Fourth Advent
Luke 1:39-55
I've been in this ministry business a long time. I realize that when certain things have a déjà vu quality. As I was going through my file of old sermons to see if there was a good story or a thought worth repeating this week I came across the Dedication I had written for the New Green Hymnal the LBW in 1978. This last week UPS delivered the new red hymnal the ELW. I think it's a nice book--having 700 hymns and 7 additional settings of the liturgy. There are some favorites you will find missing however. Defenders of the book are quick to assure us that even those old favorites that are not in the new hymnal are still available on line. Some of the songs that have been taken out include God the Omnipotent, Not alone for Mighty Empire, God of our Fathers, Judge Eternal Throned in Splendor. Those of you well versed in hymnody, might note that the commonality in these hymns is their militaristic theme. It appears God's army is no longer a popular metaphor.
I'm of two minds in the argument. On the one hand I agree that images of violence and triumphalistic victory are not appropriate images to carry our faith in this day and age. On the other hand I like singing some of these hymns. They move me; they stir my soul with their conviction and focus.
Like I said before I've been around long enough that I won't get my knickers in a knot about missing these hymns because 20 years from now they'll do another hymnal and bring back these or similarly stirring hymns. Mark my words, before too long scholarly papers will begin lifting up the "Biblical battle cry" image and before long we'll be singing it again.
And one of the texts that those scholars will point to will be our gospel lesson for today--The Magnificate as it is called. This is Mary's song of joy in response to the blessing she receives from her cousin Elizabeth. Elizabeth, who is herself six months pregnant with John the Baptist, in exuberance at seeing Mary declares "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord."
Other powerful Biblical women are addressed in just such a manner "Blessed are you among women Jael who slew the Canaanite general Sisera and won the battle. (Judges 5:24ff.) And Judith who killed Holofernes to see victory over the Assyrians. (Judith 13)
These are not wimpy women and neither is Mary.
Her song rings out like Hannah's song when she offers Samuel to serve in the temple and acknowledges the power of God to bring down the unjust and to lift up those in need.
Mary's responsive song is no lullaby. The words thunder forth like a battle chant: "He has shown strength with his arm, he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts, he has put down the mighty from their thrones and the rich he sent empty away."
Not too sweet a Christmas carol I think. It's a song about someone low going up and someone high being made low.
We tend to want to see Mary meek and mild but that hardly does her justice. After all, Mary's being great with child is not something she could explain or understand, not something Mary had chosen or planned. It put her in a bad way with her fiancé. The angel told Mary to "fear not" but old Simeon told Mary the truth of what it meant for her to be blessed among women when he predicted that "a sword shall pierce your side too." To be the mother of this child would not be easy. Yet Mary is resolute.
As Martin Luther once said in a Christmas sermon, three miracles occurred at Christ's nativity: God became human, a virgin conceived and Mary believed. For Luther the greatest miracle was that Mary believed. Mary believed this was not just any baby being born--this was a King destined to upturn the current world order, a king to threaten the mighty and powerful Herod to take on oppression and hatred. Despite all the closed doors, brick walls, blind alleys and dark silent death Mary believed that this child was God entering our world and that justice and peace would prevail. She believed and she sang this battle song. She is the premier disciple, a model for us all. She is the first to hear the announcement that God is with us and the first to believe.
First century Judea, in the December darkness, without a star in the sky, people shut up in the darkened houses for fear of Roman soldiers, streets deserted and fearfully quiet. One way to handle an oppressive situation in a place like Nazareth is to keep your head down, your mouth buttoned shut. There in the dark silence, a pure, clear feminine voice cut through the night..."My soul magnifies the Lord... he has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree."
In our world today we might imagine Mary joining the voices of her sisters in the Sudan or Palestine or Haiti, women often ignored or discounted--ordinary people who acknowledge the power of God's love to work in the world.
Twenty years ago the government in Pretoria, South Africa banned the singing of Christmas carols in Soweto. When asked why by the press, the South African Scrooge replied, "You know how emotional black women are. Christmas carols have an emotional effect upon them." (St. Louis Post-Dispatch Dec 27, 1985) You let a poor Jewish woman like Mary sing, a black women in Soweto sing, you don't know where it might lead.
Tonight we will sing the soft songs, relish the quiet, and bask in the warmth of a baby's birth. Tonight we will revel in the harmonies of a Silent Night by candlelight. But today's song, Mary's battle cry is no less and perhaps more a celebration of the incarnation of God's entrance into our world for this Christmas Eve.
Amen