Luke 1:39-56 NIV
39 At that time Mary got
ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where
she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When
Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was
filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she
exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will
bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother
of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as
the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed
is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”
46 And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the
Lord
47 and my
spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has been mindful
of the
humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49 for the
Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is
his name.
50 His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from
generation to generation.
51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has
scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has
lifted up the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
but has
sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering
to be merciful
55 to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as
he promised our ancestors.”
56 Mary
stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.
God’s
Reverse Gear
Put her
in reverse and let’s get out of here!
Sometimes
that’s how I feel. I’m old, I’m tired and I want to put her in reverse and go
back to my youth and those feel-good days. But that’s not going to happen, is
it? Or maybe I want to go back to the time before my birth. I ache, I’m
exhausted and just want God to take me back. But that’s not going to happen
like I wish. God has another plan in mind, I suppose. So, hang on! Were going
to put it in drive and go forward in life, following and pointing to Jesus.
In this
passage of Scripture for the Fourth and final week of Advent, God’s choice of
Mary as the mother of Jesus reflects this reversal theme. How’s that?
In Mary
the lowly are lifted high.
It’s the
reverse of the reverse?
The
Proud, Powerful, and Rich who brag of their self-sufficiency are unlikely to feel
the need of God’s salvation, in and through Jesus?
Why?
Well,
they don’t see a need for a Savior. They already, here and now, have it made.
But in this passage, for these kinds of people, we see the reverse of the
reverse. No need to put her in reverse and get out of here. Let’s keep it in drive,
moving forward with a good time.
There
are Four parts to this passage of Scripture
1.
Mary’s visit with Elizabeth
2.
Elizabeth’s speech
3.
The Song of Mary
4.
Mary’s return home
This was a four- or five-day journey for Mary. Mary
journeyed south, to what some think may have been Hebron, a Levitical city,
since Zechariah served as a Levitical priest and was married to Elizabeth.
Hebron, the city, actually belonged to Caleb and his family.
Remember Caleb? He was one of the spies sent to check out the Promised Land,
and brought back a hopeful report. But for the most part, the other spies were
kind of “chicken” and didn’t want to trust God to lead and guide the Israelites
into a land filled with scary people who may kill the Israelites. Well, in Hebron,
the Levites were granted permission to live there and graze their flocks outside
of the city.
This passage really doesn’t say that Mary journeyed to
Hebron, but some Bible Scholars believe this to be likely. In this passage, all
we really know, for sure, is that Elizabeth was in an unknown village, in the
hills of Judea.
So, the question pops up, “Why did Mary go on this journey
in the first place?”
For the answer to this question, we have to go back a few
verses before this Scripture passage for this week.
When an angel visited Mary to tell her the shocking news
that she would bear God’s Son, Jesus; Mary was also told…
Luke 1:35-36 NIV
35 The angel answered (Mary),
“The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most
High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be
called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your
relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to
be unable to conceive is in her sixth month.
So, Mary fulfilled the implied command of the angel to see
Elizabeth and probably stayed with Elizabeth until the birth of John the
Baptist. And on top of all that, Elizabeth and Mary were cousins, so why not visit,
after both of them had received so shocking, hard to believe, fascinating news?
Mary’s journey was a hurried travel, because the angel told
Mary that Elizabeth was in her sixth month of pregnancy. Any thing can happen
at any time after the six-month mark, so Mary needed to pick up the pace, just
in case. Plus, the news from the angels to the cousins was pretty much hard to
grasp and believe in the first place. I’m sure Mary felt the need to talk this
over with someone she respects and trusts.
Now this brings to mind the question of Belief… What is
belief?
In the sense of Disciples of Jesus, and Mary, Elizabeth,
Zechariah and even Joseph; belief is trusting in the One God without boundaries
in the faith freely given to us.
Let’s look at some words of Jesus for guidance on belief
and faith:
Mark 11:22 NIV
22 “Have faith in God,” Jesus
answered.
Matthew 9:29 NIV
29 Then he (Jesus) touched
their (2 blind men following Jesus for healing) eyes and said, “According
to your faith let it be done to you”;
Matthew 9:22 NIV
22 Jesus turned and saw her
(this is the woman who had been bleeding for some time and was seeking healing
from Jesus). “Take heart, daughter,” he
said, “your faith has healed you.” And
the woman was healed at that moment.
So, this belief is really the trust and hope and faith we
have in the God of no boundaries.
In Mary’s encounter with Elizabeth a timeline is marked for
all time.
How’s that?
Here we have an old woman, in Elizabeth, that will give birth
to a son that will end an old age. And, we also have a young virgin, in Mary, that
will give birth to a Son that will begin a new age.
There’s that reversal theme again.
Now let’s look at the song of Mary.
Some think that Mary most likely meditated on “Hannah’s Song”
over and over and internalized Hannah’s Song.
So, what and who is Hannah and what is her song?
Well, Hannah was another elderly lady who wasn’t having any
luck bearing children. She prayed to God to open her womb, even in her old age.
And she told God that if she had a child, she would dedicate her child to Him.
Well, Hannah gave birth to Samuel, who is one of the great Priests and Prophets
in the Old Testament.
And here is Hannah’s Song:
1 Samuel 2:1-10 NIV
2 Then Hannah prayed and
said:
“My heart rejoices in
the Lord;
in
the Lord my horn is
lifted high.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
for I
delight in your deliverance.
2 “There
is no one holy like the Lord;
there is
no one besides you;
there is
no Rock like our God.
3 “Do not
keep talking so proudly
or let
your mouth speak such arrogance,
for the Lord is a God
who knows,
and by
him deeds are weighed.
4 “The
bows of the warriors are broken,
but
those who stumbled are armed with strength.
5 Those who were full hire themselves out for food,
but
those who were hungry are hungry no more.
She who was barren has borne seven children,
but she
who has had many sons pines away.
6 “The Lord brings death and makes alive;
he
brings down to the grave and raises up.
7 The Lord sends
poverty and wealth;
he
humbles and he exalts.
8 He raises the poor from the dust
and
lifts the needy from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes
and has
them inherit a throne of honor.
“For the
foundations of the earth are the Lord’s;
on them
he has set the world.
9 He will guard the feet of his faithful servants,
but the
wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness.
“It is not by
strength that one prevails;
10 those
who oppose the Lord will
be broken.
The Most High will thunder from heaven;
the Lord will judge the ends of
the earth.
“He will give
strength to his king
and
exalt the horn of his anointed.”
Can you see how Mary’s
Song is so like Hannah’s Song? And there is that reversal theme of God all over
Hannah’s Song as well.
Some Bible Scholars
believe that Mary’s Song was really from Elizabeth, since the Song was so like
Hannah’s Song, and the fact that both Hannah and Elizabeth were on in years. I’m
going to stick with Mary’s Song coming from Mary, even if Mary meditated on
Hannah’s Song and internalized it. I hope we all are so familiar with God’s
Word that we come to internalize it, after all.
All through history, God’s
people have been singing songs of Praise to God. Don’t we also do this every
time God meets with us in worship, or devotion? I hope so anyway. Take a look
at the Psalms and even our Hymnbooks and Praise Songs.
Let’s look and compare
Simeon’s words after setting eyes on the baby Jesus…
Luke 2:29-32 NIV
29 “Sovereign
Lord, as you have promised,
you may
now dismiss your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which
you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and the
glory of your people Israel.”
As God comes to us, as our
heart opens and turns to Him, because God makes our sin obvious to us and turns
us around to look at Him; it’s then that we receive faith from God. This is a
faith that does not depend on what we have done or our own actions, but rather…
God gives us a faith that draws us into His forgiveness. Forgiven and full of
God’s faith we come to believe. How could we not? And, because of God’s Love we
act out in faith, hope and love towards all those God gives to us in our lives,
here and now.
Yes, here is another of
God’s reversals.
In all of these Songs and
in all of our songs today, we must, because we can, see God.
God is pictured in these
songs as to what He has done. You see, God has done what God will do. God is I
AM. It’s both past and present language.
God’s justice and mercy to
us are reversed fortunes:
The lowly are lifted…
The hungry are filled…
The proudly rich are empty…
On and on, we see God’s
reversals.
In the words of Jesus…
Luke 6:20-26 NIV
20 Looking at his disciples,
he said:
“Blessed are you who are
poor,
for yours
is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are you who hunger
now,
for you
will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you
will laugh.
22 Blessed are you when people
hate you,
when they
exclude you and insult you
and reject
your name as evil,
because of
the Son of Man.
23 “Rejoice
in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For
that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.
24 “But woe
to you who are rich,
for you
have already received your comfort.
25 Woe to you who are well fed
now,
for you
will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you
will mourn and weep.
26 Woe to you when everyone
speaks well of you,
for that
is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.
And again, in this story from Jesus,
we hear more of God’s great reversals:
Luke 16:19-31 NIV
19 “There was a rich man who
was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his
gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and
longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and
licked his sores.
22 “The time came when the
beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also
died and was buried. 23 In Hades,
where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by
his side. 24 So he
called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip
the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in
this fire.’
25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son,
remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus
received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And
besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so
that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over
from there to us.’
27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg
you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have
five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this
place of torment.’
29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have
Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
30 “‘No, father
Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will
repent.’
31 “He said to him, ‘If they do
not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if
someone rises from the dead.’”
God’s great reversals. God’s divine reversal in the birth of Jesus, for
us, and to us.
Yes, along with Hannah, Mary, Elizabeth and so many Disciples throughout
all eternity, we sing praise. And God expresses His salvation for all His people
through Jesus. This is the Son born of Mary, Jesus, who comes out from history
and eternity, to shine His face upon all the world. Yes, Jesus, came to us here
from heaven for us.
What an awesome, thrilling reversal we have been freely given.
Come, Lord Jesus, come… today… tomorrow… and forever!
Yes Lord, you reversed it so I, and all people, could move forward, as we
Follow You and Point to You now and into eternity.
Thanks be to God!
I leave you with this Chris Tomlin Christmas Song
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