The Gospel According To Mary
Sermon
Christmas Is For The Young... Whatever Their Age
16 Christmas Sermon Stories
Object:
Several years ago, the famous statue by Michelangelo, the Pietá, was vandalized, and the face and one of the arms of the figure of Mary were damaged. A writer observed that this episode was a parable of the violence done to Mary by the church wherein Roman Catholics have idolized Mary and Protestants have ignored her. Without any attempt to make Mary a fourth person of the godhead nor to set her up as a goddess, we need to look seriously at the role she has played in the life of our Lord. Too often Protestants think of Mary only when they see the small figurine that is sometimes displayed in automobiles of Catholic families or the statue seen in Catholic churches. Worse still, we think of her as only a prop in the Christmas pageant. The talk about "Mother of God," the Immaculate Conception, perpetual virginity, and the Bodily Assumption of the Virgin Mary is puzzling, to say the least, to most Protestants. Many Protestants, and especially Baptists, do not have a significant picture of the special role Mary had in the life of Jesus and in the early church.1
The Magnificat
There is not a great deal of information about Mary in the New Testament. "The gospel according to Mary" is recorded primarily in the first chapter of Luke. It is seen most clearly in her hymn which has been called the "Magnificat." Magnificat comes from the Latin version of the first few words of her song. Scholars who have examined the hymn of praise by Mary have seen the mosaic of scriptures contained within it. She draws from the "Song of Hannah" recorded in 1 Samuel 2:1-10. In that passage, Hannah praised God for the great gift of her child. But the Magnificat is also composed of scripture quotations from Genesis, Deuteronomy, Psalms, Zephaniah, Job, Ezekiel, and other sources. Her song draws upon the Old Testament images of the Messiah to proclaim her gospel.
Personal Thanksgiving
What exactly is Mary's gospel? There are two dimensions to the gospel according to Mary. One dimension is her personal thanksgiving. She pours out her expression of praise to God that she, a lowly maiden, an insignificant human being, has been selected to be the mother of the Messiah. For centuries, the nation Israel had eagerly awaited the coming of the Messiah. Then in an unusual encounter with the angel Gabriel, Mary is told that she will be the mother of the Messiah. "How can this be?" she asks. "I am not even married." She is told that the Holy Spirit of God will come upon her, and she will bear his child. She was filled with fear, awe, and worship. She did not know what to make of this experience. But she declared that she was the handmaid of God. She was his slave -- his servant -- to be used for his work. She exhibits a remarkable element of trust and humble acceptance.
The Mystery And Wonder Of Jesus' Birth
Whatever else the concept of the virgin birth means, it communicates to us that the conception and birth of Jesus Christ were shrouded in mystery and wonder. They are beyond simple interpretation. Mystery surrounds this birth. The New Testament declares that God has done something singular in the life of humanity through the birth of this child. He has come uniquely through this child to share his presence with us.
The New Testament gives us only a little information about Mary. Tradition tells us that Joachim and Anna were probably her parents. She grew up in the Galilean hills in a small village called Nazareth. Her father may have been a Levite, because she was a kinsman of Elizabeth. Elizabeth's husband, Zechariah, was a Levite, and Mary's father may have served in this capacity, too. But that is not certain. Her parents, however, though poor, were devout. Mary had most probably heard many scripture passages and loved them. Her "Song of Thanksgiving" is filled with quotations from the scriptures. She was also likely very young at the time of her encounter with the angel, between thirteen and fifteen. Women married very young in biblical times.
Highly Favored
Mary was greeted by the angel with the declaration that she was "highly favored" by God. In some ways that is true. She was the chosen vessel of God to bear the Messiah. That was very special! But what does it mean to be favored of God? Television evangelists often tell us that those who are favored by God are given riches, prestige, power, and influence. But this was not true with Mary. Despite some of the artistic conceptions which have depicted her with a crown and jewels, she never had any material wealth. She lived her life on the edge of poverty. After the birth of Jesus, she returned to the small village of Nazareth where her husband, Joseph, worked as a carpenter and eked out a living in an obscure place that many considered to be the backsides of nowhere. There were seven children in the family, and Joseph seemed to die relatively young, which meant that the older son, Jesus, had to provide for the rest of the family. All of their life, this family was familiar with poverty, not power, hunger and hard work, not jewels, gold, or wealth.
"Highly favored" -- what do those words mean? Soon the words of gossip began to buzz around Mary. "Do you know that Mary is expecting, and they are not even married yet?" Can you imagine the trauma, the ridicule, and the embarrassment? If she told anyone about her meeting with the angel, how many would have believed her? Many would have greeted this explanation only with snickers. "She thinks she's 'the chosen one.' " Why do you think Joseph took his wife on a long, hard journey of seventy miles by donkey back just a few days before she was to give birth to a child? I think it was because of the whispers, the gossip, the hurt, and the ridicule. He did not want to leave his young wife in Nazareth to bear the child alone. She had probably been rejected by many people. When they arrived in Bethlehem, they could not find any place to stay, except a dirty, old stable. There, without women to attend her, because, in that day it was a woman's job to serve as a midwife in the birth of children, she delivered. Only Joseph was there to help his wife give birth to the child. Shortly after the baby Jesus was born, they had to flee across a hot desert to Egypt because of the threats of Herod. They remained there until it was safe to return to Nazareth.
Highly favored? For Mary, highly favored meant rejection, hostility, gossip, and difficulties all of her life. To be highly favored by God does not necessarily mean that you will never have problems or difficulties. But she was God's chosen instrument to bear the Messiah. She was the mother of Jesus, and that was a very special role. The New Testament honored her for this unique place, and so should we. Mothers seldom get the kind of recognition they really deserve. I have often wondered how much influence Mary had upon the life and thought of Jesus. I think it was tremendous. Jesus drew many of his illustrations and parables from home and family life. I think a part of his understanding of love came out of his relationship to his mother and what he learned from her.
A number of years ago, one of the universities in our country gave an honorary doctor's degree to a Niebuhr. Reinhold Niebuhr is considered by many scholars to have been one of the greatest theologians of this century. He has continued to influence ethical thinking today. His brother, Richard Niebuhr, and their sister, Hulda, were also recognized as outstanding theologians. But the honorary degree was not given to any of the children. This honorary degree was given to their mother. The aged mother, who had such a powerful influence upon these three children, was honored on this special occasion.
In a very special way, the mother of Jesus must have had a significant influence upon him. We can join Mary's song of praise that she was chosen to be God's instrument to bear the Messiah and nurture him with her love and care.
National And International Thanksgiving
The second dimension of Mary's gospel focuses on national and international thanksgiving. Her song is not a sweet lullaby at all. If you listen to her words, you will realize the revolutionary nature of Mary's song about the child within her body. C. S. Lewis wrote these words about Mary's hymn a number of years ago.
The Magnificat is terrifying. If there are two things in the Bible which should make our blood run cold it is one, the other is that phrase in Revelation, "the wrath of the Lamb." If there is not mildness in the Virgin Mother, if even the lamb, the helpless thing that bleats and has its throat cut, is not the symbol of the harmless where shall we turn? There are no cursings here, no hatred, and no self-righteousness. Instead there is mere statement. He has scattered the proud, cast down the mighty, and sent the rich empty away. We have the treble voice, a girl's voice, announcing without sin that the sinful prayers of her ancestors do not remain entirely unheard, and doing this, not indeed with fierce exultation, yet in a calm and terrible gladness.2
A Revolutionary Vision
Her declaration is revolutionary. She is declaring that the child she will bear will be God's instrument to turn the world's values upside down. She has a revolutionary vision of God that reaches beyond her personal life to restore society to its proper place for the humble and lost humanity. The six verbs used in verses 51-53 are all in a particular Greek past tense called the aorist. This past tense means that the action about which it is speaking has already been accomplished. For example, when God said in the act of creation: "Let there be light," light was an immediate reality. God's word brings it about immediately. These verbs are a prophetic past tense which indicates that the action that is predicted is already in process of being realized. The activities which they depict will come about through the child.
Listen to Mary's words. "He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts." The Messiah will bring a moral revolution. He holds a mirror up before our lives and says to us: "It is not within your own strength, nor with your might, that you will reach your ultimate goal in life. The power and presence of God within your life will make the difference." "The first shall be last." "The greatest of all is the servant of all." Those who pride themselves in their "imaginations" of their own accomplishments will be dismayed. Jesus will bring a moral revolution in our life. He will reveal to us that real life comes in humble trust in God.
A Social Revolution
She also predicts that the Messiah will bring a social revolution. "He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree." He will cut through all racial barriers. Anyone who reads the scriptures and declares that God is a segregationist or is only for a certain class or race has never really understood the real thrust of the Bible. From the Old Testament to the New, God breaks down all racial barriers. In Jesus Christ, God has knocked down fences to make men and women one in him. Later Paul wrote, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:25). There is only oneness in Christ. The Messiah will usher in a social revolution. All men and women who enter his kingdom sit before him as his children. There is no black, white, red, or yellow. We come into his kingdom with all social barriers down. If we are a part of his kingdom, then we relate to all other Christians as our brothers and sisters in Christ, regardless of race. He breaks all barriers down to establish his kingdom.
When Queen Victoria was spending some leisure days in Balmoral, she attended a Church of Scotland in the small village of Crathie. Against the advice of the Archbishop of Canterbury, she took communion there. The church register listed the record of attendance by profession. The record noted: "Shepherds, 12; Servants, 11; Queens, 1." No one stands before God as a king or queen. At the foot of the cross, and kneeling in prayer before God's throne, we all come as children, seeking to experience his love, forgiveness, and grace. Before God, we are all plain folks no matter what our status may be in life. In Christ, we are all made one.
An Economic Revolution
Mary also proclaims that the Messiah will usher in an economic revolution. "He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty." The one who is coming will be on the side of the poor. One of the biggest heresies that goes through our land is that God is on the side of the rich. Read the scriptures and you will see that this is not the case. Throughout the scriptures, there is the clear declaration that God is on the side of the poor. Again and again the rich are challenged to help the poor.
Here are two examples from the Old Testament. "Thus says the Lord: 'For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment; because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes -- they that trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth, and turn aside the way of the afflicted ...' " (Amos 2:6-7). "Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow" (Isaiah 1:16-17).
In the first sermon that Jesus delivered in his hometown at Nazareth, he proclaimed: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord" (Luke 4:18-19). Jesus Christ has come into the world to help the lowly, outcast, poor, blind, and helpless.
Jitsuo Morikawa tells about a visit he made to India several years ago. He was met by the village pastor and a group of about fifty people who led him in a slow procession through the village streets to the small church. The church was a starkly simple place of worship. It had a mud floor, a thatched roof, and open sides. The people had thrown their outer garments down to make a carpet for the chancel area where the preacher sat. As he looked at those poor people and tried to preach to them, he reflected on the fact that just a few days before, he had been in St. Paul's Cathedral in England, a massive architectural structure of splendor, beauty, and wealth. St. Paul's reminded him of human genius on the altar of worship. "The little village church," he said, "was radiant with the presence of the one 'who though he was rich, for our sake became poor.' "3
From there he went to Calcutta and visited with Mother Teresa. He asked her how she endured the strain and agony of her work with the poor. "To fill God's hunger for human love," she said, "he made himself poor by becoming one with the poor, so that through the poor he may appeal for our love." "How can you endure this poverty?" he asked her. "By meeting Christ in the poor," she said. "Though he was rich," Paul reminds us, "yet for our sake he became poor." Without a penny to her name, she told him: "Ten days before Christmas we had no sight of bread or money; we were already in the red, and yet by Christmas food came from all quarters, and 30,000 families were fed. We live from day to day. We trust in God."4 No wonder she is called a saint!
We who have so much stand under the judgment of God. His word continuously challenges us to be his instruments to help the poor and helpless in the world. We sometimes sing, "Give Me That Old Time Religion." We sing those words as though, if we had that old time religion, we could escape all of the concerns of the gospel to relate our faith to the needs of people with whom we live every day. Halford Luccock wrote, "If you want that 'old time religion' be sure you get it old enough. If you get it old enough, you will go back to the old time religion of Abraham which was a religion of intellectual and spiritual daring. Try to get it old enough to be the religion of Moses which was a religion of social revolution."5 Do you really want the old time religion of Moses? He dared to stand before Pharaoh, who had enslaved the children of Israel, and cried: "Let my people go." The religion of the ancient prophets was revolutionary.
A Revolutionary Gospel
The gospel that Mary was singing about is also a revolutionary gospel. It cuts across all barriers and challenges us to follow our Lord who calls us to reach out to those in need and help them. As our Lord came to serve, he has called us to minister and share in his name. There is a great mass of humanity -- millions upon millions of people -- many of whom are starving to death around the world. And you and I, who are among the affluent and wealthy in the world, stand under the judgment of God. We are challenged to share our wealth with them. We have to stop ignoring or exploiting the poor and help them. Let us not only pray for them, but find ways to assist them to have food, and even more, to experience a more abundant lifestyle. That will require time, effort, love, and sacrifice from us, but it will be like our Master, will it not?
This is the gospel of Mary. It is not some sweet, sentimental lullaby, but it is a gospel that challenges us at our roots and foundation of faith and culture. We are called as the children of God to reach out to the poor, outcast, lonely, hurting people in our community, in our city, and around the world. Jesus reminds us that it is a frightening thing to have so much and use it all for one's self. God's word comes crashing through the centuries, as we have seen it in Mary's gospel, to remind us of God's call to service. Remember that no armies of the world have ever had the impact of this child. All of the kings and governments in power have never had the sway that this one has had. All of the money in the world, gold or silver, cannot buy what this one can bring. Jesus said, "I have come that you might have life and have it abundantly" (John 10:10). And, "I, if I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me" (John 12:32). His revolution begins in your life through love. He reaches out to your life and my life to touch us and to change us. He points us in a new direction, out of selfishness into service. As he touches your heart and my heart, we become different people. We have to open our hearts to receive him.
During World War II, some soldiers were trying to find a church where they could worship on Christmas day. They looked in a bombed-out section of London and could not find any place to worship. Finally they came upon Queen Anne's Orphanage and went in to see if there was something they could do to help the children celebrate Christmas. The matron informed them that they didn't have any gifts for the children. There wasn't even a Christmas tree. None of the children had parents. They had been killed in the war. The soldiers began to walk among the young children. As they moved among them, they reached in their pockets and shared what they had. The gifts were meager, a piece of string, a pocketknife, a stick of gum, a stubby pencil, or whatever they had. Finally, one of the soldiers came to a young boy, looked down at him, and asked, "And you, my little man, what do you want?" "Please, sir," he said. "I want to be loved."
There is a great hunger in the world. Many people are waiting to be loved. There are many lonely, frustrated, hurting, poor, physically hungry people waiting to be loved. Jesus has challenged us to be his instruments to go and to share his love. Why then are we not going and sharing it more? He died to show us the depth of his redeeming love. We are called to live out that revolutionary love. Let's be up and moving forward in service.
____________
1. For further reading on Mary, see Beverly Roberts Gaventa, Blessed One: Protestant Perspectives on Mary (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2002); Jaroslav Pelikan, Mary Through the Centuries (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996); Jason Byassee, "What About Mary?" Christian Century (December 14, 2004), 28032; and Ronald F. Hockk "The Favored One," Bible Review (June 2001), pp. 13-25.
2. C. S. Lewis, Christian Reflections (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), pp. 120-121.
3. Jitsuo Morikawa, "Saint Among the Poor" (An unpublished sermon delivered November 21, 1976 at Riverside Church, New York City), p. 7.
4. Ibid.
5. Robert E. Luccock, Halford Luccock Treasury (New York: Abingdon Press, 1963), pp. 77-80.
The Magnificat
There is not a great deal of information about Mary in the New Testament. "The gospel according to Mary" is recorded primarily in the first chapter of Luke. It is seen most clearly in her hymn which has been called the "Magnificat." Magnificat comes from the Latin version of the first few words of her song. Scholars who have examined the hymn of praise by Mary have seen the mosaic of scriptures contained within it. She draws from the "Song of Hannah" recorded in 1 Samuel 2:1-10. In that passage, Hannah praised God for the great gift of her child. But the Magnificat is also composed of scripture quotations from Genesis, Deuteronomy, Psalms, Zephaniah, Job, Ezekiel, and other sources. Her song draws upon the Old Testament images of the Messiah to proclaim her gospel.
Personal Thanksgiving
What exactly is Mary's gospel? There are two dimensions to the gospel according to Mary. One dimension is her personal thanksgiving. She pours out her expression of praise to God that she, a lowly maiden, an insignificant human being, has been selected to be the mother of the Messiah. For centuries, the nation Israel had eagerly awaited the coming of the Messiah. Then in an unusual encounter with the angel Gabriel, Mary is told that she will be the mother of the Messiah. "How can this be?" she asks. "I am not even married." She is told that the Holy Spirit of God will come upon her, and she will bear his child. She was filled with fear, awe, and worship. She did not know what to make of this experience. But she declared that she was the handmaid of God. She was his slave -- his servant -- to be used for his work. She exhibits a remarkable element of trust and humble acceptance.
The Mystery And Wonder Of Jesus' Birth
Whatever else the concept of the virgin birth means, it communicates to us that the conception and birth of Jesus Christ were shrouded in mystery and wonder. They are beyond simple interpretation. Mystery surrounds this birth. The New Testament declares that God has done something singular in the life of humanity through the birth of this child. He has come uniquely through this child to share his presence with us.
The New Testament gives us only a little information about Mary. Tradition tells us that Joachim and Anna were probably her parents. She grew up in the Galilean hills in a small village called Nazareth. Her father may have been a Levite, because she was a kinsman of Elizabeth. Elizabeth's husband, Zechariah, was a Levite, and Mary's father may have served in this capacity, too. But that is not certain. Her parents, however, though poor, were devout. Mary had most probably heard many scripture passages and loved them. Her "Song of Thanksgiving" is filled with quotations from the scriptures. She was also likely very young at the time of her encounter with the angel, between thirteen and fifteen. Women married very young in biblical times.
Highly Favored
Mary was greeted by the angel with the declaration that she was "highly favored" by God. In some ways that is true. She was the chosen vessel of God to bear the Messiah. That was very special! But what does it mean to be favored of God? Television evangelists often tell us that those who are favored by God are given riches, prestige, power, and influence. But this was not true with Mary. Despite some of the artistic conceptions which have depicted her with a crown and jewels, she never had any material wealth. She lived her life on the edge of poverty. After the birth of Jesus, she returned to the small village of Nazareth where her husband, Joseph, worked as a carpenter and eked out a living in an obscure place that many considered to be the backsides of nowhere. There were seven children in the family, and Joseph seemed to die relatively young, which meant that the older son, Jesus, had to provide for the rest of the family. All of their life, this family was familiar with poverty, not power, hunger and hard work, not jewels, gold, or wealth.
"Highly favored" -- what do those words mean? Soon the words of gossip began to buzz around Mary. "Do you know that Mary is expecting, and they are not even married yet?" Can you imagine the trauma, the ridicule, and the embarrassment? If she told anyone about her meeting with the angel, how many would have believed her? Many would have greeted this explanation only with snickers. "She thinks she's 'the chosen one.' " Why do you think Joseph took his wife on a long, hard journey of seventy miles by donkey back just a few days before she was to give birth to a child? I think it was because of the whispers, the gossip, the hurt, and the ridicule. He did not want to leave his young wife in Nazareth to bear the child alone. She had probably been rejected by many people. When they arrived in Bethlehem, they could not find any place to stay, except a dirty, old stable. There, without women to attend her, because, in that day it was a woman's job to serve as a midwife in the birth of children, she delivered. Only Joseph was there to help his wife give birth to the child. Shortly after the baby Jesus was born, they had to flee across a hot desert to Egypt because of the threats of Herod. They remained there until it was safe to return to Nazareth.
Highly favored? For Mary, highly favored meant rejection, hostility, gossip, and difficulties all of her life. To be highly favored by God does not necessarily mean that you will never have problems or difficulties. But she was God's chosen instrument to bear the Messiah. She was the mother of Jesus, and that was a very special role. The New Testament honored her for this unique place, and so should we. Mothers seldom get the kind of recognition they really deserve. I have often wondered how much influence Mary had upon the life and thought of Jesus. I think it was tremendous. Jesus drew many of his illustrations and parables from home and family life. I think a part of his understanding of love came out of his relationship to his mother and what he learned from her.
A number of years ago, one of the universities in our country gave an honorary doctor's degree to a Niebuhr. Reinhold Niebuhr is considered by many scholars to have been one of the greatest theologians of this century. He has continued to influence ethical thinking today. His brother, Richard Niebuhr, and their sister, Hulda, were also recognized as outstanding theologians. But the honorary degree was not given to any of the children. This honorary degree was given to their mother. The aged mother, who had such a powerful influence upon these three children, was honored on this special occasion.
In a very special way, the mother of Jesus must have had a significant influence upon him. We can join Mary's song of praise that she was chosen to be God's instrument to bear the Messiah and nurture him with her love and care.
National And International Thanksgiving
The second dimension of Mary's gospel focuses on national and international thanksgiving. Her song is not a sweet lullaby at all. If you listen to her words, you will realize the revolutionary nature of Mary's song about the child within her body. C. S. Lewis wrote these words about Mary's hymn a number of years ago.
The Magnificat is terrifying. If there are two things in the Bible which should make our blood run cold it is one, the other is that phrase in Revelation, "the wrath of the Lamb." If there is not mildness in the Virgin Mother, if even the lamb, the helpless thing that bleats and has its throat cut, is not the symbol of the harmless where shall we turn? There are no cursings here, no hatred, and no self-righteousness. Instead there is mere statement. He has scattered the proud, cast down the mighty, and sent the rich empty away. We have the treble voice, a girl's voice, announcing without sin that the sinful prayers of her ancestors do not remain entirely unheard, and doing this, not indeed with fierce exultation, yet in a calm and terrible gladness.2
A Revolutionary Vision
Her declaration is revolutionary. She is declaring that the child she will bear will be God's instrument to turn the world's values upside down. She has a revolutionary vision of God that reaches beyond her personal life to restore society to its proper place for the humble and lost humanity. The six verbs used in verses 51-53 are all in a particular Greek past tense called the aorist. This past tense means that the action about which it is speaking has already been accomplished. For example, when God said in the act of creation: "Let there be light," light was an immediate reality. God's word brings it about immediately. These verbs are a prophetic past tense which indicates that the action that is predicted is already in process of being realized. The activities which they depict will come about through the child.
Listen to Mary's words. "He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts." The Messiah will bring a moral revolution. He holds a mirror up before our lives and says to us: "It is not within your own strength, nor with your might, that you will reach your ultimate goal in life. The power and presence of God within your life will make the difference." "The first shall be last." "The greatest of all is the servant of all." Those who pride themselves in their "imaginations" of their own accomplishments will be dismayed. Jesus will bring a moral revolution in our life. He will reveal to us that real life comes in humble trust in God.
A Social Revolution
She also predicts that the Messiah will bring a social revolution. "He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree." He will cut through all racial barriers. Anyone who reads the scriptures and declares that God is a segregationist or is only for a certain class or race has never really understood the real thrust of the Bible. From the Old Testament to the New, God breaks down all racial barriers. In Jesus Christ, God has knocked down fences to make men and women one in him. Later Paul wrote, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:25). There is only oneness in Christ. The Messiah will usher in a social revolution. All men and women who enter his kingdom sit before him as his children. There is no black, white, red, or yellow. We come into his kingdom with all social barriers down. If we are a part of his kingdom, then we relate to all other Christians as our brothers and sisters in Christ, regardless of race. He breaks all barriers down to establish his kingdom.
When Queen Victoria was spending some leisure days in Balmoral, she attended a Church of Scotland in the small village of Crathie. Against the advice of the Archbishop of Canterbury, she took communion there. The church register listed the record of attendance by profession. The record noted: "Shepherds, 12; Servants, 11; Queens, 1." No one stands before God as a king or queen. At the foot of the cross, and kneeling in prayer before God's throne, we all come as children, seeking to experience his love, forgiveness, and grace. Before God, we are all plain folks no matter what our status may be in life. In Christ, we are all made one.
An Economic Revolution
Mary also proclaims that the Messiah will usher in an economic revolution. "He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty." The one who is coming will be on the side of the poor. One of the biggest heresies that goes through our land is that God is on the side of the rich. Read the scriptures and you will see that this is not the case. Throughout the scriptures, there is the clear declaration that God is on the side of the poor. Again and again the rich are challenged to help the poor.
Here are two examples from the Old Testament. "Thus says the Lord: 'For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment; because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes -- they that trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth, and turn aside the way of the afflicted ...' " (Amos 2:6-7). "Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow" (Isaiah 1:16-17).
In the first sermon that Jesus delivered in his hometown at Nazareth, he proclaimed: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord" (Luke 4:18-19). Jesus Christ has come into the world to help the lowly, outcast, poor, blind, and helpless.
Jitsuo Morikawa tells about a visit he made to India several years ago. He was met by the village pastor and a group of about fifty people who led him in a slow procession through the village streets to the small church. The church was a starkly simple place of worship. It had a mud floor, a thatched roof, and open sides. The people had thrown their outer garments down to make a carpet for the chancel area where the preacher sat. As he looked at those poor people and tried to preach to them, he reflected on the fact that just a few days before, he had been in St. Paul's Cathedral in England, a massive architectural structure of splendor, beauty, and wealth. St. Paul's reminded him of human genius on the altar of worship. "The little village church," he said, "was radiant with the presence of the one 'who though he was rich, for our sake became poor.' "3
From there he went to Calcutta and visited with Mother Teresa. He asked her how she endured the strain and agony of her work with the poor. "To fill God's hunger for human love," she said, "he made himself poor by becoming one with the poor, so that through the poor he may appeal for our love." "How can you endure this poverty?" he asked her. "By meeting Christ in the poor," she said. "Though he was rich," Paul reminds us, "yet for our sake he became poor." Without a penny to her name, she told him: "Ten days before Christmas we had no sight of bread or money; we were already in the red, and yet by Christmas food came from all quarters, and 30,000 families were fed. We live from day to day. We trust in God."4 No wonder she is called a saint!
We who have so much stand under the judgment of God. His word continuously challenges us to be his instruments to help the poor and helpless in the world. We sometimes sing, "Give Me That Old Time Religion." We sing those words as though, if we had that old time religion, we could escape all of the concerns of the gospel to relate our faith to the needs of people with whom we live every day. Halford Luccock wrote, "If you want that 'old time religion' be sure you get it old enough. If you get it old enough, you will go back to the old time religion of Abraham which was a religion of intellectual and spiritual daring. Try to get it old enough to be the religion of Moses which was a religion of social revolution."5 Do you really want the old time religion of Moses? He dared to stand before Pharaoh, who had enslaved the children of Israel, and cried: "Let my people go." The religion of the ancient prophets was revolutionary.
A Revolutionary Gospel
The gospel that Mary was singing about is also a revolutionary gospel. It cuts across all barriers and challenges us to follow our Lord who calls us to reach out to those in need and help them. As our Lord came to serve, he has called us to minister and share in his name. There is a great mass of humanity -- millions upon millions of people -- many of whom are starving to death around the world. And you and I, who are among the affluent and wealthy in the world, stand under the judgment of God. We are challenged to share our wealth with them. We have to stop ignoring or exploiting the poor and help them. Let us not only pray for them, but find ways to assist them to have food, and even more, to experience a more abundant lifestyle. That will require time, effort, love, and sacrifice from us, but it will be like our Master, will it not?
This is the gospel of Mary. It is not some sweet, sentimental lullaby, but it is a gospel that challenges us at our roots and foundation of faith and culture. We are called as the children of God to reach out to the poor, outcast, lonely, hurting people in our community, in our city, and around the world. Jesus reminds us that it is a frightening thing to have so much and use it all for one's self. God's word comes crashing through the centuries, as we have seen it in Mary's gospel, to remind us of God's call to service. Remember that no armies of the world have ever had the impact of this child. All of the kings and governments in power have never had the sway that this one has had. All of the money in the world, gold or silver, cannot buy what this one can bring. Jesus said, "I have come that you might have life and have it abundantly" (John 10:10). And, "I, if I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me" (John 12:32). His revolution begins in your life through love. He reaches out to your life and my life to touch us and to change us. He points us in a new direction, out of selfishness into service. As he touches your heart and my heart, we become different people. We have to open our hearts to receive him.
During World War II, some soldiers were trying to find a church where they could worship on Christmas day. They looked in a bombed-out section of London and could not find any place to worship. Finally they came upon Queen Anne's Orphanage and went in to see if there was something they could do to help the children celebrate Christmas. The matron informed them that they didn't have any gifts for the children. There wasn't even a Christmas tree. None of the children had parents. They had been killed in the war. The soldiers began to walk among the young children. As they moved among them, they reached in their pockets and shared what they had. The gifts were meager, a piece of string, a pocketknife, a stick of gum, a stubby pencil, or whatever they had. Finally, one of the soldiers came to a young boy, looked down at him, and asked, "And you, my little man, what do you want?" "Please, sir," he said. "I want to be loved."
There is a great hunger in the world. Many people are waiting to be loved. There are many lonely, frustrated, hurting, poor, physically hungry people waiting to be loved. Jesus has challenged us to be his instruments to go and to share his love. Why then are we not going and sharing it more? He died to show us the depth of his redeeming love. We are called to live out that revolutionary love. Let's be up and moving forward in service.
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1. For further reading on Mary, see Beverly Roberts Gaventa, Blessed One: Protestant Perspectives on Mary (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2002); Jaroslav Pelikan, Mary Through the Centuries (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996); Jason Byassee, "What About Mary?" Christian Century (December 14, 2004), 28032; and Ronald F. Hockk "The Favored One," Bible Review (June 2001), pp. 13-25.
2. C. S. Lewis, Christian Reflections (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), pp. 120-121.
3. Jitsuo Morikawa, "Saint Among the Poor" (An unpublished sermon delivered November 21, 1976 at Riverside Church, New York City), p. 7.
4. Ibid.
5. Robert E. Luccock, Halford Luccock Treasury (New York: Abingdon Press, 1963), pp. 77-80.
