Second Presbyterian Church

"Mary Praises God:
Preaching From the Gospel of Luke"
December 21, 2003

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Sermons Homepage » Sermons for 2003 » Sermons for December 2003 » Sermons from the Series on Luke

#3 in the Series on Luke
The Rev. Daniel E. Hale, D. Min.

• 1 Samuel 2: 1-10
• Luke 1:39-56

Luke continues the development of his Gospel: Elizabeth is six months pregnant, Mary has also been visited by the angel, Gabriel. Mary leaves, with haste (for some reason for which we can only conjecture) Mary rushes to go see Elizabeth her relative. Now tradition has it that Elizabeth is Mary's cousin. The Greek is more general than that; it is only referring to her as a relative. It was John Wickliffe, an early Bible translator, who translated the Greek word, sunganis, as "cousin."

Mary reached the home of Elizabeth and greeted her. And when Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting her baby leaped within her womb. Babies in utero sometimes kick. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!" Elizabeth continued, "And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord."

Fascinating! Why? How would Elizabeth know that Mary was going to be the mother of the Lord? Had Mary sent word ahead to her? If she went in haste, as the scripture notes, then how could word have out paced her in those ancient days when there was no telephone, no e-mail, no telegraph, not even the pony express?

It was the Holy Spirit that spoke through Elizabeth. She was prophesying. The new age was breaking forth. The new age was beginning its dawning glow upon the horizon. It was just as the scripture had foretold. The age of prophecy had returned. The four hundred and fifty plus years of no prophet in Israel were quickly coming to an end. The return of prophecy, as prophesied, meant that it was time for the return of the Messiah. The one who would sit on David's throne; the one who would rule Israel forever; the Son of God.

And that is exactly what Luke wanted Theophilus, and us, to note in these beginning passages. The Messiah was coming as it was foretold in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Malachi, and so on. Luke was weaving the stories with great skill and tying it all together in a unified story of how God's salvation, how the Kingdom of God was entering in upon time and history. Or, Luke wanted us to know that God's salvation was coming and His Holy Spirit was brooding over this new and dawning creation just as it did when the earth was formed and the Spirit of the Lord brooded over the cosmic waters of potential form and creation.

So Elizabeth knows. And Mary knows. The forerunner, the voice that will cry in the wilderness was six months on the way. The Messiah would soon follow. Mary now had more confirmation that this was the work of the Lord. I would imagine that she had told no one else, except possibly Joseph. And yet Elizabeth knew Mary was with child from God.

And at this confirmation Mary bursts forth in a song of praise to God. We have generally heard of the song as the Magnificat. Because the first line begins with, "My soul magnifies the Lord." Mary began to praise God. She who was with child by a miracle. She was with Elizabeth who was also with child by a miracle. And we hear echoes of Hannah - another miracle mother.

"Now who was Hannah," you might ask? Hannah was the mother of Samuel, a great prophet and the last judge to judge the early nation of Israel. Hannah had a lot in common with Sarah, Rachel, and also Elizabeth. They were all women of great faith, but could not bear children. To be barren, to be unable to conceive and have children, was considered a curse from God. Hannah's husband, Elkanah, had another wife whose name was Peninnah. Peninnah was able to have children. And she was very cruel to Hannah; she would put her down for not being able to have children. Peninnah made life miserable for Hannah.

Hannah prayed to the LORD and the LORD granted Hannah her wish and she conceived and gave birth to Samuel. When this happened Hannah also sang to the Lord, just as Mary did. The beginning of Hannah's song begins very similarly,

My heart exults in the LORD;
My strength is exalted in the LORD. (1 Samuel 2: 1)

Isn't it interesting how what people proclaim as true and godly is not necessarily so? So often people who struggle to have children believe that they have been cursed by God. And so often, without thinking, we go along with that. Indeed, children are a blessing from God. But the opposite is not true, the opposite being, to not have children means to be cursed by God.

The Bible confirms that children are a blessing. It also confirms over and over that those who struggled with infertility are also special and blessed by God. Again, Sarah, Rachel, Hannah, and Elizabeth are examples.

But this pattern continues. The Kingdom of God was dawning upon the world. The age of salvation was upon Israel, indeed all humanity. The Gospel of the Lord, the Good News of Jesus the Messiah was upon humanity. And the values and patterns of humanity were about to be turned upside down. Throughout the entire Gospel of Luke we experience the values of the temporal world turned on its head. We receive glimpses of the change in values when we listen to Mary's Praise of God.

Listen to these glimpses, but do it at your own risk, because they can be disturbing, even to us.

• He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
• He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate.
• He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away.

Some of these new dynamics of the Kingdom of God are not quite so scary.

• His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.

One can feel the anticipation. The Messiah is coming. The age of prophecy had returned. The themes of salvation (by repentance and forgiveness of sin are outlined in the praise that Mary offers to the Lord. We even have a hint at how this Good News reverses the values that the world holds so dearly.

Next time, January 4, the sense of anticipation begins to become reality as we study the birth of John the Baptist and listen to the words of praise from Zechariah, The Benedictus.

The Rev. Daniel E. Hale, D. Min.