During Advent, we have been focusing on the stories surrounding Mary, the mother of Jesus.  We tend to think of Mary as the lovely young woman draped in blue, serenely seated in our manger scenes.  Because we Protestants believe that the Catholics have over-venerated Mary, we have a tendency to simply leave her alone.

          This is unfortunate, because Mary is quite an interesting person in her own right.  Mary was a real live person, and a woman of great faith. And, as we will see today, she was also a prophet with some very strong things to say.  Her words were certainly not what we might expect from the demure figure in the nativity scene.

          Last Sunday, we looked at the account of the appearance of the angel, Gabriel, to Mary.  We talked about what was at stake for Mary as she faced the decision of how to answer Gabriel.  Mary understood that God had singled her out for a great honor.  Yet she also knew that it would be difficult to explain this impossible pregnancy.  She knew that many—perhaps even Joseph, to whom she was engaged—would not believe her.

          In spite of her fears, Mary answered “Yes” to God’s call on her life.  She submitted to God’s call saying, “I am the Lord’s servant.  May it be to me as you have said.”  Luke’s account continues, telling us what Mary did next.  Luke never mentions Joseph’s side of this story.  That account is found in Matthew.  So we can’t tell for sure which event took place first.

          Did Mary reveal her pregnancy to Joseph before or after she went to see Elizabeth?  My guess is that, as it sounds in Luke, Mary immediately went to see Elizabeth, and that she needed the time with Elizabeth to prepare herself for the events that would take place when she returned home. 

          I am reading from Luke 1:

³⁹At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, ⁴⁰where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴²In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! ⁴³But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"

          I want to stop here for a minute and talk about this encounter that Mary has with Elizabeth.  Keep in mind that Mary did not pull out her cell phone and call Elizabeth to tell her what had happened.  The reason Mary chooses to go to Elizabeth is because Gabriel told Mary that Elizabeth, in her old age, is going to have a child, and that she is in her sixth month.  Mary understands that Elizabeth’s miraculous pregnancy is part of what God is doing, and it is related to what has happened to Mary.

          So when Mary arrives at the home of Zechariah and Elizabeth, something extraordinary happens.  Elizabeth says that the baby in her womb leaped, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, begins to prophesy.  This is an interesting example of prophecy, because it combines Elizabeth’s own experience with an affirmation of Mary that can only be inspired by the Holy Spirit.  Remember that Elizabeth has no way of even knowing that Mary is pregnant.

          In her prophecy, Elizabeth says “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!”  My guess is that at this point, Mary has not even told anyone about her encounter with the angel, and that Elizabeth is the person she has chosen to be the first to know.  In this encounter, Elizabeth confirms what has happened by speaking this word given to her by the Holy Spirit.

          Elizabeth calls Mary “the mother of my Lord,” recognizing that the child Mary is carrying is the promised Messiah.  When the baby Elizabeth is carrying—who we know will be John the Baptist—leaps within her womb, it is a foreshadowing of the role John the Baptist will have as the one who points the way to Jesus.

          Then Elizabeth says to Mary, “Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished.”  Can you imagine how comforting this encounter must be to Mary?  She has come to Elizabeth, not knowing how Elizabeth will receive her news. But even before Mary speaks, Elizabeth has confirmed what the angel has told her and affirmed Mary because of her belief and her willingness to be part of what God is doing in and through her.

          Mary’s joy spills out in her wonderful words, which are sometimes referred to as the Magnificat.  Mary’s words are a prophecy in the tradition of the Old Testament prophets.

          Before I read it, let me say a little about prophecy.  In the Bible, prophecy seems to be a blend of the life and convictions of the prophet and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  Generally, it is not just words coming through the person the way we might think of channeling.  That’s usually not the way God’s Spirit works.  So even though Mary’s words are inspired by the Holy Spirit, they also speak her personal convictions.  One way you can verify this is that if you study the prophecies spoken by various prophets, you will see that each prophet has his or her own bent, so the personality of the prophet shines through what God is saying.  To me, the fact that God uses the person’s own ideas and personality is amazing.  God does not just work alone, dumping himself into humans and speaking through them.  God works with humans who have come to love God and understand his message.

          So when we read the words of Mary’s prophecy, we learn what God has to say, but we also get a glimpse of who Mary was.  Here’s what Mary had to say.

 ⁴⁶And Mary said:
   "My soul glorifies the Lord
    ⁴⁷and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
 ⁴⁸for he has been mindful
      of the humble state of his servant.
   From now on all generations will call me blessed,
   ⁴⁹for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
      holy is his name.
 ⁵⁰His mercy extends to those who fear him,
      from generation to generation.
 ⁵¹He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
      he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
 ⁵²He has brought down rulers from their thrones
      but has lifted up the humble.
 ⁵³He has filled the hungry with good things
      but has sent the rich away empty.
 ⁵⁴He has helped his servant Israel,
      remembering to be merciful
 ⁵⁵to Abraham and his descendants forever,
      even as he said to our fathers."

 ⁵⁶Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.

          Mary begins by praising God and expressing her joy in what has happened to her.  She calls herself God’s servant, and with God’s help, she sees that she will be honored by future generations.  Remember that Mary will have a lot to deal with very soon, as she faces all the people who will not believe her story.  Here, she is joyful and her strength comes from her identification with God, her Savior.

          Then, Mary launches into her prophecy of justice.  From what she says, we can see that she is a person who believes strongly that the justice of this world is not God’s justice, and she believes her son will have a role in reversing the ways of the world.

          She speaks out against those who are proud in their inmost thoughts, and the rulers on their thrones.  Her prophecy is in the past tense, as a statement of belief that what God is going to do has already been accomplished.

          She prophesies that God will scatter the proud and bring down the rulers from their thrones, and then the humble will be lifted up.  Those who are hungry will have plenty, and those who were rich will have nothing.  God will be merciful to Abraham and his descendants.  God will keep his promises.

          Mary’s prophecy attacks the political regime of the Roman Empire.  Remember that Israel is occupied by the Roman Empire.  Caesar Augustus, the ruler of the mighty Roman Empire, was the adopted son of Julius Caesar.  After his death, Julius Caesar was officially declared to be a god, so Caesar Augustus was called “son of god.”  Gabriel, the angel, told Mary that her child would be called the Son of God. 

          Further, Augustus was considered the one who brought peace to Rome, its savior, and the bringer of good news—the same word we use for the gospel.  Mary is the one who hears all of these words attributed to her son, and she is the one who ponders them in her heart.

          From the very beginning, Mary understands, long before anyone else has a clue, that Jesus will change the world.  It certainly did not happen in the way Mary envisioned it.  We see clues of that in the other glimpses we have her in the gospels. 

          But Mary understood clearly that God’s ways were not the ways of the Empire, and her son, Jesus, would bring about changes.

          What can we learn from Mary, this brave young woman who totally submits herself to God’s will?

          First, Mary has an understanding of God’s ways, and when God calls her, she willingly answers “Yes.”  Like Mary, we can study the scriptures so that we, too, will understand the heart of God.  When God calls us, whether the call is radically life-changing, as Mary’s call was, or simply some small thing God calls us to do or say, we can answer as Mary did, submitting our will to God’s will.

          Second, Mary is an example of God’s idea of justice, and we can learn from her.  In Mary’s day, the people were tempted to be swept into the glorious power of the Roman Empire.  The Caesar’s palaces, Herod’s palace, the powerful army—all of these must have tempted the people to believe that Caesar was, indeed, lord and savior—the one they ought to worship. 

          Mary saw right through it, knowing that the powerful did not care about those who had very little; those who were hungry.  Mary herself was probably rather poor—at least we know she was poor when she was a young mother, because of the sacrifice she and Joseph offered when they brought the baby Jesus to the temple.

          Mary understood that God is not pleased when some of his children have little or nothing to eat, while the wealthy sit in their opulent palaces and refuse to share.  We can learn from Mary that God wants us to share our wealth with those who have nothing, and work for justice in our world.

          Certainly, we can see in Jesus’ message some of the same ideas that Mary spoke in her prophecy.

          The stories of Mary and others related to the birth of Jesus are wonderful, and we read them, perhaps once a year, much too quickly.  Mary found in her cousin, Elizabeth, a kindred spirit.  She stayed with Elizabeth for three months, probably being strengthened for what was to come next in her life.  Then she went home.

          I wish we knew more of how she was received in her own home.  What we do have is a short account in the Gospel of Matthew that tells us how God paved the path for Mary with Joseph.  I think this event happened after Mary returned to her home town of Nazareth, now three months pregnant, but I can’t know that for sure.  Let me read from Matthew 1:

¹⁸This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

 ²⁰But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

 ²²All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"—which means, "God with us."

 ²⁴When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. ²⁵But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

          Both Mary and Joseph were remarkable, devout people, and God chose them to be the earthly parents of his Son, Jesus.  They’re much more than figures in a manger scene.  They were real people who participated with God in a world-changing event in history.

Prayer:

Lord, we thank you for the stories of Mary and Joseph, and their obedience to you.  Help us, like Mary and Joseph, to be faithful followers who are willing to do what you call us to do.  Help us, like Mary, to allow our hearts to care about the plight of the needy, and to yearn for justice in the world.  As Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.   Amen