Christian Life

Throughout our service this evening, we have explored from the perspective of different individuals, the meaning of some of our favourite Christmas carols, as well as having heard from some of our own children.

Most people enjoy Christmas music.  It seems that whether we enjoy it or not, we hear it in our shopping malls earlier and earlier each year.  It does become a tad confusing when Rudolf and Santa appear in the same repertoire as the Baby Jesus and the shepherds of the fields!

I admit to loving Christmas music in all its variety.  Christmas has to be sung!  Music and song began with the very first Christmas, not initially in the song of the angels in the shepherds’ fields, but on the lips of Mary in what has become known as ‘The Magnificat’ in Luke 1: 46-55.

The song comes as an angel brings her the news, recorded in Luke 1: 26-38, that she is highly favoured of God.  What amazing news this was for a teenage girl to receive.  She might well have thought the angel had come to the wrong address, when she was told that “you will be with child and give birth to a son and you will give him the name Jesus” (v.31).

Mary knew enough about the history of her people to know that this was not just ‘any’ child being spoken about, but the long-awaited Messiah.  It may be a mixture of protest and amazement that leads her to ask the question, “How will this be … since I am a virgin?” (v.34)

The messenger went on to tell Mary that this coming Child would be great and would be “called the Son of the Most High” (v.32).

Before we stop, this Christmas time, and comment upon her song, it is important to remember that Mary did not volunteer for this role; she was drafted by God.  Mary may have not even appeared on a list of the eligible in the land to have borne such a child, but we learn an enormous amount from the fact that God chose this devout young Jewish girl from the small village of Nazareth, nestling in the quiet hills of the north country, to give birth to Jesus Christ.

Luke does not give any indication whatsoever of why Mary was chosen.  I am sure that we are left with a picture of grace – the inexplicable gift of this unlikely and impossible birth.

It is the humility and trust that Mary displays that we do well to note at Christmas time.  Her willingness to accept whatever it was that God asked of her will make her ever the first among women.  Mary would not have grasped the full significance of this immense promise, but her readiness to make herself available to God would open up the way for the greatest birth that the world has ever known – or will ever know.

Before we hurtle headlong into Christmas, we stop to consider Mary for a moment by way of her song, which is sung the world over in all and every Christian tradition.

Mary's joy is expressed in a song – v.v. 46-47

Mary praises God for the favour bestowed upon her.  Throughout this song we are conscious that she not only praises God for the triumph of his purposes, but for the fact that he has expressed his love for the oppressed, the poor and hungry – and she counts herself amongst those who are unworthy to receive such grace.

At Christmas we celebrate a mighty act of God – of how he sends the gift of a Child into the world.  All the usual conditions of human action and achievement are absent.  As James T Garrett put it, “They’re not there.  It is totally, entirely, completely, absolutely, the work of God.  The Child is a gift of God’s grace.”

The birth of each and every child is a cause for wonderment.  Every child represents all the latent power and potential of God’s presence in human life.  It can be understood that every time a child is born into this world, it is a sign that God has not given up on us.

When Mary sings “My soul glorifies the Lord”, such a song comes from deep within and, welling up, we have all the joy and gratitude that such a gift brought to her.  The angel Gabriel had previously told her she shouldn’t be afraid (v.30).  This fear was probably less to do with his sudden appearance, however unsettling it was for Mary, and more to do with the content of his message. 

Poetry, hymns and prayer seem to be woven within Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus.  Some people have even argued that Luke’s poetry is borrowed from early Christian liturgies.  It may well be true that Mary’s song forms something of the earliest of Christian worship.

Before Caesar Augustus puts Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem, we have a wonderful and triumphant note of praise, as the would-be mother offers herself to God in glad praise.  The song also ties up the threads of what has gone before and anticipates so many of the themes that Luke, in his own distinctive way, will explore throughout his gospel.  Some have argued that the Magnificat can be said to have a ‘revival of fortunes’ theme – which Luke reinforces in almost every incident of his gospel.

Much has been said about Mary and we need to be very careful not to polarise our thinking.  At the very least what John Stott said has to be true: “If the angel Gabriel addressed her as ‘highly favoured’ and if her cousin Elizabeth called her ‘blessed … among women’, we should not be shy to think and speak of her in the same terms, because of the greatness of her Son.”
She receives the amazing news: ‘nothing is impossible with God’.  It is out of this news that her heart pours forth a fulsome song of praise.

Mary's excitement is touched with humility – v.v.48-49

Mary is clearly caught up in the excitement of the news she has received from the angel, but there is humility about her response that will follow her throughout her life.
Mary would know the favour of the Lord might bring shame upon her, Joseph and her family.  She would certainly know much pain, as her son Jesus would grow into One who would suffer and die for all the world.  Her heart would certainly be pierced, as Simeon would observe as Jesus was presented in the Temple:  “The child’s father and mother marvelled at what was said about him.  Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: ‘This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign to be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed.  And a sword will pierce your own soul too.’” (Luke 2: 34-35)
Mary is excited but she realises that she is part of that great story of God that has been handed down.  Fred Craddock asked why Luke creates such an experience at the entrance to his gospel.  He writes, “The reader is made to feel at home, confident of not being ambushed with some new religion that will contradict and violate every conviction of the parent faith.  The new is at the door to be sure, as new as the young Mary …”

Mary, in simple trust and humility, accepts God’s choice for her.  The “humble state” is not false humility, but great amazement at the goodness of God.

It was Alan Richardson who asserted, “Mary’s humble acceptance of the divine will is the starting point of the story of redemption of the human race from sin.”  It was in a spirit of humility that she said ‘Yes’ to God!

For such a gift to be born in Mary’s life there would need to be:-

• Love at a depth that may lead to suffering.
  
• Knowledge of the will of God – at least enough to say Yes!
  
• Fervent spiritual passion that will be a life of prayer.
  
• Holy desire which will retain humility in all of her actions.

Mary's vision is vaster than others – v.50.

We might be tempted to move swiftly beyond verse 50, but it is critical to understanding the whole passage.  The mercy of God is revealed in the gift of Christ and it reaches to the whole world.

The pattern of Luke’s gospel is to tell this story and express it page after page.  The fear of God mentioned here is much more a description of piety than the kind of trembling in concern as to what might happen.  To all who, like Mary, fear God, there is the promise of blessing beyond imagining.

The blessing of God would have enormous social consequences and would bring a reversal of the social order in relation to our understanding of God.  Mary may well have been aware of the fulfillment of God’s promise, but the good news that is now living in her will be good news not for a limited group of people, but for the whole world.

God is always beyond the limits of our understanding and, just as Mary will prove the truth that ‘nothing is impossible with God’, so she will see the possibility of God’s grace reaching beyond one localized people at one point in time to that which is for all people at all times.

In analyzing the Magnificat, it might appear that there are two sections to the song.  In v.v. 46-50 there is a profound feeling of gratitude to God for what he has done – and v.v. 51-55 praise God for the deliverance of his people.  If this conclusion is true, to any measure, then v.50 is the linchpin!

G K Chesterton made an observation about the story of Robinson Crusoe, “The charm of Robinson Crusoe is not in the fact that he could find his way to a remote island, but in the fact that he could not find any way of getting away from it.”  Such a perception reminds us that we all live within limitations, but Mary saw the possibility of life which moves beyond our boundaries!

John Morgan James put the mystery and the power of nativity in this way:  “But this young woman and her child … forever remind us that God sees life in terms of the depth and quality of our relationships – sensitivity and compassion, caring and sharing, generosity and humility, self-sacrifice and love.  Without them the rich are poor; with them the poor are rich, for they give all else its meaning.”

Mary perceives that God is compassion – v.v.50 & 54

The favour of God does not guarantee peace, prosperity, pleasure and continual happiness.  These may be our experiences from time to time, but there is a deeper blessing which God bestows – and that is his compassion.

Mary will know many times in her life the isolation and loneliness which will mark out her journey, but as she faces those hard and dark times, she is conscious of the compassion of God.  Her song is a song that people have treasured in difficult times, as they have struggled in the darkness and realised that God’s blessing can still come to his people, even in the face of crucifixion – as Mary will painfully prove!

There are many beautiful aspects to the Magnificat –

• It is a beautiful song of the faith and trust of Mary.
  
• It is a pattern of our praise which always follows genuine faith.
  
• But, most important of all, it is beautiful because of its content!

Mary praised God for all that he does:  for acts of mercy (v.50), for choosing the humble and not the proud (v.v.51-53) and for keeping his promise across the span of time (v.v.54-55).

David H Read talked about ‘the gospel according to Mary’:  “The gospel according to Mary speaks not only of the tremendous mercy of God but also of his rejection of every human pretension, his condemnation of our arrogance, our acquisitiveness, and our pride.  Through this song we already hear the words of Jesus.  He spoke about the man who boasted that he was ‘not as other men are, and prided himself on his religious virtues.’  ‘He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts,’ says Mary. 

Jesus stood helpless before Pilate, who boasted of his power to have Jesus crucified, and said, ‘You could have no power at all against me, except it were given you from above.’  ‘He has put down the mighty from their seats,’ said Mary.  (And what a putdown!)  He told the story of the man who concentrated on the accumulation of material and planned to retire and enjoy it.  ‘But God said, You fool, this night your soul shall be required of you; then whose shall these things be, which you have provided?’  ‘The rich he has sent empty away,’ said Mary.

The gospel of Mary is the gospel of her child, which means that it is the good news of God’s grace for all who come to him in the rags of the Prodigal Son.”

Mary’s ‘Song for Christmas’ is still the finest of all.  It gives the tune and tone for all our celebrations and makes way for the greatest gift of all, which is Jesus Christ.