Sunday's Message - The Song of Mary: A Song of Trust (Luke 1:46–55)

Some of our best memories of Christmas involve singing some of our favorite songs and carols. Whether they’re secular or sacred, they remind us of the reason for the season and the sheer joy that’s possible during this very special time of year. And so, with that in mind, we’re going to spend some time talking about the "Great Songs of Christmas” but not necessarily the ones we associate with this holiday. Instead, we’ll look at some of the advent songs from the Bible, passages that had meaning then and can have meaning right now. During four weeks, we’ll consider the following:

• December 1 - The Song of Zechariah: A Song of Praise
• December 8 - The Song of Mary: A Song of Trust
• December 22 - The Song of the Angels: A Song of Joy
• December 29 - The Song of Simeon: A Song of Hope

During the service on Sunday, December 8, we used Luke 1:46–55 to better understand the song of Mary: A song of trust. Below is the recording and text of the sermon. You can stream the service by going to the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel on Sundays at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).  You can hear a podcast of the service at the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel or the Sligo Presbyterian Spotify Page.

Now, as y’all remember, last week we started a series entitled The Great Songs of Christmas, the title of a vinyl album we’d listen to around the Rudiger house back when I was a kid. But instead of focusing on anything that Maurice Chevalier or Doris Day or any other dead person might have sung, we’re talking about the songs from the Christmas stories found in the Gospel of Luke. And we started with the song of Zechariah, a song of praise. And this morning, we’re going to consider Mary’s song, a poem that I believe reflects her trust in God.

And I’ll tell you, I think that’s kind of interesting, because I’m not sure most of us associate Christmas with trust: praise, joy, hope, certainly; but faith, not so much. As a matter of fact, I think Christmas has more to do with comfort and predictability, you know, stuff on which we can count, than on any kind of decision we have to make. I mean, let’s get real, Christmas isn’t exactly the time of year we crave a bunch of surprises. In fact, we generally want to sing the same carols and to watch the same movies and to eat the same food. The tree has the same old ornaments and the services have the same old structure and my gosh, Santa comes in the same old sleigh with the same old tiny reindeer, right? Now that’s what I think we sort of expect around Christmas. And Lord help anyone who might force us to deviate from our expectations. I remember, I bet almost thirty years ago, a colleague of mine decided to replace his congregation’s Christmas Eve service with a time for folks to come to the church and silently meditate in the sanctuary for a few minutes with Christmas music playing in the background and then go home. Let’s just say, it wasn’t well received. You see, I don’t think people want to trust that certain things will stay the same; they want to know it. I mean, who wants an alternative ending to It’s a Wonderful Life? Christmas is about comfort and predictability, at least, that’s what I believe most of us want.

And yet, I think with the story of Mary, including her song, also called the Magnificat, well, it’s really about trust, and in particular, her decision to trust in God. And I’ll tell you, that’s what we’re going to talk about this morning. You see, during this message, we’ll use the song of Mary to remember that Christmas is not just about praise; it’s also about trust, in other words, a decision that we have to make as the world around us changes. And to do this, we’ll follow the same structure we used last week. I mean, first, we’ll consider the context, you know, the stuff in Luke that led Mary to sing her song. And then, second, we’ll look at the song itself, breaking it down a little bit so that we can get our heads around its message. And then, third, we’ll take what we’ve learned from the context and the song and figure out how it might be meaningful to us as we not only approach Christmas, but also enter a brand new year.

But to get to that point, we really need to start by looking at the context for just a little bit. And I’ll tell you, I think what happened right before a pregnant Mary went to visit her equally pregnant cousin Elizabeth. I think what happened before that meeting really established the background for the song itself. You see, before she started singing, Mary’s ability and willingness to trust in God was certainly tested. In fact, it was tested in the same way we saw with Zechariah last week. The difference was that Mary passed. Just listen to what the Evangelist Luke wrote:

One month later God sent the angel Gabriel to the town of Nazareth in Galilee with a message for a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to Joseph from the family of King David. The angel greeted Mary and said, “You are truly blessed! The Lord is with you.”

Mary was confused by the angel's words and wondered what they meant. Then the angel told Mary, “Don't be afraid! God is pleased with you, and you will have a son. His name will be Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of God Most High. The Lord God will make him king, as his ancestor David was. He will rule the people of Israel forever, and his kingdom will never end.”

Mary asked the angel, “How can this happen? I am not even married!”

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come down to you, and God's power will come over you. So your child will be called the holy Son of God. Your relative Elizabeth is also going to have a son, even though she is old. No one thought she could ever have a baby, but in three months she will have a son. Nothing is impossible for God!”

Mary said, “I am the Lord's servant! Let it happen as you have said.” And the angel left her. [Luke 1:26-38, CEV]

Now that’s what Luke wrote. And just think about how Mary’s response to the same angel who brought a similar message, just think about how different her final response was to Zechariah’s, a priest who really should have known better. I mean, while “Zechariah said to the angel, ‘How will I know this is going to happen? My wife and I are both very old’” [Luke 1:18, CEV], “Mary said, ‘I am the Lord's servant! Let it happen as you have said.’” [Luke 1:38, CEV] You see, while Zechariah doubted; Mary didn’t. And I’ll tell you, she carried that faith, that trust into the song she offered right after Elizabeth said to Mary,

God has blessed you more than any other woman! He has also blessed the child you will have. Why should the mother of my Lord come to me? As soon as I heard your greeting, my baby became happy and moved within me. The Lord has blessed you because you believed that he will keep his promise. [Luke 1:42b-45, CEV]

You see, I believe the context established Mary’s willingness to trust in God.

And like I said, I think that trust was reflected in what Mary said. As a matter of fact, in my opinion, I believe we can see her faith in each of the three divisions of her song.

You see, in the first section, I believe Mary expressed her trust by celebrating God’s blessings, in other words, by expressing her sheer delight at what God was doing and her pure joy that God was doing this great thing through her. Just listen to how Mary began her song:

Mary said:

With all my heart
   I praise the Lord,
and I am glad
    because of God my Savior.
God cares for me,
    his humble servant.
From now on,
all people will say
    God has blessed me. [Luke 1:46-48, CEV]

Now that’s what she said. You see, all Mary could do was to praise the Lord for choosing to use someone unassuming and undeserving to do this great thing. I mean, for reasons that were beyond her understanding, God had chosen “his humble servant.” I’m telling you, right at the start, Mary expressed her trust in God by celebrating his undeserved blessings.

But then, in the second part of the song, I think she expressed her trust by recognizing God’s power. You see, in a way, through these words, she was sort of fleshing out her reason for celebrating his blessings. This is how she continued:

God All-Powerful has done
great things for me,
    and his name is holy.
He always shows mercy
to everyone
    who worships him. [Luke 1:49-50, CEV]

You see, she believed that this all-powerful, all-holy and all-merciful God had done something wonderful for her. But more than that, according to what God said, Mary trusted that he would display this same power and mercy to others.

And then, in the final section of her song, Mary expressed her trust by remembering God’s promises. And I’ll tell you, it’s right here where Mary faith becomes very focused and specific and for most of us, I think probably a little surprising and uncomfortable. You see, based on his character, this was what God had done in the past and would continue to do into the future:

The Lord has used
    his powerful arm
to scatter those
    who are proud.
God drags strong rulers
    from their thrones
and puts humble people
    in places of power.
God gives the hungry
    good things to eat,
and sends the rich away
    with nothing.
God helps his servant Israel
and is always merciful
    to his people.
The Lord made this promise
    to our ancestors,
to Abraham and his family
    forever! [Luke 1:51-55, CEV]

You see, this God whose blessings she celebrated and whose power she recognized, this God of both authority and mercy, he’d already promised to do some things that were going to make a lot of folks pretty uncomfortable. You see, he was going to turn the tables and change the rules, bringing down those on top, and I’m talking about the proud and the powerful. And in their place, he was going to lift up those at the bottom, you know, those men and women whom the folks at the top often ignore and neglect. According to what she sang, along with celebrating the blessings and recognizing the power, Mary remembered these promises of God. Now that was her song.

And so, now that we’ve talked about both the context and the song itself, we’re left with a simple question: What does it mean? What does it mean for us? In other words, why should Mary’s expression of trust and faith be important right here and right now? And how might we integrate what she celebrated and recognized and remembered into our lives, especially during this Christmas season? Now that’s the question. And since I believe the song can be divided into three parts, I also think there are three ways we might do this.

You see, first, just like Mary, we can also celebrate God’s blessings. I mean, instead of bemoaning the fact that we don’t have everything we want, we can be thankful, we can be appreciative, we can be grateful for what we have. And I’ll tell you, we can express that gratitude in the words we use and the work we do and the attitude we show. As a matter of fact, certainly during this holiday season, we can convey the same demeanor suggested in another Biblical song, this one by the psalmist:

Shout praises to the Lord!
    Praise God in his temple.
Praise him in heaven,
    his mighty fortress.
Praise our God!
His deeds are wonderful,
    too marvelous to describe. [Psalm 150:1-2, CEV]

You see, like Mary, we can express our trust by celebrating God’s blessings. And that’s one.

And second, we can also recognize God’s power. I mean, we can accept that right here and now, God has enabled us to do some things that would normally be impossible. You see, he’s drawn us together, to this place at this time, so that we might be his mouth and his hands. In fact, it’ll be through Mary’s child, the one whose birth we’re going to celebrate in less than three weeks, that we’re empowered to act. I’ll tell you, it’s just like the writer to the Hebrews said in his letter:

God gives peace, and he raised our Lord Jesus Christ from death. Now Jesus is like a Great Shepherd whose blood was used to make God's eternal agreement with his flock. I pray God will make you ready to obey him and that you will always be eager to do right. May Jesus help you do what pleases God. To Jesus Christ be glory forever and ever! Amen. [Hebrews 13:20-21, CEV]

I’m telling you, just like Mary, we can express our trust by recognizing God’s power. And that’s two.

And finally, third, we can also remember God’s promises, and in particular, the promises about which Mary sang in her song. I mean, even though God promised grace and God promised mercy and God promised deliverance, based on what Mary believed, he also promised this radical reversal, where blessings and woes would be sort of evened out. Now that’s what Mary sang, and let me tell you why I think it’s important for us to remember. You see, if we do, if we remember what God promised, on one hand, maybe we won’t be quite to quick to put our trust in more grain and bigger barns while, on the other hand, maybe we’ll be more willing to share some of what we have with those who have so little. I mean, it would be like we’re living as though we actually believed the reason for this season, when Jesus looked at his disciples and said:

God will bless you people
who are poor.
    His kingdom belongs to you!
God will bless
    you hungry people.
You will have plenty
    to eat!
God will bless you people
who are now crying.
    You will laugh!

God will bless you when others hate you and won't have anything to do with you. God will bless you when people insult you and say cruel things about you, all because you are a follower of the Son of Man. Long ago your own people did these same things to the prophets. So when this happens to you, be happy and jump for joy! You will have a great reward in heaven. [Luke 6:20-23, CEV]

You see, just like Mary, we can express our trust by remembering God’s promises. And that’s three.

Of course, doing all this, man, I don’t think it’ll change some of those external things that have made Christmas comfortable and predictable. I mean, it shouldn’t change the carols we sing or the movies we watch or the food we eat. And we can still have the same old ornaments and the same old structures and the same old sleigh and even the same old reindeers. And let me say right here and now, we will not be turning our Christmas Eve service into a time for individual mediation. We’re still going to serve communion and we’re still going to have candles. You don’t have to have faith that it might happen; it will be done. But as it relates to trusting God, even if we’ve never done it before, this Christmas, as faithful followers of Jesus Christ, maybe we can celebrate God’s blessings. And maybe we can recognize God’s power. And even though it might be challenging for most of us, because let’s get real, when compared to the rest of the world, man, we’ve already got a lot, maybe we can remember God’s promises, even the ones that make us uncomfortable. And I’ll tell you, if we do, I think we’ll be living the song of Mary, a song of trust.