LUKE 1:46b-55 | MY SOUL MAGNIFIES THE LORD…

“MY SOUL MAGNIFIES THE LORD…”

LUKE 1:46b-55

DECEMBER 11, 2016

IN A PREVIOUS CHURCH, WE HAD A YOUNG MOTHER’S GROUP WHO MET TOGETHER EACH WEEK FOR PRAYER, BIBLE STUDY, AND JUST GENERAL, ALL AROUND SUPPORT AND CAMARADERIE.

THEY MET ON TUESDAY MORNINGS IN A ROOM ADJACENT TO THE CHURCH OFFICE, AND MY OFFICE.

THOUGH THE WALLS WERE CONCRETE BLOCK, AND YOU COULDN’T REALLY MAKE OUT WHAT THEY WERE SAYING, YOU COULD TELL WHEN THEY WERE QUIETLY AT PRAYER OR IN STUDY; WHEN THERE WAS RAUCOUS LAUGHTER GOING ON; EVEN CRYING AT TIMES; AND THE COMFORTING OF ONE OF THE WOMEN BY THE REST OF THE GROUP.

THERE WERE AT LEAST THREE WOMEN NAMED LINDA IN THE GROUP, AND I DON’T KNOW WHY THAT’S WORTH MENTIONING, OTHER THAN THE FACT THAT THE NAME MEANS “BEAUTIFUL” AND THESE WOMEN WERE BEAUTIFUL, ALL OF THEM, WHATEVER THEIR NAMES.

OVER THE SEVERAL YEARS THAT THE GROUP MET, THEY, BEING YOUNG WOMEN, AT ONE POINT OR ANOTHER, ONE, TWO, EVEN THREE OR FOUR OF THEM WOULD BE EXPECTING AT THE SAME TIME.

NOW I KNOW HOW THE SAYING GOES: YOU’RE EITHER PREGNANT OR YOU’RE NOT – THERE’S NO IN-BETWEEN; BUT THE TRUTH IS, WATCHING THIS GROUP OF WOMEN COME AND GO, THERE’S DEFINITELY STAGES OF BEING PREGNANT.

SOME – JUST BARELY SHOWING; OTHERS A WAYS ALONG; AND STILL OTHERS NEAR OR BEYOND THEIR DUE DATES – BURGEONING WITH CHILD, AND CAN I SAY THIS? – JUST OVER IT!  READY TO BE DONE WITH BEING PREGNANT!  MORE THAN READY FOR THEIR CHILD TO GET HERE!

THIS GROUP OF YOUNG WOMEN/MOTHERS/MOTHERS-TO-BE/AND IN SOME CASES TO-BE AGAIN FOR THE SECOND OR THIRD TIME; THEY WERE A GREAT SUPPORT TO ONE ANOTHER.

AS I SAY, THEY LAUGHED, THEY CRIED, THEY PRAYED TOGETHER, THEY SWAPPED STORIES AND ADVICE ON BEARING AND RAISING CHILDREN;

THEY WERE THERE FOR EACH OTHER IN A WAY THAT NO ONE ELSE REALLY COULD BE, UNLESS THEY WERE THERE THEMSELVES, OR HAD BEEN THERE BEFORE.

I MENTION ALL OF THIS FOR TWO REASONS:

1. TO CONFESS, THAT AS A MALE, AND AS A MINISTER, I’M NOT SURE I EVER GET THE STORIES OF MARY’S PREGNANCY, OF ELIZABETH’S PREGNANCY, OF THEIR GREETING ONE ANOTHER, AND THE BIRTH OF THEIR RESPECTIVE CHILDREN, QUITE RIGHT.

UNLESS YOU ARE A MOTHER, UNLESS YOU’VE BEEN THERE, UNLESS YOU’VE GONE THROUGH THE JOYS AND SORROWS, THE CARRYING OF A LIFE INSIDE OF YOU, THE EXPECTATION AND PAIN OF CHILDBIRTH, OF GIVING BIRTH, YOU CAN’T REALLY KNOW WHAT THAT’S LIKE.

IT’S TRUE – NO WOMB – NO OPINION!

I ENVY MY FEMALE COUNTERPARTS IN MINISTRY AT THIS TIME OF THE YEAR BECAUSE I’M GUESSING THAT THEY “GET IT;” THEY GET MARY’S PREGNANCY AND THE BIRTH OF THE CHRIST CHILD BETTER THAN I EVER COULD.

2. THE OTHER REASON I MENTIONED THIS YOUNG MOTHER’S GROUP, AND WHAT THEY DID FOR ONE ANOTHER, IS BECAUSE THIS IS SOMETHING OF THE STORY WE SEE PLAYED OUT IN MARY’S VISIT TO HER COUSIN ELIZABETH IN THIS MORNING’S BIBLE PASSAGE.

THEY ARE BOTH EXPECTING; BUT THEIR STORIES ARE VERY DIFFERENT.

ELIZABETH, AFTER YEARS OF MARRIAGE; AFTER A LONG, EXTENDED PERIOD OF INFERTILITY; OF NEVER HAVING BEEN ABLE TO CONCEIVE; OF BELIEVING, OR GETTING ALMOST TO THE POINT OF BELIEVING THAT SHE NEVER WOULD; NOW TURNS UP PREGNANT.

MARY, ON THE OTHER HAND, IS AT THE OPPOSITE END OF THE SPECTRUM.

SHE’S YOUNG; SHE’S NOT MARRIED; SHE’S, SUPPOSEDLY, NEVER EVEN HAD RELATIONS WITH A MAN; SHE IS BETROTHED (SORT OF A PRE-ENGAGEMENT ARRANGEMENT) TO A MAN NAMED JOSEPH; AND SHE’S PREGNANT, THROUGH NO FAULT OF HER OWN, OR HIS OWN, FOR THAT MATTER.

I COULD SAY, “I CAN ONLY IMAGINE WHAT’S GOING THROUGH THE RESPECTIVE MINDS OF MARY AND ELIZABETH,” BUT IN ALL HONESTY, AS A MAN, I CAN’T SAY THAT WITH ANY CERTAINTY AT ALL.  TRUTH IS, I REALLY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT’S GOING ON IN THEIR MINDS.

GUESSING – I WOULD THINK THAT ONCE ELIZABETH HEARD THAT MARY WAS COMING FOR A VISIT, SHE COULDN’T WAIT TO TELL HER THE GOOD NEWS OF HER PREGNANCY, AFTER ALL THESE YEARS OF WAITING.

AND MARY?  WHAT WAS IT, EXACTLY, THAT SHE WAS GOING TO TELL ELIZABETH?

THAT SHE WAS EXPECTING?  THAT SHE HADN’T EVEN BEEN WITH JOSEPH?  THAT AN ANGEL CAME AND TOLD HER SHE WOULD BE WITH CHILD; AND NOT JUST ANY CHILD, BUT THE CHILD; THE SON OF GOD?

IT WOULD HAVE BEEN NATURAL, I THINK, FOR ELIZABETH TO HAVE BEEN A BIT RESENTFUL; A BIT CRESTFALLEN; HER GOOD NEWS UPSTAGED BY MARY’S NEWS.

THAT, FOR WHICH SHE HAD BEEN WAITING, HOPING, PRAYING FOR SO LONG, HAPPENING TO MARY WITHOUT HER EVEN TRYING!

PERHAPS, THIS IS WHY, LUKE TELLS US THAT ELIZABETH WAS FULL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT;

OTHERWISE, HER REACTION TO MARY’S NEWS; HER LETDOWN AT NOT GETTING TO SHARE HER NEWS OF EXPECTING FIRST, FINALLY; WOULD HAVE COME OUT IN RATHER HUMAN WAYS, I THINK.

INSTEAD, LUKE DESCRIBES ELIZABETH’S REACTION IN THIS WAY:

“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 FULFILLMENT OF WHAT WAS SPOKEN TO HER BY THE LORD.’”

HAVING NEVER BEEN PRIVY TO EXACTLY WHAT WENT ON IN THAT YOUNG MOTHER’S GROUP, BEHIND THOSE CONCRETE BLOCK WALLS, I CAN ONLY IMAGINE, WHEN ANOTHER EXPECTANT MOTHER ENTERED THE GROUP, ANNOUNCING THE NEWS THAT SHE WAS PREGNANT, HOW SHE WAS WELCOMED, BLESSED, AND HONORED BY THE OTHERS.

IN MY MIND, AT LEAST, IT WAS SOMETHING LIKE THIS; MARY AND ELIZABETH COMING TOGETHER, BOTH EXPECTING, BOTH EXCITED FOR THE OTHER, BOTH, THERE FOR EACH OTHER.

AND IN MY MIND, MY HOPE IS, THAT FOR MARY AND ELIZABETH, THEY FELL INTO THE SAME SORT OF COMFORTABLE SUPPORT AND CAMARADERIE, THAT I KNOW WENT ON IN THAT YOUNG MOTHER’S GROUP.

LUKE GIVES US AT LEAST A GLIMPSE OF WHAT THOSE FIRST FEW MOMENTS WERE LIKE BETWEEN THEM; WE’VE JUST HEARD WHAT ELIZABETH SAID AND DID;

AND THEN THERE’S MARY; AND THE MAGNIFICAT – LATIN FOR MAGNIFY – IT IS THE SONG WITH WHICH MARY RESPONDS.  MARY… SINGS!

“MY SOUL MAGNIFIES THE LORD, ⁴⁷AND MY SPIRIT REJOICES IN GOD MY SAVIOR, ⁴⁸FOR HE HAS LOOKED WITH FAVOR ON THE LOWLINESS OF HIS SERVANT. SURELY, FROM NOW ON ALL GENERATIONS WILL CALL ME BLESSED; ⁴⁹FOR THE MIGHTY ONE HAS DONE GREAT THINGS FOR ME, AND HOLY IS HIS NAME. ⁵⁰HIS MERCY IS FOR THOSE WHO FEAR HIM FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION. ⁵¹HE HAS SHOWN STRENGTH WITH HIS ARM; HE HAS SCATTERED THE PROUD IN THE THOUGHTS OF THEIR HEARTS. ⁵²HE HAS BROUGHT DOWN THE POWERFUL FROM THEIR THRONES, AND LIFTED UP THE LOWLY;⁵³HE HAS FILLED THE HUNGRY WITH GOOD THINGS, AND SENT THE RICH AWAY EMPTY. ⁵⁴HE HAS HELPED HIS SERVANT ISRAEL, IN REMEMBRANCE OF HIS MERCY,⁵⁵ACCORDING TO THE PROMISE HE MADE TO OUR ANCESTORS, TO ABRAHAM AND TO HIS DESCENDANTS FOREVER.” 

MARY SINGS!  AND ELIZABETH, AND EVERY GENERATION OF THE WORLD SINCE, LISTENS.

WE ARE TOLD, AFTER THE SONG ENDS, MARY REMAINED WITH ELIZABETH FOR THREE MONTHS, BEFORE RETURNING HOME.

I’LL LEAVE IT TO YOU TO IMAGINE HOW THESE TWO WOMEN, BOTH EXPECTING, SPENT THOSE THREE MONTHS TOGETHER;

PREPARING FOR THE BIRTH OF THEIR SONS; SUPPORTING EACH OTHER; COMMISERATING OVER WHAT WAS HAPPENING TO THEIR BODIES; SPECULATING ABOUT GIVING BIRTH, AND THE FUTURES OF THEIR RESPECTIVE SONS.

I WASN’T THERE – I DON’T KNOW.  I’M A MAN – I DON’T KNOW.  SOME OF YOU KNOW BETTER THAN OTHERS OF US.

SO, WHAT, OTHER THAN THE RETELLING OF THIS ANCIENT STORY, DOES ANY OF THIS, ALL OF THIS, MEAN FOR US TODAY?  IN SITTING HERE, TODAY?

WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR OUR OWN LIVES, ESPECIALLY IF WE ARE WELL BEYOND THE YEARS OF ANYTHING LIKE HAVING A CHILD EVER AGAIN?

MAYBE IT’S ABOUT OUR BEING THERE FOR EACH OTHER; WHATEVER THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF OUR LIVES, OR THE LIVES OF OTHERS.

MAYBE IT’S ABOUT BEING THERE AS THOSE YOUNG MOTHERS WERE THERE FOR EACH OTHER; AS ELIZABETH AND MARY WERE THERE FOR EACH OTHER;

SHARING, AND LAUGHING, AND PRAYING, AND COMMISERATING, AND PASSING ON WISDOM, AND OUR OWN EXPERIENCES, TO OTHERS.

BUT MAYBE THE SCENE, FOR US, NOW, IS NOT ABOUT BIRTHING BABIES, BUT ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE; SOMETHING ALTOGETHER DIFFERENT:

WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE EMPTY-NESTERS; OR ENTERING RETIREMENT; OR TO HAVE A TERMINAL ILLNESS; OR TO HAVE A SPOUSE WITH DEMENTIA; OR WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE ADULT CHILDREN CARING FOR AGING PARENTS.

IN THE SAME CHURCH OF WHICH I SPOKE EARLIER, WE ALSO HAD A QUILTING CIRCLE.  KAREN’S MOM WAS A MEMBER OF IT.  IT WAS MADE UP OF OLDER WOMEN; TWO SISTERS WHO NEVER MARRIED; SEVERAL WOMEN WHO WERE WIDOWED; A COUPLE WHOSE HUSBANDS WERE STILL ALIVE.

MY SENSE IS, THEY WERE EVERY BIT AS PRAYERFUL, SUPPORTIVE, LOVING, AND CARING AS THAT GROUP OF YOUNGER WOMEN – IT WAS JUST THAT THEIR LIVES, THEIR CONVERSATIONS WERE OF A DIFFERENT NATURE; ABOUT A DIFFERENT TIME AND PLACE IN LIFE.

SO MAYBE THE MEANING OF THIS STORY FOR US THIS MORNING ISN’T SO MUCH ABOUT BEING PREGNANT IN THE TRADITIONAL SENSE, BUT MORE ABOUT, SAY, THE PREGNANT POSSIBILITIES OF LIFE.

THOSE LONG AWAITED, BUT ALSO THOSE COMPLETELY UNEXPECTED THINGS, THAT HAPPEN IN LIFE. THINGS WHICH ARE FULL OF EXPECTATION, AND FEAR, AND UNCERTAINTY, AND HOPE, AND POSSIBILITY, AND NOT KNOWING HOW ANY OF IT WILL REALLY TURN OUT…

ALL OF US ARE “PREGNANT” IN THIS SENSE – EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY, WE DON’T KNOW WHAT AWAITS US… WE DON’T KNOW WHAT MAY COME… WE ARE UNCERTAIN AS TO WHAT POSSIBILITIES AND OPPORTUNITIES ARE OUT THERE FOR US…

OF WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO US… AND TO THOSE WE LOVE…

AT BEST, WE WOULD DO WELL TO GREET THESE EXPERIENCES WITH THE SAME SORT OF FAITH, BELIEF, TRUST, EXCITEMENT, AND CONFIDENCE WITH WHICH MARY AND ELIZABETH RECEIVED THEIR NEWS!

THEY ARE AFRAID – BUT THEY TRUST GOD.  THEY ARE SCARED – BUT THEY ARE HOPEFUL.  THEY WORRY – BUT THEY GREET THE NEWS WITH JOY.  THEY ARE ANXIOUS – BUT THEY SING, NONETHELESS!

AND THEY DO ALL OF THIS TOGETHER.

IT WOULD BE EASY FOR US TO SAY, “WE’LL OF COURSE THEY DO, THEY ARE EXPECTING THEIR FIRST CHILD!  THAT’S A WONDERFUL TIME!  A MAGICAL TIME!  A TIME OF HOPE AND EXPECTATION!”  AND IT IS.

BUT ASK ANY MOTHER WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON INSIDE OF THEM; INSIDE THEIR HEADS AND HEARTS; AND WE MIGHT JUST BE SURPRISED BY WHAT A MIXED BLESSING IT REALLY IS FOR THEM.

AND GIVEN WHAT HAPPENS TO JOHN THE BAPTIST (ELIZABETH’S CHILD) AND TO JESUS CHRIST (MARY’S CHILD) YOU GET AN IDEA OF WHY MOTHERS WORRY AND PRAY;

WHY THEY HOPE FOR THE BEST, AND PREPARE FOR THE WORST; WHY THEY BELIEVE, YET WORK SO HARD TO MAKE THINGS HAPPEN; WHY THEY TRUST, BUT FOLLOW THROUGH, JUST TO MAKE SURE THINGS GET DONE.

THESE ARE PRETTY GOOD LESSONS FOR THE REST OF US AS WELL.

AND GIVEN WHAT MARY SAYS GOD IS PLANNING TO DO, IN THE WORDS SHE SINGS ABOUT HER SON, AND ABOUT THE WORLD INTO WHICH HER SON IS COMING, MAYBE THEY’RE LESSONS WE NEED TO LEARN WELL, TO BE PREPARED FOR COME WHAT MAY.

MAYBE THAT’S REALLY WHAT THIS MORNING’S LESSON IS ALL ABOUT; WHAT THIS SERMON IS ABOUT;

WHAT ANY AND EVERY PREGNANCY, LITERAL OR FIGURATIVE, IS ABOUT:

EXCITEMENT, EXPECTATION, THE FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN, HOPING FOR THE BEST, PREPARING FOR WHATEVER MAY COME, BELIEVING, PRAYING, TRUSTING…

KNOWING THAT GOD WILL BE WITH US IN ALL OF IT;

AND IF WE’RE LUCKY, A FRIEND OF TWO ALONG THE WAY.  THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN THERE BEFORE, AND KNOW WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE US; TO BE WHERE WE ARE NOW; WHO CAN ADVISE US AND SUPPORT US.

PERHAPS THIS IS WHAT IT MEANS FOR OUR SOULS, FOR ALL OUR SOULS, TO MAGNIFY THE LORD; TO SHOW THE LORD TO EACH OTHER; TO REJOICE IN GOD TOGETHER;

MAYBE THERE’LL EVEN BE A LITTLE SINGING ALONG THE WAY!

LET’S HOPE SO; FOR OUR SAKE, AND FOR THE SAKE OF OTHERS!