|
|
“Prophets of Hope: Mary”
I Samuel 2:1-10
Luke 1:46-56
A sermon preached by the Rev. Douglas M. Donley
I love Christmas music. I know we haven’t gotten there yet. We’re still in Advent and we’ll have to wait until Christmas Eve to sing the Christmas carols. But those hopeful songs of Christmas are right on the tips of our tongues thanks to the radio, the muzak of retail and even the caroling parties. As a couple dozen of us sang these songs on Friday night, I thought again of the power and the vision of these songs. I think singing, regardless of your musical prowess, connects us with great hope and great vision.
Today’s
prophet hope is Mary, the one who sang the most important Christmas song of
all, the Magnificat. It’s hard to imagine what it
must have been like for her, a pregnant unwed teenager from a despised
city. Remember how the people would later mock Jesus saying, “Can any good come out of
We have as today’s scripture, the result of Mary’s coming of age. The Magnificat was her mission statement. It is a powerful and prophetic song. It shows how the world is supposed to be and it shows how god acts.
I don't think that Mary could have sung that song when she first found out she was pregnant. She probably could not sing that song until after Jesus had been born, perhaps even after he had died. Who knows, maybe Dr. Luke consulted with Mary after the resurrection of her son prior to his quoting her in the first chapter of his gospel. I can imagine Mary getting all misty-eyed as she stared off into the distance, remembering her feelings about her impending motherhood in light of what happened to Jesus. Perhaps she saw herself as lucky, in retrospect. I can imagine her paraphrasing one of her own biblical idols, Hannah, the mother of Samuel. And she finally said "this is how it feels now. This is how I wish it had felt back then: 'My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for God has regarded the low estate of this handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; for the one who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is God's name.'"
"All generations will call me blessed," sang Mary. But I bet she didn't always believe that. I bet she felt pretty lowly. Here she was, a young single pregnant woman. In her day a woman was valued because of who her husband was and how many legitimate male children she had. Gabriel told her she was going to be an outcast, and not only that, but it was God’s doing.
Mary needed some help in order to
believe in herself enough to take on the huge task before her. Luckily her cousin Elizabeth was in a similar
situation. Both carried the hope of the
world in their wombs. Both would later
see their sons killed by people in positions of domination who thought they
could silence the song. The two of them spent
months together. That is how Mary
garnered the strength to go on.
You remember the story of Hannah. Hannah was the beloved but barren wife of Elkanah. Elkanah had another wife, Peninnah who was fertile. Peninnah mocked Hannah while Elkanah kept saying, ever so sensitively, “Cheer up, Ain’t I as good as 10 sons?” How’s that for Biblical family values? Hannah felt alone in her own family.
She realized that if things were really going to start changing around there, she was going to have to do something about it. She realized she could stay there and keep getting ridiculed, patronized and matronized, or she could take control of her life. Hannah realized her power and that she did not have to suffer this emotional abuse any more. Hannah waited until her family was good and drunk and then boldly did something which women did not do back in those days. She spoke to God. Women had to be accompanied to the temple by their husbands and even then could not go inside for fear of contaminating the place. But Hannah rose and went up to the temple anyway, alone.
And in her prayers, Hannah pleaded with God to make her a mother, not for her own selfish gain, but to break a pattern of abuse by her family—that the next generation might do better than the present one. It’s going to be different than it was in my family. The world is going to be a better place because of my child. Hannah then cut a deal with God. She prayed, if she could just have a baby long enough to wean him, she would give the child to God. Hannah probably knew that the personality of a child is pretty much determined by the time the child is weaned. Those formative months are vital to any child. She would raise him and make sure he did not become like his father. She would see if he could make a difference in the world.
The High priest Eli saw her faith, strength, vulnerability and her determination. And Eli said the only thing he could have said. “Go in peace; the God of Israel will answer your prayer.” Hannah rose again, this time with a new strength, with confidence and a sense of purpose. Hannah found her voice. In defiance of the patriarchal rules of her day, Hannah sang a song of liberation and hope. No one was going to make her into an outcast.
Sure enough, Hannah gave birth to
Samuel. Samuel would grow up to be the
last judge of
Both Mary and Elizabeth taught their sons, John the Baptist and Jesus how to sing. And they made no bones about letting them know that a real song, the song from God, the song of the soul, was and is the song which they must sing. It is okay to make mistakes. It is okay to fail. It is okay to be human, but it is not okay to not sing the song.
Another Mary, Mary Beth Sarhatt from
Mary knew that she was an outcast. She had a healthy sense of her humility. But she also knew that through singing her song--living her life with God as her guide and her community as her support, she could begin to recognize herself as blessed. She sang because she knew that the mighty one had done great things for her, and holy is God's name.
When Mary was faced with the daunting task of bearing the child of God, she looked to her very own prophet of hope. She looked to Hannah to give her strength to do what needed to be done. Mary needed Hannah’s strength, her guts, her boldness. She needed Hannah’s wisdom and power. She needed the courage to say the thing that needed to be said.
Mary, an outcast, living among the outcasts gives hope to those of us who are cast out. She proclaims with her own preteen prophetic fervor that the powers that be will be overthrown and that God looks at the outcast with higher regard than the military, the rich or even the seemingly religious. Mary is obedient to God. And that obedience means that she is disobedient to the empire.
She sang knowing she recognized that God looked with favor upon one who is considered, either by herself or by others, as lowly. She sang because she knew that generations would call her blessed, even if she could not call herself that at the present time. She sang to invoke the mercy of God. She sang to proclaim the strength of God, which we all need. She sang to show God’s preferential option toward the poor. She sang of the fact that the ways of the world are not always God's ways. Those who are rich are sent away empty, she sang with all her heart. The hungry are finally filled with something good. She sang to proclaim that God will not forget any of us.
We know she sang the Magnificat not only because she wanted to sing, but because she saw herself as a part of a bigger plan. She sang it, my friends because she needed to in order for her to know what her soul was up to.
When Mary sang, she proclaimed the entire work of Christianity in one simple song. She sang my soul magnifies the Lord. In other words, I look at God very clearly, unpacking all of the religious baggage and I get down to the nitty-gritty. I put God under a magnifying glass and this is what I come up with:
God looks with favor on the lowly and calls them blessed.
God does great things.
God's mercy is there for everyone who recognizes God's power.
God's strength is available to those who believe in God more than in themselves.
For God has and will bring down the powerful from their thrones.
God fills the hungry with good things and sends the formerly rich away empty.
And God keeps God's promises.
That is precisely what the season of Christmas is all about.
It is about remembering and integrating the hopeful messages of prophets like Mary into our very beings. It's about living beyond our preconceived notions of life and love. But you see, we need to sing it in order to remember. In order to transport us beyond the mundane realities in which we live. We need to sing because the song is in our hearts, our souls, engulfing our beings, defining who we are, pointing us toward who we will become.
So my friends, Mary sang a song which brought her healing. Mary’s song brings hope. And as you sing the songs of the Christmas season, remember that hope, remember that vision. Let it change you like it changed Mary. When you do that, you help change the world.
Remember that God has regarded what you might consider your low estate. God has not left you comfortless. God has called you blessed. All God asks for in return is that you sing. Sing, sing, sing!