The Magnificat

And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.

For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

for he who is mighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his name.

And his mercy is for those who fear him

from generation to generation.

He has shown strength with his arm;

he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;

he has brought down the mighty from their thrones

and exalted those of humble estate;

he has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent empty away.

He has helped his servant Israel,

in remembrance of his mercy,

as he spoke to our fathers,

to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

– Luke 1:46-55 (ESV)

This passage was the text of the sermon today in church. I have long loved the Magnificat, and have always been intrigued by Mary, this young woman upon whom fell both the highest honor and blessing of God and also a crushing sorrow that would pierce her heart.

Who was this woman? She was not one of high stature in her society. She would never live in a palace or, in her lifetime, be famous. And yet

[H]e has brought down the mighty from their thrones

and exalted those of humble estate

Mary understood God’s loving mercy, the strength of his arm, and the absolute certainty of his promises. She understood this as someone whom the outside world would consider a nobody. Yet she carried within her body the Gift that would change the world forever.

As I pondered this passage tonight I realized that Mary’s words are also my words.

My soul magnifies the Lord,

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.

For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

for he who is mighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his name.

It is no stretch to share the singing of this song of praise with Mary. I believe through the uncounted eons of eternity every child of God will surely be able to say “from now on all generations will call me blessed”. We will marvel, in ways we can’t even imagine now, at the grace and blessing that our Father has showered on each one of us. We will know, intimately, all the millions in the family of God from all races, cultures, and times, and we will indeed call each other blessed, forever. Because he who is mighty has done great things for us!

I realize an Easter post during Advent might seem a little strange. But I’ve always loved this Eugene Burnand painting. It depicts Peter and John running to the sepulcher on Sunday morning – running to the tomb where Jesus’s body has been placed following the horrible events of Friday.

Oh to have been there! To be on the brink of having everything that you ever thought you knew about your present reality thrown into glorious and hopeful confusion. These men have spent two days in despair spiritually and in hiding physically because heir Lord, the Rock they have held to for three years, is dead. They know this.

What they do not yet know is that they are wrong. He is already alive, and every single aspect of their lives is about to change forever.

It isn’t over. Not even close. They are on the brink of a wonder they never expected, running toward the tomb into the sunrise of a bright Sunday.

As we enter into Advent, we remember the stable and the tomb; both humble in appearance but made sacred by the blessed Word become flesh who filled them with his glory.

He lives!

Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to their homes.

– John 20:1-10 (ESV)

I’ve always loved the glimpses of Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, that we see in Scripture. He is only mentioned or described in a few places, but I like what I read when I read about Joseph. I like this man. Joseph is my kind of saint. I have little of Peter or Paul in me; no one has ever said “Bill reminds me of John the Baptist”. I’m not a son of thunder, I’m not a zealot, I don’t much resemble James, Philip or Stephen.

But I can aspire to be a Barnabas, or a Silas, or a Joseph.

Scott McKnight over at Jesus Creed is doing a great series on Joseph right now for Advent. This post is so good I’m going to quote it almost in its entirety:

Christmas meant that Joseph practiced a rare combination: both righteousness and mercifulness (1:19)

The text says Joseph was “righteous.” Now this translates a Greek term (dikaios) which translates a Hebrew term (tsadiq) — and all these terms point to one thing: Joseph was known for doing whatever the Torah said. To do it, he had to know it. So, he was a man who had studied the Torah — either by listening and memorizing or by reading and memorizing. But, he knew it.

And that means he knew that he could take Mary to court for what was now known: she was pregnant, and Joseph knows that he is not the father. He immediately thought of the laws in Deuteronomy 22 — stone both the seducer and the one seduced or stone the rapist — the laws are clear and they are unavoidably clear. Here’s the text and its rulings that he would have known – and I’m asking that you read this carefully because following this text is exactly what Joseph would have equated with doing God’s will.

[Scott here quotes Deuteronomy 22:23-30]

Joseph is a tsadiq (I make much of this in Jesus Creed). This means his reputation is at stake: if he follows the Torah, and puts Mary away, he will uphold his reputation. If he does not, he will lose his reputation. (I like to say that the claims of the Cross were faced by Joseph [and Mary] before Jesus was born.)

Joseph, however, chooses another option — an option that must have set the agenda for Jesus learning how to respond to those stuck on the horns of a legal ruling that called for mercy. Joseph decides to put her away quietly — that is, instead of disgracing her (which he could have done) he chooses to be kind to her by divorcing her without publicly disgracing her.

Joseph must have impressed the same upon Jesus and the rest of his family: act in mercy; avoid humiliating others; you never know, you may be wrong in your discernments and judgments.

Scott writes “I like to say that the claims of the Cross were faced by Joseph [and Mary] before Jesus was born”. I hadn’t ever considered that and I think that’s a great point.

And his last statement is wonderful: “. . . act in mercy; avoid humiliating others; you never know, you may be wrong in your discernments and judgments.”

So true. May I live that out.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

– 1 Peter 5:6-7 (ESV)

Thank God!

Today in church we sang songs about the faithfulness of God. I was immediately convicted of anxieties and burdens that I have been carrying around that I need to trust to His very capable hands. So I did some burden-casting this morning.

It is humbling. Casting a burden on God says “I am not the right person to carry this. It is beyond me, but, Lord, you are more than capable!”. How true. God’s hand is mighty. My hands are weak.

And he truly does care for me. And he invites you and me to cast our burdens, anxieties, and cares on him.

What an invitation!

Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!

– Psalms 133:1 (ESV)

Yes!

Unity is a beautiful thing; good and pleasant. And so badly needed.

And hard to maintain. Even a short jaunt through the God-blogosphere will prove that we Christians are not always unified. I find this sad.

But there is a path to unity. Peter spells it out very clearly:

Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.

– 1 Peter 3:8-9 (ESV)

It involves sympathy, love for the brothers, a tender heart, and – something rarer than the most precious jewel – a humble mind. And it involves the ability, which can only come from the Lord, to bless when cursed, to refrain from reviling when reviled. This goes against the grain of our flesh and is one of the biggest struggles we sincere, passionate, thinking Christians face. It is not by accident that Peter writes “but on the contrary”. For the ability to bless when cursed is completely contrary to our flesh. Our old nature cannot bless when cursed.

But Jesus can. Jesus did. And He can do that through a heart tendered and a mind humbled and filled with love by His Holy Spirit. This is the way to unity, and to blessings we can’t imagine.

Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated – of whom the world was not worthy – wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

– Hebrews 11:35-38 (ESV)

I’ve been a bit speechless lately. Not uninspired, just having trouble stringing words together. But I read this passage today and feel a need to, if nothing else, just lay it out there.

”. . . of whom the world was not worthy . . .”

Don’t you love that line? The writer of Hebrews stands with us in wonder at the faith of the saints of old. Though they were mocked, beaten, and killed, they were not defeated. The world just wasn’t worthy of them.

I wonder if that could ever be said of me. No, it couldn’t. Not yet.

But perhaps someday.

Oh, to be one of whom the world was not worthy!

Update 3:00pm: I just realized that that last line should more truthfully be “Oh, to want to be one of whom the world was not worthy!

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

– Galatians 1:3-5 (ESV)

Eucatastrophe references this passage as he considers our Hobbit-like Peril:

“Well its none of our concern what goes on beyond our borders. Keep your nose out of trouble and no trouble will come to you.”

That is in my mind one of the most significant statements in giving us insight into the people of the Shire. They are a peace-loving, comfort-enjoying people who care very little at all about the outside world. They enjoy their simple life and see no reason to be concerned with what happens in the land of the “big folk.” What they didn’t realize was that Trouble with a capital “T” was coming to them and unless there was decisive intervention the Shire and their happy culture would perish. What they failed to see was that they were in dire need of decisive rescue from the growing evil shadow of the East. The hobbits were completely ignorant of their impending doom and their desperate need for rescue.

. . .

Christianity is the only religion that recognizes our hobbit like peril. Founders of other religions came primarily to teach. They came with a set of doctrines and an example to be followed. Though Jesus was a great teacher, the greatest teacher mankind has ever known, Paul makes no mention of this when he gives us this nutshell version of the Gospel in Galatians 1. What we see here is what is at the very heart of the Gospel, namely, that mankind was in desperate need of rescue. Jesus came to rescue first and then to be an example second.

The uniqueness of Christianity is that it comes to us and informs us of our absolutely helpless and perilous state. The Gospel does not first reveal Christ to us as a guide and example. No, it first reveals Christ as our Deliverer, our Rescuer. Christ came to earth and before most people knew what was really happening He had already accomplished every thing needed for the deliverance of his hobbit like people. He accomplished our redemption before we even knew we were perishing and unable to recover ourselves. This is the Good News of the Gospel.

“He accomplished our redemption before we even knew we were perishing and unable to recover ourselves. This is the Good News of the Gospel.”

Well said.

[Hat tip: Transforming Sermons]