Long Live the Revolution!!

This is the text of my sermon for Sunday, December 23, and was based on the Magnificat.

I don’t think many of us in the Lutheran tradition, or in any of the Protestant traditions, really think about Mary. The Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, seems to be the, I don’t want to say possession, but she belongs to the Roman Catholic tradition.

There, she is venerated. She is prayed to. She is considered to be the co-redeemer of humanity, along with her son, who is also the Son of God. She is asked to intercede on our behalf.

We don’t feel we need to ask anyone to intercede on our behalf when we can pray directly to God. We can ask Christ directly for forgiveness. We don’t have to ask Mary or any of the other saints to intercede for us.

So we tend not to think of Mary very much. Sure, she’ll be the focus of some hymns and carols during Christmas. We will thank her for telling Jesus to turn water into wine at the wedding in Cana. We feel for her when we hear the lesson when she and her other children come to Jesus and hear him say, “Who are my mother and brothers?” We imagine her heartbreak when we hear Christ from the cross say, “Woman, behold your son.” when he tells the Beloved Disciple to care for her after his death.

But beyond those times when she is mentioned in the Gospels, we tend to not think of her. Or when we do, it is of this quiet, meek, little girl. The Virgin Mother - we think of her in the stable, holding her newborn son as a parade of visitors, shepherds and magi come to pay homage. Mother Mary, meek and mild – there is even a hymn by that title.

The sweet, Virgin Mary, the teenage mother of Jesus, a quiet, serene woman.

Today, I present to you a different picture of Mary; Mary, the Prophet, Mary, the First Disciple; Mary, the Revolutionary. LONG LIVE THE REVOLUTION!!

The words that I read, Mary’s response to Elizabeth, best known as the Magnificat, are words that have been banned by governments because they thought they were so revolutionary. The Magnificat, which is regularly used during daily worship services, was prohibited from being read, to keep the people from rebelling.

Mary. Sweet Virgin Mary was a secret radical, a revolutionary. Who knew?

Well, there was God. God knew little Mary from Nazareth had the heart of a radical. That was one of the things that made the angel Gabriel call her favored by God. When told she would have a child without having been with a man, and that the child would be the Son of God himself, Mary said, “I serve the Lord. Let it happen as you have said.”

She knew God’s promise of a Messiah and what that would mean for her people, Israel, and for the world. While every mother is proud of her child and is more than willing to share her joy with anyone who will listen, Mary tells Elizabeth, who is pregnant with her own extra special bundle of joy, exactly how great her child will be.

Mary says that her soul magnifies the Lord, bringing attention and focus to the mercy and graciousness of God, who has chosen to do wonderful things through this unmarried, pregnant teenage girl. It is not in spite of her lowliness that she has found favor with God; it is because of it. Rather than using Elizabeth, the wife of a high priest, God chose Mary, and with that choice, God shows partiality for the marginalized members of society. Because of her faith, her belief in what the angel Gabriel had told her, because of her belief that she could be useful to God and God’s purpose, she will be called ‘blessed’ by all subsequent generations.

God is, has been, and will be merciful to those who fear and love the Almighty. Those who are in positions of power, who are proud, should be fearful. Fearful doesn’t mean afraid of; fearful means to be respectful of the power and majesty of God.

Those who don’t respect God’s power, those who put their trust in themselves rather than in God, those whose pride exceeds their faith will be “scattered … in the thoughts of their hearts.” Those prideful people who look down upon others rather than look up to God will live in the imagination of their hearts and minds.

Those who have power and chose to follow their agenda rather than God’s, those who do not help those who are lost, last in line, the least of these and the little ones, they will be “brought down from their thrones.” In their place, God has “lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.”

God is about to turn the world on its ear. Those who have been high and mighty will be brought down, and those of low standing will be elevated. God is going to reverse the positions in culture. The hungry will be fed, filled until they are satisfied. Those who have been rich and have been selfish with their wealth will be sent away with nothing. People who are in positions of power who have not done as God has directed toward the people who are marginalized are going to be rebuked, reprimanded and reproved. “From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required.” [Luke 12.48] Those who have been given much are to use that to help and take care of those whom have been given little, or nothing. The rich and powerful, the high and the mighty have had their chance. They failed; they did not take care of the less fortunate. Now God will take care of them all.

LONG LIVE THE REVOLUTION!

THAT is what caused the Magnificat to be banned in several countries where the rulers thought their people might be considering revolution. So they took these words of overturning rulers and the rich away from the Virgin Mary. You can hide the words, but you can’t hide God’s plan.

Mary proclaims God will settle the score. Those who have been shoved away and ignored will be taken care of. Those who have misused the blessings of God will be called to account. The power structure of the world is going to change.

Mary’s words are a cry to repent for those who have received blessings from God to use those to help those who have not been so blessed. They have been a warning to kings, rulers and the wealthy throughout time that God knows if they have been naughty or nice with the gifts God has given them.

Should this be an alert, a wake up call to a people who live in what is called the greatest country in the world? Should Mary’s prophetic words worry the most powerful and wealthy nation to ever exist on the face of God’s green earth?

LONG LIVE THE REVOLUTION?

Mary, mother of God, believed God was going to do these things through her son. She trusted in Gabriel’s message that “Nothing is impossible for God.”

It is possible that we can heed Mary’s warning and give of God’s blessings to show God’s love to the marginalized and minimalized. It is possible for us to feed the hungry, and care for the poor. It is possible for us to put our trust and faith in God rather than in our selves and our abilities.

Mary was the first follower of her Son, knowing of his great promise and ability. She followed him to the Cross where he died, knowing that he was doing His Father’s work; that through his death and resurrection, he will save all people. She knew that work would be continued by those who followed, and continue to follow her Son. She knew that ultimately, God’s justice would prevail, that wrongs would be righted.

LONG LIVE THE REVOLUTION!

 

 

The Canticle of the Turning