Luke 1.39-45
In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘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 leapt for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.’
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I have always been fascinated by the history of the Second World War; when I was in my early twenties, first thing in the morning I’d get up and have a cup of tea and watch something about it.
But I don’t think I ever really watched anything about the direct aftermath and what that was like. What I did see, at the end of these kind of programmes was the VE (Victory in Europe) day celebrations. I recall images of crowds of people on the mall and outside Buckingham palace, Flags being waved. Dancing and singing in the street. You can imagine these celebrations happening up and down the country, from people’s homes to the local pubs to the town squares., finally the war that defined a generation has been won. Our boys are coming home. It was all worth it, despite everything that happened.
There’s a large scale example of celebration a celebration on a national scale, what about a personal one? When I applied for this job I’m doing right now, I was interviewed on zoom at 10 in the morning, with the bishop, archdeacon and members of each of the four churches and a few others. I was told that a decision would be made by five in the evening. So, as you can imagine, I was nervous all day. Five o’clock came and went… Then at 5:30 I was at church, and I got the call from the Archdeacon. And I pumped the air with my fist and had a huge grin on my face. (I may have shouted ‘get in!’ afterwards as well). There’s a personal celebration about something that happened to me.
Our story speaks about a celebration that’s happening not just on an individual scale, but a nation, and indeed a world changing scale. Mary goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth who isn’t too far from giving birth , and when they greet one another ‘the child leapt in her womb’ and Elizabeth shouted with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. It’s a joyous cry, because something amazing has happened and will happen through this baby. And Elizabeth knows it. The gospel, the good news has come, in the form of a baby.
Later on in the passage, Mary prayers her famous Magnificat. A song that sings for joy, in praise of God for all that he has done, and indeed, for what he will do.
My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
Mary recognises the blessing that she has been given. She knows that she had been selected for a very special purpose, even today we still call her blessed. She is filled with joy because of all that God has done for her.
Ok, so this is a celebration, and a song of praise. And while the first bit of it is about her praising God and telling him how wonderful he is and reflecting on how blessed she is to be chosen for this role; in the next verses, but the focus has moved away from Mary praising God and now speaking about what he has done for the peoples of the world.
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 powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.
Thought history God has brought down those who did wrong and lifted up those who did right. This part of the song is also an echo of the prophets who would be raised up by God to speak into their situations, calling them out on what they are doing wrong and calling back to the oaths of justice and righteousness. Mary and Justice share that dream, the dream of a better tomorrow where God will make all things right.
Those who speak on issues of justice these days and call out those who are in authority on what they are doing wrong fulfil this role in today’s society. Those who look to the future with hope that justice and peace will come to the world are the modern day versions of the ancient prophets.
The final part of the song.
He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’
This final part of the song is the recognition that Mary’s people the Jews have not been abandoned to their fate and to their oppression. The promise of freedom given to Abraham hundreds of years before when he was called from his own country and their ways to the ways of the Lord. God’s will awakened in him, and God told him. This is from Genesis chapter 12, all the way back at the beginning of the bible story.
“Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.””
This time of year is more than an ancient festival which we have secularised into Christmas lights and Santa Claus. It is the fulfilment of the promises of God. It is the moment where God acts and has acted decisively in history to bring the one into the world who will change everything; When Jesus came, everything changed not just for the Jews but for everybody else as well. ‘in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed’
It is a festival of hope and joy for all those who suffer under any kind of oppression, and tells them that they can have hope of being released. It is a time when we realise once again that the Spirit of God is alive in humanity and his desire is only to love and care for us, so that we an do the same for others. ‘I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.’
It is a festival that says ‘our hope in God is not in vain’ because he has acted and is indeed acting in the world in a special way, by bringing us himself.
He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 5according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’
Maybe you’re in a tough place right now, maybe everything is going wrong and you can’t see a way out. Maybe you’ve lost all hope that God will act and change things. Maybe you feel abandoned by him.
You haven’t been, God knows, he remembers his servants, and he cares, and he acts, and he will help you to be where you need to be.
Amen.