Luke 1:26-56

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

 In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.” 

And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant.
Surely from now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name;
indeed, his mercy is for 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 brought down the powerful from their thrones
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away empty.
He has come to the aid of his child Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.

For the Word of God in scripture,
For the Word of God among us,
For the Word of God within us,
Thanks be to God.

***

So last month in our adult education forum, we discussed protest songs. We listened to jazz, blues, country, rock and roll, rap, pop, and more. Artists such as Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke, Bob Dylan, Peter Tosh, Pete Seeger, Cat Stevens, U2, Tracy Chapman, Suzanne Vega, Public Enemy, The Chicks, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé with Kendrick Lamar—protesting things such as war, racism, sexism, greed, commercialism, and more.

Some of these songs are very controversial. They’ve been banned. Some of the older ones, which were banned once upon a time, seem relatively tame by today’s standards. But some are still surprisingly edgy.

Debie Thomas suggests that Mary’s song from Luke could easily take its place among all of these. She writes, “Mary’s song is so subversive in its cultural, socioeconomic, and political implications, it has been banned many times in modern history.”

I didn’t know this—did you?  She writes, “When the British ruled India, the Magnificat was prohibited from being sung in churches. And similarly, during the Dirty War in Argentina, after the mothers of the disappeared children postered the capitol with the words of the Magnificat, the military banned all public displays of the Magnificat. Too much hope, they decided, is a dangerous thing.”

This Advent, we’ve been paying attention to the particular voices of Advent—voices such as John the Baptist and Zechariah. And next week, Special Music Sunday, we’ll put a nice capstone on all of these as we review all the voices that we’ve heard—and add in those angels. I’m not just talking about the choir.

This Sunday, though, we listen to one of the most important voices of them all: Mary’s, the mother of Jesus.

We know remarkably little about Mary. She was a young woman, engaged to be married to Joseph. In Mark and Matthew, she’s not given a voice and really is actually barely mentioned. In John’s gospel, John only refers to her as “the mother of Jesus.” But Luke’s version not only features her, but her cousin Elizabeth.

Judith Jones points out that “women—so often overlooked or ignored in both society at large and in biblical narratives—have the only speaking roles in this vignette.” Remember, Zechariah was mute, right? It’s Elizabeth and Mary going back and forth. Zechariah’s not allowed to talk. And Joseph… just doesn’t.

But you see, the thing, though, is this isn’t new. This isn’t a fresh approach on God’s part. God’s been working this way for a long, long time. We get that sense when we notice that Mary’s song echoes that of Hannah, who we heard earlier in the fall.

Matthew Skinner writes, “Mary’s song invites us to consider how Jesus’ coming reiterates God’s commitment to seek justice, to sustain the world. She’s clear that God is the one who is going to make it happen. The arrival of Christ means change—but it’s change that God has been talking about and working toward already for a very long time.”

God didn’t just wake up one morning and decide to care about justice. From Hannah to Ruth to Michal to Elizabeth and Mary, God has been using the voices of those on the fringes to call to account the rest of us—to remember who God has created us to be: people of justice and joy.

Diana Butler Bass writes, “Why had I never known Advent was a season of justice and joy?” She continues, “You see, justice is not vindictiveness or revenge. In general, justice just means uprightness, equity, fairness. In the Bible, justice refers to the making right of all things. It’s a relational term about living rightly with others and with creation.”

Perhaps we find it too hard to believe that the God of the universe would use a young unwed woman to carry not only the message of salvation but the very life that would make it possible. Why would God choose that particular time and place? Not a king or queen. Not a president or prime minister. Just an ordinary couple in a backwards, forgotten corner of the world. No prestige. No platform. No wealth. Very little power.

But you see, that—according to Luke—is precisely the point. Because God’s coming isn’t once and done. It started long before Mary and Joseph, and it continues to this day.

Notice all the verb tenses in Mary’s song. They’re all in the past tense. And not just the past tense, but it’s a deep past tense that conveys that it’s not just that it has happened but has been happening for a very long time.

Skinner writes, “The story of Jesus’ birth remains a story of divine initiative, but Mary’s consent reminds us that human contributions also play a part.”

You see, this isn’t a story about human accomplishment, nor is it a story of divine takeover because we’ve messed it up so badly. It’s the story of God’s initiative—and our response. God telling us once again how God intends us to live, and reminding us how much we are loved and valued.

But we keep looking to the wrong people, wrong places, for salvation. We keep looking to celebrities and politicians to fix our world, to fix our country, to fix ourselves. We look to the palaces and the halls of power.

Meanwhile, in a small village in Central America, someone just shared their dinner with their neighbor. Or a nurse who just worked a ten-hour shift goes straight home to care for his ailing spouse. Or the young, unwed, pregnant woman checking herself in to the hospital while her fiancé parks the car.

I don’t think that it’s a coincidence that Mary delivers a song and not a speech.

It is Paul, who would come along a few years later, who would write to the church in Corinth: “Each and every one of you has a song.”

There’s Mary’s song, Elizabeth’s song, Zechariah’s and Joseph’s, Hannah’s, yours, and mine.

“So find your voice,” writes Debie Thomas, “and sing your song. And share it with the world.”

What does your Magnificat sound like?
How is God glorified through your own unique perspective and vision?
And what words have you found to express the radical, revolutionary hope of the Messiah you carry?

Friends, we need voices—voices of justice and joy. Voices of Advent. Voices of hope. Audacious hope. Too much hope—the kind of hope that gets you banned.

So what do you say?
Will you share your voice with me?
Will you sing with me?

Not a Christmas carol just yet.
But an Advent tune—the kind that you sing when you begin to sense that God is up to something new…

And has been, for a very long time.

Amen.

The post Voices of Advent: Mary appeared first on Roland Park Presbyterian Church.

Discussion Questions:

1. Mary’s Voice and Divine Calling

• In Luke 1, Mary responds to God’s call with humility and courage. What stands out to you about her response: “Here am I, the servant of the Lord”?
• How do you think God still calls people today through unexpected or marginalized voices?

2. The Magnificat as Protest and Praise

• The sermon compares Mary’s song to protest music across history. In what ways is the Magnificat a revolutionary or political song?
• How does Mary’s praise of God challenge systems of power and privilege? What might it be saying to us today?

3. God’s Justice and Joy

• Diana Butler Bass writes that Advent is a season of “justice and joy.” How does this contrast with how we usually experience or understand Advent?
• What does biblical justice mean to you? How is it different from revenge or punishment?

4. Human Response to Divine Initiative

• The sermon emphasizes that God’s action and our response go hand in hand. What does that balance of divine initiative and human participation look like in your own life?
• Have you ever experienced a moment where you sensed God was “up to something new”? What was your response?

5. Singing Your Own Song

• Pastor Mark said that “each and every one of you has a song.” What might your Magnificat sound like?
• What hopes, longings, or convictions might God be inviting you to share with the world right now?

The post Sermon Discussion Guide: Voices of Advent: Mary appeared first on Roland Park Presbyterian Church.