Luke 1: :46-55
Listen Link: http://www.firstcovenantcadillac.org/#!this-weeks-sermon/c20mw
Often when a person receives an unexpected blessing, or a wonderful answer to a prayer we might hear them say, “Somebody up there likes me!” That sentence conveys a sense of having received a reward for good behavior, because presumably that would be why somebody up there likes me. And why not name the great benefactor? Why talk as if you don’t know who sends the blessings? Well, I guess a lot of people really don’t know. Anyway, I don’t think any unwed mother who ever received news about an unplanned pregnancy ever said, “Somebody up there likes me!”
But Mary says, “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.” The focus is definitely not on herself as the person being liked! She if focused on God and God is not just a somebody. She knows God and she knows that he is her Savior. He is the Mighty One, and she acknowledges that he has done great things for her even though she doesn’t deserve it. She remembers her old Testament history and recalls its main trends in this song of joy, giving thanks for the God who exalts the humble and scatters the proud.
What inspired this joyous song? The occasion on which she burst forth in song was when she went to meet Elizabeth who was pregnant with John, who would come to be known as John the Baptist because he baptized Jews to cleanse them and prepare the way for the Lord to reach into their hearts. This John the Baptist, still unborn, makes a great kick inside his mother’s womb and Elizabeth interprets that as a leap for Joy because the Lord has drawn near!
Can you imagine, one unborn baby, inside Elizabeth, reacting to the presence of an even younger, embryonically small unborn baby inside Mary? That’s a miracle right there! And there is also the miracle that Elizabeth knew by revelation of the Holy Spirit that Mary was in fact already pregnant with the life of Christ. This was in Elizabeth’s sixth month. Everyone knew she was pregnant. But Mary went to see Elizabeth immediately after she heard from the angel. There is no way she even had a baby bump yet! But the tiny embryo, just beginning to take human shape, was recognized as the Lord, by a prophetic baby to be named John, and his spirit filled mother, Elizabeth. God did that.
Mary’s song expresses a humble dependence upon God. She pointed away from herself and towards a strong savior that she would soon hold in her arms. She didn’t shine any light on herself. And look at the situation she was in; A young virgin is told she will conceive a son by the Holy Spirit. How will she explain this to her husband-to-be?
What if he refuses to marry her and she’s left to bear a son out of wedlock? These were not minor concerns in the time in which she lived. Still, her response to the angel Gabriel is profound in its simplicity.i “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary says. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” But, not thinking about her needs or how she will provide for this new life.
Far from being self-consumed she feels indebted to god. Even in the moment when the angel first told her about what would happen Mary responded with humble dependence upon God. She accepted a hard task, in a difficult situation, and took for the reality that it was, a tremendous blessing from God. At every turn in the story of Christmas we witness unquestioning obedience to God. How many of us are slower to respond to God’s prompting over much smaller matters?
Mary put her own story in the context of all of Jewish history. She saw herself as the kind of person God typically chooses to use for his work. Like Gideon, who did not think he was a mighty warrior; Moses, who did not think he was an eloquent speaker; David, who was just a shepherd and not thought qualified to be king; and every other unlikely candidate, God lifts them up and gives them a place in history, a place in opposition to the self-proclaimed great ones, the ones who think they don’t need anything from God. And these same self-righteous full of themselves great people of power and status are the ones who will go away empty when God has his way with them.
God is the champion of the underdog! That should come as good news to most of us, who arguably have no political power, and not enough money or fame to think of ourselves as having much influence over the culture. But this is where we have to be very careful. We may think of ourselves as people of humble means, but that is not what makes us humble. We can actually be proud of that. We can actually assume we are all set to receive blessing from God because we imagine we aren’t full already.
It really is hard to be humble. The most humble person you meet would probably not strike you as humble.ii That’s because it would be a person who was interested in others. So they probably wouldn’t by as shy and unassuming as we might think of humble people. They could be very vibrant and outgoing. They could be very active and busy doing great things, but for others, as in serving them. Just like Mary did.
She said, “I am the Lord’s servant.” And that’s how she lived her life. She didn’t complain about how hard it was. At least, that’s not recorded. She didn’t try to argue with God and back out of the big thing he asked of her, the way Moses did. Of all people in the Bible, she humbly accepted what God asked of her, more quickly and more submissively than anyone else I can think of. That’s humble.
So instead of figuring out whether or not your humble by comparing yourself with the rich and powerful, you need to realize that compared to most people in the Bible, you really are rich and powerful. In fact, when you compare our living situation to that of Mary and Joseph, being a citizen of the United States is really a lot closer to being Roman than Israeli. You may not personally lord it over oppressed people, but we certainly benefit from those who do. And we are definitely not as oppressed as many of the people who produce the goods we enjoy at their expense. We are not even sufficiently aware of these issues to fully feel the weight of our corporate guilt before God, much less know what to do about it, other than shop local and buy made in the USA.
So, back to humility. How many of us practice unquestioning obedience to God? How many of us are slower to respond to God’s prompting over much smaller matters than whether or not this is a good time and place to have a baby? That’s the measure that God is using. Among the things you are able to do, is obeying God on the top of your list of priorities, no matter what he asks? I will freely confess that I struggle with keeping that top priority without doubting whether I heard right, or arguing with God about what he means by asking that. I am probably not as humble as Mary, even though I would like to be and even though I know I should be.
But that is why I rejoice in God my Savior! As theologian N. T. Wright points out,
Christmas is the moment when God launched a “divine rescue mission” of humankind. That rescue mission is like saving a drowning person who is unconscious. A lot of the world think they just need a little help from God and they will be okay. But the gospel is that we are all drowning, and unconscious already, totally unable to help ourselves out. The recue requires that God our Savior dove right into the dark waters to be with us, grab us, drag us on shore and breathe new life into us.
But the rescue mission itself looks different from what we might expect. God didn’t just condescend to come to earth as a human. He humbled himself and came as a helpless infant. The King of Kings was born amid barnyard animals and piles of hay after His lowly parents were turned away from better lodgings. Shepherds from the fields were welcomed to have an audience with this king. When the Magi came later to see the Lord, there was no security on hand to judge whether they were worthy. The Messiah was approachable.
He was both one of us, and at the same time, “God with us.” He was flesh. He would hunger, He would bleed, He would love, He would thirst, and He would die. None of this could have happened had He not been born fully human.iii But the fact that it did happen is what gives me hope of forgiveness and salvation in spite of my far from perfect obedience! The humility of Jesus Christ saves me from my sins and then it inspires me to be humble like him, with his help. The Holy Spirit breathes new life into me and invites me to take my place in the long line of God’s servants, singing a song of joy, filled with gratitude for salvation!
Mary sang a great song! What song would you write to sing today? Can you see how your life fits into God’s great plan of redemption? Not just that you yourself are saved, but that you play a role in leading others to the same joyous salvation? Have you responded to God planting the seed of life in your heart by his grace and mercy? Has Jesus Christ been born in your heart? Is he living there in your body, bursting with life, eager to shine forth from your willing hands and feet as you humbly submit to live the life of the Lord’s servant? May we and the world be so blessed by your humble service. May God be glorified! My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. I pray that yours does too. And in most of you, I think I see it! Keep at it! It is good for the world!
i Kirsten Powers, http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2015/december-web-only/kirsten-powers-becoming-christian-ruined-my-love-of-christm.html?&visit_source=twitter ii
Charles Morris, Haven Today Ministries http://haven.streamon.fm/program-e-
1450080000.000000 iii Kirsten Powers, http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2015/december-web-only/kirsten-powers-becoming-christian-ruined-my-love-of-christm.html?&visit_source=twitter
Listen Link: http://www.firstcovenantcadillac.org/#!this-weeks-sermon/c20mw
Often when a person receives an unexpected blessing, or a wonderful answer to a prayer we might hear them say, “Somebody up there likes me!” That sentence conveys a sense of having received a reward for good behavior, because presumably that would be why somebody up there likes me. And why not name the great benefactor? Why talk as if you don’t know who sends the blessings? Well, I guess a lot of people really don’t know. Anyway, I don’t think any unwed mother who ever received news about an unplanned pregnancy ever said, “Somebody up there likes me!”
But Mary says, “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.” The focus is definitely not on herself as the person being liked! She if focused on God and God is not just a somebody. She knows God and she knows that he is her Savior. He is the Mighty One, and she acknowledges that he has done great things for her even though she doesn’t deserve it. She remembers her old Testament history and recalls its main trends in this song of joy, giving thanks for the God who exalts the humble and scatters the proud.
What inspired this joyous song? The occasion on which she burst forth in song was when she went to meet Elizabeth who was pregnant with John, who would come to be known as John the Baptist because he baptized Jews to cleanse them and prepare the way for the Lord to reach into their hearts. This John the Baptist, still unborn, makes a great kick inside his mother’s womb and Elizabeth interprets that as a leap for Joy because the Lord has drawn near!
Can you imagine, one unborn baby, inside Elizabeth, reacting to the presence of an even younger, embryonically small unborn baby inside Mary? That’s a miracle right there! And there is also the miracle that Elizabeth knew by revelation of the Holy Spirit that Mary was in fact already pregnant with the life of Christ. This was in Elizabeth’s sixth month. Everyone knew she was pregnant. But Mary went to see Elizabeth immediately after she heard from the angel. There is no way she even had a baby bump yet! But the tiny embryo, just beginning to take human shape, was recognized as the Lord, by a prophetic baby to be named John, and his spirit filled mother, Elizabeth. God did that.
Mary’s song expresses a humble dependence upon God. She pointed away from herself and towards a strong savior that she would soon hold in her arms. She didn’t shine any light on herself. And look at the situation she was in; A young virgin is told she will conceive a son by the Holy Spirit. How will she explain this to her husband-to-be?
What if he refuses to marry her and she’s left to bear a son out of wedlock? These were not minor concerns in the time in which she lived. Still, her response to the angel Gabriel is profound in its simplicity.i “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary says. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” But, not thinking about her needs or how she will provide for this new life.
Far from being self-consumed she feels indebted to god. Even in the moment when the angel first told her about what would happen Mary responded with humble dependence upon God. She accepted a hard task, in a difficult situation, and took for the reality that it was, a tremendous blessing from God. At every turn in the story of Christmas we witness unquestioning obedience to God. How many of us are slower to respond to God’s prompting over much smaller matters?
Mary put her own story in the context of all of Jewish history. She saw herself as the kind of person God typically chooses to use for his work. Like Gideon, who did not think he was a mighty warrior; Moses, who did not think he was an eloquent speaker; David, who was just a shepherd and not thought qualified to be king; and every other unlikely candidate, God lifts them up and gives them a place in history, a place in opposition to the self-proclaimed great ones, the ones who think they don’t need anything from God. And these same self-righteous full of themselves great people of power and status are the ones who will go away empty when God has his way with them.
God is the champion of the underdog! That should come as good news to most of us, who arguably have no political power, and not enough money or fame to think of ourselves as having much influence over the culture. But this is where we have to be very careful. We may think of ourselves as people of humble means, but that is not what makes us humble. We can actually be proud of that. We can actually assume we are all set to receive blessing from God because we imagine we aren’t full already.
It really is hard to be humble. The most humble person you meet would probably not strike you as humble.ii That’s because it would be a person who was interested in others. So they probably wouldn’t by as shy and unassuming as we might think of humble people. They could be very vibrant and outgoing. They could be very active and busy doing great things, but for others, as in serving them. Just like Mary did.
She said, “I am the Lord’s servant.” And that’s how she lived her life. She didn’t complain about how hard it was. At least, that’s not recorded. She didn’t try to argue with God and back out of the big thing he asked of her, the way Moses did. Of all people in the Bible, she humbly accepted what God asked of her, more quickly and more submissively than anyone else I can think of. That’s humble.
So instead of figuring out whether or not your humble by comparing yourself with the rich and powerful, you need to realize that compared to most people in the Bible, you really are rich and powerful. In fact, when you compare our living situation to that of Mary and Joseph, being a citizen of the United States is really a lot closer to being Roman than Israeli. You may not personally lord it over oppressed people, but we certainly benefit from those who do. And we are definitely not as oppressed as many of the people who produce the goods we enjoy at their expense. We are not even sufficiently aware of these issues to fully feel the weight of our corporate guilt before God, much less know what to do about it, other than shop local and buy made in the USA.
So, back to humility. How many of us practice unquestioning obedience to God? How many of us are slower to respond to God’s prompting over much smaller matters than whether or not this is a good time and place to have a baby? That’s the measure that God is using. Among the things you are able to do, is obeying God on the top of your list of priorities, no matter what he asks? I will freely confess that I struggle with keeping that top priority without doubting whether I heard right, or arguing with God about what he means by asking that. I am probably not as humble as Mary, even though I would like to be and even though I know I should be.
But that is why I rejoice in God my Savior! As theologian N. T. Wright points out,
Christmas is the moment when God launched a “divine rescue mission” of humankind. That rescue mission is like saving a drowning person who is unconscious. A lot of the world think they just need a little help from God and they will be okay. But the gospel is that we are all drowning, and unconscious already, totally unable to help ourselves out. The recue requires that God our Savior dove right into the dark waters to be with us, grab us, drag us on shore and breathe new life into us.
But the rescue mission itself looks different from what we might expect. God didn’t just condescend to come to earth as a human. He humbled himself and came as a helpless infant. The King of Kings was born amid barnyard animals and piles of hay after His lowly parents were turned away from better lodgings. Shepherds from the fields were welcomed to have an audience with this king. When the Magi came later to see the Lord, there was no security on hand to judge whether they were worthy. The Messiah was approachable.
He was both one of us, and at the same time, “God with us.” He was flesh. He would hunger, He would bleed, He would love, He would thirst, and He would die. None of this could have happened had He not been born fully human.iii But the fact that it did happen is what gives me hope of forgiveness and salvation in spite of my far from perfect obedience! The humility of Jesus Christ saves me from my sins and then it inspires me to be humble like him, with his help. The Holy Spirit breathes new life into me and invites me to take my place in the long line of God’s servants, singing a song of joy, filled with gratitude for salvation!
Mary sang a great song! What song would you write to sing today? Can you see how your life fits into God’s great plan of redemption? Not just that you yourself are saved, but that you play a role in leading others to the same joyous salvation? Have you responded to God planting the seed of life in your heart by his grace and mercy? Has Jesus Christ been born in your heart? Is he living there in your body, bursting with life, eager to shine forth from your willing hands and feet as you humbly submit to live the life of the Lord’s servant? May we and the world be so blessed by your humble service. May God be glorified! My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. I pray that yours does too. And in most of you, I think I see it! Keep at it! It is good for the world!
i Kirsten Powers, http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2015/december-web-only/kirsten-powers-becoming-christian-ruined-my-love-of-christm.html?&visit_source=twitter ii
Charles Morris, Haven Today Ministries http://haven.streamon.fm/program-e-
1450080000.000000 iii Kirsten Powers, http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2015/december-web-only/kirsten-powers-becoming-christian-ruined-my-love-of-christm.html?&visit_source=twitter
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