Mary's Song

Sermon given at Sydenstricker UMC 5/13/18

Click here for audio

^NRS  Luke 1:46 And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, ⁴⁷ and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, ⁴⁸ for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; ⁴⁹ for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. ⁵⁰ 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 powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; ⁵³ he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. ⁵⁴ He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, ⁵⁵ according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever."

We woke up this morning to war in the world. But then, we have always had war. We woke up this morning to illness in the world. But then, we have always had illness. We woke up this morning to greed and evil in the world. But then, we have always had greed and evil in the world. We woke up this morning to poverty and hunger in the world. But then, we have always had poverty and hunger. What if I told you that this morning you could experience something entirely new? What if I told you that you could experience something that had never been before? Would you look forward with anticipation to that new experience? Or would you fear what might be? Or look back with regret in what might have been? Too many questions and too much gloom maybe. Fear can prevent us from enjoying what we have and what can be. The story of Joshua that I told you last week is a story about fear that could have prevented the people of Israel from enjoying the fruits of 40 years of wandering. Fear is the opposite of trusting God.

So I asked you earlier what you would do if you could experience something entirely new. My friends it is the new you. On this day you have the opportunity to begin your life new by recommitting your life. You have the opportunity to present a new person to the people around you starting right now. You see while we were sitting here thinking about where I might be going with this, millions of cells in your body regenerated, began anew, some of them if you believe it, even in your brain. I believe that spring is a great time of year to reflect of what we have and what can be. Several short weeks ago, it was snowing and cold. So what could be? However, before we get there, let us for a moment remind ourselves how it all began. We don't often think or ponder on the mother of Jesus much now do we? But her life is as important to the birth as the child itself. One without the other does not happen. When we think of famous people throughout the course of our history, we seldom if ever know anything about their mothers. Think on that for a moment. Who was Henry VIII's mother? Who was Caesar's mother? How about Abraham Lincoln? On the other hand, even, how much do you know about the president’s mother? My point is this, famous people in our history all had mothers and yet we know very little of them, their lives or even their names. What we do know is that they had mothers and they had fathers, right? We accept that the world requires both sides from a scientific standpoint in order to have conception. But think for a moment on what chance we would have of knowing the child, if the mother lived in obscurity, poverty, or shame?

What we know of Mary is this; she was around 14 years of age when she had Jesus. She was engaged to a man named Joseph who was not the father of her child. More importantly, we know that middle-eastern custom in the first century would have allowed Joseph to either put her out in the street or have her killed for the sin of adultery. But how can this be you ask? Simply answered, because she was pregnant and the unborn child was not his. And the fact of the manner is that not only was she pregnant, she was pregnant in a society where not being married and pregnant was a major sin, one where death by stoning was considered the sentence of repentance. So while we sit here and sing songs, smile and be festive, we should be reminded that two thousand plus years ago, there was a young girl whose life was turned upside down. A life that would be marked by gossip and anxiety! A life that meant that she would be shunned by her friends and family! Yet, God had chosen her.

Let me ask you a question here, if Mary was a friend of yours, would you believe her if she said to you, I am going to have God's child? We are all too cynical for such a thought to cross our minds. We would likely have told Mary she was over the edge insane. And for a moment can you imagine how Joseph's family and friends would be concerned more about the shame and laughter they would endure because of it. Isn’t that human nature? Some of us would be concerned with Mary’s welfare but most would take the opportunity to share a juicy tale. What I find incredible is that even living in the time that they did, that they made it to Bethlehem in the first place.

But Mary doesn’t let that bother her. She goes to visit her aunt Elizabeth. Maybe she went to get affirmation of what had happened to her. Maybe she went for advice in how to deal with this unique situation because Gabriel had told her that Elizabeth was given a special child of God. For whatever reason she went, she went with excitement and eagerness the scripture tells us. And when she arrived, Elizabeth who did not know of her pregnancy makes a remarkable statement. She tells Mary that ^NRS Luke 1:41 When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit ⁴² and exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. ⁴³ And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? ⁴⁴ For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵ And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord." Did you hear that? Elizabeth tells Mary that the mother of her Lord has come to her. I have often wondered what it must have been like to be in the presence of Jesus. Apparently, even in the womb, folks sensed him. This would have been the affirmation that Mary needed to hear. Elizabeth sharing with her that she feels the presence of God in the baby in Mary’s womb.

So Mary responds with one of the most beautiful love songs we may ever hear. She begins by lifting up her praises to God. Every prayer we make, every thanks we give should include the God that gives us so many blessings. Even public figures should remember that it is God that we need to thank, not people, but the one who created us, loves us and forgives us. Mary then acknowledges her place in the world. Now we need to regress a little here. Mary is not lower than anyone else in the eyes of the Lord. In fact she stands pretty tall. But the truth is that Mary is a common person in the world like most of us. She is not royalty. She is not favored in the eyes of the world. She is probably not rich. But to God she is faithful and that is the most important thing we can be to God.

Now comes the true meaning of love. His mercy is for generation to generation. God’s love is continuous from beginning to end. God lifts up the least and promised them the keys to the city of everlasting life. God keeps promises made hundreds if not thousands of year before the birth of Jesus. God fills the hungry with good things. God does that through God’s faithful servants in places like Springfield. The story reminds us that God loves us all, no matter where we come from and no matter where we have been or what we have done. God uses us, broken, criminals, thieves and murderers who repent their sins and are used by God for great things. God uses us when we humble ourselves like Mary so that God can accomplish great things in the world around us. When we humble ourselves and submit to the will of God, the world around us changes. The world around us becomes a better place to live for those who we encounter.

I love the song of Mary. Probably the best way for me to acknowledge her song is to open my eyes and ears this time of year. It reminds me that the grace of God smiled down on the world through her. That if it were not for mothers most of us would still be ignorant, could not read or write, would not know how to interact with each other and would be emotionally challenged. I say that since mothers are the reason we know all those things and feel the way we do. My mother taught me to read, taught me to persevere, taught me that I could be whatever I desired and shared with me how to interact with the world. We celebrate today, Mother’s Day, as a day when we recognize the personality of God that is given to the woman of the world.

So take this day and Mary’s song and find the new in it. Become a person who is focused on being nicer to those around you. Be a person who takes what little they have and shares it with those who have less. Enjoy the laughter and music of spring, a new dawning and embrace the love of creation it brings with it. The new you is the one who takes this experience and keep it all year long. The new you is the one who realizes that inside we are all like Mary, favored by God, so that God can do great things in God’s name through us. Are you ready to be made new?