Introduction
I am borrowing for last year’s Advent 4 commentary since it fell on Christmas Eve. But I hope that this is still helpful this year.
What is your image of Mary?
Growing up, I went to a Catholic elementary school called Holy Cross. In each classroom you could always find two things, a crucifix that hung front and center in the room. And also, a statue of Mary that rested on a ledge close to the classroom door. Each statue of Mary was the same. She stood standing with her arms open wearing a sky-blue shawl and looking so peaceful.
I remember it well because every day we would turn to the corner before lunch, where Mary was, and say our lunchtime prayer, which included the Hail Mary.
At the time, I don’t recall overthinking it too much. We were taught in school that Mary was Holy, that she was the mother of Jesus, and that she was blessed. So, to me, it just made sense that she would be honored in the faith.
For many Christians around the world, the Virgin Mary is THE icon of faith. That alongside the cross. There are shrines, statues, dedications, and prayers all associated with the Blessed Mother.
The most famous or most visited being: Our Lady of Guadalupe, also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe is associated with a series of five Marian apparitions in December 1531 and she’s adored in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, in Mexico City. This sanctuary is the most-visited Catholic shrine in the world and the third most-visited sacred site.
But, in the Lutheran tradition, we don’t often talk about Mary as much. There is a simple and not very good reason to explain it… For many in the Lutheran tradition, the worship of Mary is too Catholic. The most that we might see or hear of Mary in some Lutheran churches, is a stain glassed window and a nativity set.
But Mary’s story offers us so much. And Martin Luther, our founder, had a deep spirituality and appreciation for her. Because her story means something for us. And today, we hear her words that have been spread through prayer and song for generations. The Magnificat.
Mary’s Song – The Magnificat
“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.”
Martin Luther once wrote in a letter about the Magnificat,
“The tender mother of Christ does the same here, teaching us with her words and by the example of her experience how to know, love, and praise God. With a leaping and joyful spirit she boasts and praises God for regarding her, despite her low estate and her nothingness. We must believe that she came of poor, despised, and lowly parents. To paint this for the eyes of the simple, there were undoubtedly daughters of chief priests and counselors in Jerusalem who were rich, young, educated, and held in high regard by all people, just as there are today daughters of kings, princes, and the rich. The same was also true of many another city. Even in Nazareth, her own town, she was not the daughter of one of the chief rulers but a poor and plain citizen’s daughter, whom no one looked up to or held in high regard. To her neighbors and their daughters, she was but a simple maiden, tending the cattle and doing the housework, and she was certainly no greater than any house servant who does what she is told to do around the house.”[1]
I hope you know where I am going with this.
Yet again in our lectionary readings (the assigned readings for this year’s Advent), our central character in the story is of humble origins. Of little significance in the eyes of the world. And yet God chooses her. Not just for a simple task either. But for probably the hardest task that has ever been asked of a human person.
Often in our minds, Mary’s story stops on Christmas Eve. She gives birth to Jesus and miraculously he becomes a human man 30 years later and the story picks up from there. But Mary raises the child Jesus. She protects him by fleeing to Egypt and fleeing King Herod’s wrath. She likely receives scrutiny and shame for the unorthodox nature of his conception and birth. She follows him throughout his life, even questioning some of his decisions out of fear or concern for his safety. She will be there with him throughout his entire life. Ultimately seeing her worst fears come true at the foot of the cross.
Mary’s story is deeply interwoven into the story of Jesus. She serves as a reminder of where Jesus came from. And she offers up an opportunity for us to see ourselves in the story.
Preaching Possibilities
Our Unexpected Song
You see, if God can choose Mary, God can choose us. If God can come from humble origins, then God can come from even us. And Mary and her song today remind us that this is not a burden but is a blessing.
My wife, Pastor Sarah, wrote a sermon a few years back that has stuck with me. The Magnificat is often known as Mary’s song. And so, Sarah posed the question, what if Mary sang this to Jesus as a lullaby? “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior…”
What if she sang these words to Jesus as he lay in the Manger, these words coming from a humble mother, these words of love, becoming so ingrained in his soul that it inspired the work that he would do.
Jesus wasn’t rich or wealthy and never sought extravagance. Jesus didn’t come to being in the military, Jesus didn’t come to be a king as this world would expect. But instead, Jesus immediately went out to heal those who were sick and suffering. Jesus went out to feed the hungry. Jesus lifted up the lowly and the oppressed. Jesus associated with the outcast and the downtrodden.
What if Mary’s song was the song in Jesus’ head as he went out into the world, seeing the beloved-ness of all of God’s children. Loving the world as he was loved by Mary.
Mary is so important to the story, especially at this moment just before Christmas Eve, because she reminds us to see ourselves in the story. To see ourselves as being chosen by God for purposes grander than we could ever know. To do amazing things in this world with God choosing us.
But she also reminds us, that God has come for us as well. For we need the grace of God as well. We need the presence of Christ in our lives, there to lift us up when we are down. There to comfort us and to love us when we are low. There to ensure that we know that we are worthy when we do not feel as though we deserve it. There to redeem us and save us.
God comes to us in the unexpected places. In the Manger because there was no room in the inn. On the cross redeeming the whole world. In the humble origins of a young mother.
When we know that these are the places that God has been, we know that God can be there for us as well. We know that God can use us as well. And we know that there is a hope for this world because God will be in it.
[1] Philip Krey & Peter Krey, Luther’s Spirituality, 96.
Micah Krey 
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