The Magnificat: How Is This a
Blessing?
Pastor Mathew Magera – 12/5/18 – Sermon 316
St. Thomas Lutheran Church, Trufant, MI
To God be the Glory!
Grace and peace to you from
God our Father, from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
The Magnificat is the name
given to the song Mary sings here in Luke chapter 1. It is based on the Latin
word that means magnify because it comes up in the first few words of the song
itself, though in our NIV it is translated as glorifies. It can be read my soul
magnifies the Lord. For a long time, and maybe you have thought this too, I
thought Mary sang this song immediately after the angel came to tell her of her
pregnancy. It seems like the most appropriate time, honestly, but the music
would have to wait. The angels comes to Mary, then Mary hurries to see
Elizabeth who was pregnant with John the Baptist. Only after her encounter with
Elizabeth does Mary have the courage to sing these beautiful words.
The words of the Magnificat
aren't necessarily her own either. Perhaps you noticed how similar our two
readings were tonight. The other reading we used tonight was Hannah's song in 1
Samuel after she, who was barren, gave birth to the prophet Samuel. She sings
this song after she dedicates him for service in the tabernacle.
Mary got her song from
Hannah. But, Hannah's situation was quite different from Mary's. You see,
Hannah wanted a child, but could not have one. It might be easy to see why
Hannah offered a song such as the one we have in 1 Samuel because God granted
her something she wanted. Mary, on the other hand, could possibly have wanted a
child but likely not at this very moment in her life. Both of these women stood
out. Hannah stood out as a barren woman who got something she really wanted.
Mary stood out as an unmarried pregnant teenager from a poor peasant family.
Which role, of these two, would you likely choose?
Regardless of its history,
the Magnificat packs a punch. It's joyous, sacred, dark and contemplative. It's
something we might read a little too quickly without considering the words. So,
as we use these Advent Wednesdays to anticipate, to hope, we're going to slowly
move through pieces of the Magnificat and expand upon them to allow our minds
to open up to what Mary is really singing about. With that said, we'll look at
the first three verses, particularly the very last phrase. I'll read them for
you again. "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my
Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on
all generations will call me blessed," That last phrase is what I want us
to think about. All generations will call me blessed.
* * *
Have you ever been given an
opportunity to stand out that you just weren’t sure about? When I was in 5th
grade, I started learning to play the trumpet. When I was in 7th grade, in
addition to regular band, I had the opportunity to play in our school's jazz
band. Personally, I thought the music played in jazz band was better than the
music played in concert band. Also, in jazz band, some people get to play solos.
It wasn't long before I was given my first opportunity. The song was Boogie
Woogie Bugle Boy and there was a trumpet solo written into the music. It was a
great opportunity, I would have my name specially written in the program for
our concert but it was terrifying. When it came time for my solo, I had to walk
all the way up front to a special microphone so I could be heard while
everyone's eyes were on me. I was not an outgoing person. Yes, I stood out, but
I really wasn’t too sure about it.
Fast forward to 8th grade, a
year later. I was a bit more confident. The song was Louie, Louie. I received
the opportunity to write my own solo. I was not only going to be recognized in
the program as having a solo in this song but also that I wrote it myself. I
absolutely could not screw this up. I stood out again but I wasn’t too sure
about it.
Fast forward another year.
Now I'm a freshman in high school. The high school has a jazz band. I join. All
the songs I played in high school jazz band are a blur to me but I'm sure I can
recall exactly what it was like to volunteer for my first solo. I felt pretty
confident I had seen just about anything. I could play a solo off the sheet
music. I could write one on my own and play it. But, that's not how it worked
in high school. From this point on, if I were to volunteer for a solo, they
would have to be improvised on the spot. Now, I was able to have my name
special in the program but then I also had to step up to the microphone at the
appointed time and simply make up a solo as I went hoping and praying I didn't
play a note that didn’t work with the chord that was being played. I stood out
and I definitely wasn’t sure about it.
I share this with you
because I want to use tonight to talk about blessings. In our modern culture,
the idea of being blessed is usually something we say or think or do that is good
or comforting or reassuring. We are feeling blessed about this or about that
whether it be eating a meal with family or taking an exotic vacation. The idea
of being blessed has come to be defined by moments that show how well things
are going for us. Of course, these may very well be blessings but that’s not
the kind of blessing the Magnificat seems to be showing us. This idea of things
going well, and signs of comfort doesn’t seem to be the case for Mary.
* * *
In this first part of the Magnificat,
Mary explains that all generations would call her blessed because of what has
happened to her. However, what happened to Mary is not likely to be considered
a high point in her life much less a blessing. She has become unexplainably
pregnant outside of marriage. She would have to watch her son get rejected,
shamed, and killed. I thought I was scared having to play a solo at a jazz band
concert but this in no way compares to what Mary has to deal with right here.
Is she feeling blessed? I honestly don't know how she could feel that way.
According to the Bible it only says that others will call her blessed, but
would she agree at that point? We assume she does. We paint her in the best
light perhaps because she was the mother of our savior. But, considering her
situation, I'm not certain anybody would consider her blessed. Would she stand
out? I don't know, does a pregnant teenager stand out walking through the halls
at high school?
Mary’s call to stand out in
the way she did was a blessing. But, she may not have thought that or felt
that. She may not have been exceedingly confident either. Regardless, God
called her to stand out in a big way and God was the one who was in control.
People would call Mary blessed because of what God had done through her.
I don’t think we would want
to be in Mary’s shoes at this point if this is what blessing is all about. The
risks of being blessed for Mary are intense and I’m not certain we would want
to go through with it. Still, what sets Mary apart in this situation is that
she trusted God. She obeyed, she believed. Just like I explained to the kids on
Sunday, Mary stuck with God, she paid attention. That’s what comes across in
this first part of the Magnificat. We see her being blessed. She’s the mother
of our Lord but on top of that, she went through with it. She stood out. She may
very well have been shamed or gossiped about and I’m not saying that this was
in any way good, but she endured it for the purpose God intended for her. God
took an ordinary girl and used her for extraordinary purposes.
* * *
God continues to call and
bless ordinary people like Mary to stand out as disciples of Jesus. God is calling
us to stand out as disciples. Of course, this also comes with risks. Perhaps
these risks are not as great as the risks involved with Mary’s pregnancy and
motherhood, but sometimes it feels pretty intimidating. It’s during those times
of intimidation that we might not want to continue, that we might not see the
blessing of our calling. Mary’s Magnificat provides us assurance that we can
trust God even when we are unsure about the future, when we are unsure about
our calling. Mary becomes an example for us. The thought of God calling you to
stand out, to do something that might make you nervous doesn't exactly feel
like a blessing, I'm sure. But, through faith, we can trust that God's idea and
working of a blessing isn't always how we see it and it might not appear like a
blessing until much later, if at all, in our eyes.
You can see already as we
begin to explore that Magnificat that there is already a tension between
comfort and anxiety. That tension continues to interweave itself through Mary’s
song and rightly so as we have discovered. The Christmas story isn’t the
peaceful event we may have always envisioned and we discover it early on
considering how the blessed Mary reacts to her calling to stand out. But, God
didn’t break his promise with Mary when he called her to stand out. God will
not break his promise with us as he calls us to stand out.
So, how is this a blessing?
How is Mary’s situation a blessing given her circumstances? To her I’m not sure
it was a blessing yet. I’m not certain if or when she might have ever
considered it a blessing. But, she trusted God. She trusted God was working
through her situation and that even if she didn't feel blessed at the time,
that others around her would soon see the blessings that God was showering upon
her. So, I pray the next time you find yourself serving God and asking yourself
how your situation could possibly be a blessing, place your trust in God. If he
can bless and bring good from a pregnant, unmarried teenage girl from a peasant
family, just think about what he can do with you. To God be the glory, now and
always. Amen.