Text: Luke 1:46-55 (RSV)
Mary Visits Elizabeth
39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechari′ah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be[a] a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” 46 And Mary said,
Mary’s Song of Praise
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden.
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed;
49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
50 And his mercy is on those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm,
he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts,
52 he has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and exalted those of low degree;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent empty away.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55 as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his posterity for ever.”
In the Name of God, the Holy and Undivided Trinity. Amen.
This is the last Sunday in Advent. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, when we wait and pray and sing and hold a candlelight vigil for the coming Birth of the Messiah. The way St. John’s celebrates Christmas Eve is one of our favorite traditions.
But we’re not quite there yet. Today is the Sunday that emphasizes joy. That’s why today’s candle is pink, the color of joy.
So here’s the question of the day: What gives you joy?
I, of course, think of our granddaughter Chloe – in a couple days, I’ll be seeing her in person for the first time in a year! I also think of all of you – serving at St. John’s has and continues to be a source of joy and deep satisfaction. I’m sure that your minds, too, are filled with thoughts of things that give you joy, and even more so of people whose very existence warms your heart like July sunshine – friends, spouses, children, grand-children, great-grandchildren … the list is endless.
And today we have the unborn baby John leaping for joy in the womb of his mother Elizabeth. That right there is pretty miraculous, and shows again the touch of the hand of God in that holy moment.
But then Mary sings.
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden.
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed;
for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.”
Sometimes the only way to express what God is doing in our lives, or how we feel in the deepest places of our beings, is through song.
And so Mary lifts up her youthful voice and sings at the top of her lungs, maybe in tune, maybe not, her song of joy. She has great cause for rejoicing – but note some key words in her song, words like “low estate” and “low degree.” These phrases aren’t just a reference to her status in society; it means she’s poor, dirt poor. The least well-off among us would have been unbelievably wealthy in her eyes. She’s an unknown and unremarkable girl, really no different than any of the other girls in her village, but for a reason known only to him, God chose her, and no one else, to bear his Son. Certainly cause for rejoicing, as well as awe and wonder!
Mary sings her song of gratitude and rejoicing:
“And his mercy is on those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm,
he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts,
he has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and exalted those of low degree.”
God is all powerful! God’s power brings down the proud even if they are mighty and rich. But God’s power also lifts up the humble, those who depend on him, no matter how poor, or hungry, or despised by the world they might be. Mary knows, deeply and intimately, that God will care for her, because that is what he promised. And she rejoices, she revels, in that truth, she takes comfort in that knowledge just as we do as that great Christmas carol puts it:
In Bethlehem, in Israel
This blessed Babe was born
And laid within a manger
Upon this blessed morn
The which His Mother Mary
Did nothing take in scorn
Oh tidings of comfort and joy
Comfort and joy
Oh tidings of comfort and joy
There are people even now who are in the same situation Mary was, people who could be considered “lowly,” who have nothing and no prospects of betterment. And so many of these people spend their days resenting those whom they think don’t deserve the good fortune they think should be theirs; who think that those around them are “getting away with something”; who are not above Schadenfreude, which is the warped feeling of joy at the misfortunes of others.
That is not the joy of Mary. Mary, lowly Mary, humble Mary, a girl who had nothing, and who in the eyes of the world was nothing, “did nothing take in scorn.” And if we take her as an example, we can’t help but conclude as that carol does and feel the joy which comes from taking into our hearts those “tidings of comfort and joy.”
The secret of joy is this: It is more than an emotion. We feel happiness from things that come to us, that happen to us, from thoughts that occur to us. Joy comes from us. It is a choice. The blogger Kat Bern tells us:
“You can choose to focus on the negative parts of your day, reliving the things that happened that you didn’t enjoy, assigning blames and wondering ‘why do bad things always happen to good people’…
“But then you’ve got to realise that by choosing this you make a choice to completely miss all the beauty, happiness and little moments and decisions that, one step at a time, are actually getting you closer to your desired life.
“Instead, you can choose to focus on all those things that ARE good in your days. The smiles, the people, the kindness…you can celebrate every small action or accomplishment that, one step at a time, is getting you closer to your desired life.”[1]
Mary felt joy even before that angel came to her and changed her life. She had reconciled herself to her station in life, she was content to marry Joseph, the local carpenter, and live a life not very different from the life everyone around her led, the life her mother led, and all her ancestors had. So, when the angel appeared and gave her the most incredible news any human being has ever received, her heart was already in the right place.
And she sang. ““My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden.
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed;
for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.”
That, friends, is joy. May we all receive and feel that joy today, tomorrow, on our blessed Christmas Day, and always!
In the Name of God, the Holy and Undivided Trinity. Amen.
[1] http://www.katbern.com/joy-is-a-choice/