Praise the Lord for the wonder of this new
day. He blessed us with a beautiful weekend. We were privileged
to host the St. Petersburg Men's Ensemble on Friday evening. The abundant
and delicious food, the sweet music, and the gracious fellowship were all a
blessing. We have known this wonderful group of singers from St.
Petersburg, Russia over many years past. The Lord blessed us in His house
during the worship hour yesterday, in worship, witness, and fellowship. We
also hosted a community-wide Christmas youth event last evening. There was
food galore, plenty of fun and fellowship, and, best of all, sharing in the good
news of Jesus Christ our Lord. Praise the Lord for all who participated
in serving and sharing.
It looks like a winter wonderland today. For the snow lovers, it is a Paradise. It looks clean, fresh, and stainless. We are privileged to live in this region where so many people come for winter sports. I watched some football yesterday and my Steelers won. We had a chance to chat with one of our granddaughters on Google chat yesterday. It is always a thrill to have some kind of face-to-face time.
I shared yesterday from Luke 1, the Magnificat. It is a song of hope and of reversal of fortunes. It is a song which echoes the one that the prophet Isaiah sang so many years earlier about good news for the oppressed, liberty to the captives, and comfort for all who mourn. Mary sang not in the future tense of things that are yet to be, but in the past tense, as one who knows the promises have already come true. This song is powerful and poignant, and it is beautiful, poetic, and rhythmic. Her song is also prophetic.
We often think of Mary as being meek and mild, the quiet one over in the corner of the live nativity scene, the one holding the baby Jesus. I believe, however, that she was prophetic, bold, and courageous.
It has been said that William Temple, the Archbishop of Canterbury back in 1942, warned his missionaries in India to avoid Mary's "most revolutionary canticle", lest they incite a riot among the impoverished people there. The magnificat speaks of the powerful being brought down from their thrones, and the lowly lifted up. It speaks of the hungry being filled with good things and the rich going away empty. One can see how these words might stir up the oppressed and impoverished, might cause a revolution, might disrupt the status quo. The song was sung by the one who bore in her womb the Son God, who was being sent to the world to change everything. Her song embodies the mission and ministry of Jesus Christ, our Lord, who would become the king who reigns forever and forever. The song is sung by Mary, the one whom Elizabeth called blessed and "the mother of my Lord."
Mary's song is different because for centuries the prophets have cried to God, "Come down!" Tear open the heavens and come down!" and now God was doing exactly that. God was becoming incarnate. God was becoming human. God was entering the world to enact the great reversal God had always promised.
William Willimon, one of my favorite theologians and preachers, whared the story of a Duke student explaining to him how the virgin birth was just too incredible to believe. Willimon responded,
"You think that's incredible, come back next week. Then, we will tell you that 'God has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly.' We'll talk about the hungry having enough to eat and the rich being sent away empty. The virgin birth? If you think you have trouble with the Christian faith now, just wait. The virgin birth is just a little miracle; the really incredible stuff is coming next week."
Willimon, along with preachers and prophets across the ages, knew that the virgin birth is the paramount part of the promises of God that come to pass in the incarnation of Christ Jesus, who will look with favor upon the lowly, who will challenge those with power, who will question those with money, who will comfort those who grieve, who will heal those who are sick and who will stand by those who are marginalized. That's what Mary sang about. She sang praise to the mighty one, to the Lord her Savior. A poor, lowly, humble, pregnant, pondering Mary sang with joy of the changes God would bring through the son of her womb, through the Son of God, through Jesus our Savior.
In Christ,
Brown
https://youtu.be/z0m4vKyMufI?list=RDz0m4vKyMufI
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