Sermon for Advent Midweek 1
+ Luke 1:46-55 +
46 And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
50 And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55 as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
“Songs of Advent” is the theme of this year’s midweek Advent services. Songs surrounding the birth of Jesus, rejoicing in the arrival – the Advent – of mankind’s Savior. There are four songs of Advent in the Bible, composed by the Holy Spirit himself, sung or spoken through the mouths of his servants, recorded for us on the Sacred Page. Three of them are part of our service this evening. One of them we’ll wait until Christmas Eve to sing again.
The Song of Mary is before us tonight, the song she sang when she arrived at the home of her relative, Elizabeth, to announce what the angel Gabriel had recently announced to her: that she – a young virgin, probably just a teenager – would conceive by the power of the Holy Spirit and give birth to the Son of David – the Christ, the Son of God.
Mary’s song has been named the “Magnificat,” Latin for “magnifies,” as in “my soul magnifies the Lord.” That’s why I read to you this evening from the ESV, because that English translation keeps the word “magnifies,” whereas the NIV says, “glorifies.”
“My soul magnifies the Lord.” Isn’t it tragic that Satan has so pulled the wool over people’s eyes that they magnify Mary herself, instead of doing what Mary did and magnify – acclaim the greatness of the Lord? As if Mary’s song were about Mary, when it isn’t. Not at all. Mary’s song is about Mary’s Lord – specifically her Lord who had now condescended to be conceived in her womb. The Holy Spirit knew what he was doing when he inspired this song. Lest we ever think that Mary was sinless, she adds that “my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” Only sinners need saving. And when Mary, the sinner, was told that her Savior was coming to her, all her spirit could do was rejoice. Why?
“For he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.” If you wanted to pick out a single theme from Mary’s song, it would be, “How great God is for helping the humble.” Isn’t God amazing that way? He doesn’t look on a person’s glorious estate or his righteous estate or his rich and powerful estate. God looked at Mary and saw humility. And where God sees humility, where God sees a person who recognizes his or her own utter lowliness, God looks – and he smiles. “This is the one I esteem:”, he says through the prophet Isaiah. “He who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.”
“He has looked on my humble estate” – and done what? Made her less humble? Made her a ruler or a queen or a rich woman? No, not that. He has made her pregnant. Pregnant with the One who was promised so long ago. Pregnant with the Son of the Most High God. Pregnant with God her Savior. Someone asked recently if it was right or wrong to call Mary the “Mother of God.” The Church has always answered – not just the Roman Catholic Church, but also the Lutheran Church, that, yes! Is Jesus true God? Yes! Was Mary given the privilege to be his mother? Yes! So Mary is the mother of God. That’s not an adoration of Mary. It’s our confession about the Person of her Son.
But, because she was given that privilege, she was very right in what she sang, “For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.” One out of billions and billions of people. Only one could conceive the Savior by the power of the Holy Spirit. Talk about winning the lottery! But it wasn’t a lottery, was it? God doesn’t work by chance or pull names out of a hat. Nor does he choose people because of their worthiness. He chose Mary, because she was nobody – this humble young lady, his servant. For no other reason than his own grace, God smiled on this young lady and gave her this great and wonderful gift. Blessed is she, the Blessed Virgin. That doesn’t tell you how great Mary is. It tells you how great God is. He’s the one who blessed her, humble though she was.
But lest you become jealous of her, listen to something Jesus once said. A woman once said to him, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.” But Jesus replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it.” Have you heard the Word of God that Mary’s Son is your Savior and Substitute before God? Have you kept his word – that is, have you believed it and do you hold it fast in your heart? Do you lower yourself in the humility of repentance and call that child in Mary’s womb your Savior? Then blessed are you, too. Smiled upon by God. See, Mary’s Son is just as much your Savior as he was Mary’s Savior. “My soul magnifies the Lord.”
Listen! Mary sings her song to you. “His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.” Speaking by the Holy Spirit, Mary saw you, gathered in the name of her Son – God’s mercy is for you who fear him still! You may be a great big nobody in the world. You may have nothing. You may have messed up your life. But in Mary’s womb lay salvation for people in every age, in every generation. His mercy is for you, too!
He has shown strength with his arm. The heavens and the earth didn’t shake with God’s strength when Mary conceived. Mary’s not singing here about thunder and lightning and hurricanes and earthquakes. She’s talking about a baby, her baby, God’s Son – his strong arm of salvation, as Isaiah had said.
He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. No one had been scattered out of Israel when Mary conceived, but as far as God was concerned, the proud people had lost every right to boast. As Paul said to the Corinthians, “Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.”
He has brought down the mighty from their thrones. No kings were deposed when Jesus entered Mary’s womb. No kingdoms were destroyed. But the rulers in the demon’s realm shuddered, and the devil’s downfall became imminent. No ruler in the world could stop the coming of the kingdom that belonged to that tiny child, hidden away in Mary’s womb.
He has exalted those of humble estate. Not by making poor people rich or sick people healthy. But by lifting up this humble virgin and placing his Son in her womb. By giving his Son as a gift to the poor, by preaching forgiveness of sins to the lowly in spirit, to all who mourn over their sins.
He has filled the hungry with good things. As Jesus would say one day, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” Here is your righteousness, in the womb of the Virgin! Is that what you’re looking for? Do you hunger for the forgiveness this child comes to bring? Then blessed are you! Or are you rich and already well-fed on your own goodness? He has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel. How? By making it a safe country to live in? No, not at all. By keeping a promise, a promise made long ago to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to David and Solomon and to the nation of Israel: to send this baby to a virgin’s womb, to nail him one day to a cross, and to raise him from the dead. In him, Israel is helped. In him, all are helped who look to him in faith.
My soul magnifies the Lord. That was Mary’s song, the Magnificat. A song of joy over God’s great help for the humble. And it’s our song, too. A song of Advent – Jesus is coming! Help is on its way! Amen.
