept unwanted “favors” from men in order to receive blessing.

This is not what we were told about Mary. But go back and read the scripture closely, and see for yourself. 

In a world where women had no control over their bodies and no control over their lives… Mary took control.

In a world where women were supposed to be meek and mild, Mary was strong and bold.

In a world where women were silent… Mary wasn’t.

And so it’s no surprise that the child she would give birth to, the child she would nurse, the child she would raise into a man… would himself follow God’s call to challenge the social order which favors the powerful, and that he would proclaim a new world in which the first become last and the last become first, a new world in which the powerful are brought down and the weak are made strong, a new world in which the blind see and the deaf hear. A new world in which everything is changed.