Christmas Carols (1) Series

Christmas Carols (Mary)

Scott Bayles, pastor

Blooming Grove Christians Church: 11/29/15

Now that Thanksgiving has passed the airwaves will be besieged by Christmas music. Even if you wanted to, there is no possible way for you to escape hearing Christmas carols over the next few weeks. In church, while you’re shopping, while you’re on hold with the cable company, out of kids’ mouths, 24/7 on WBGL you’re going to be inundated with Christmas carols. Rather than fight the inevitable, I’d like to capitalize on that this year at The Grove.

You see, Christmas and music go hand-in-mitten. The tradition of singing carols at Christmas time can be traced all the way back to the very beginning. The Nativity story, as told in the first two chapters of Luke, actually contains 4 short songs. Unlike some of the familiar tunes we’ll hear on the radio this winter, these songs were not written or performed by famous singers or poets. Instead, men, women and angels sang spontaneously from the heart, inspired by the miracle of Christ’s birth. While we don’t know the tune and the lyrics may not all be familiar, these four songs form the first Christmas Carols ever sung.

The first one comes to us from the heart and lips of Jesus’s young mother, Mary. You know Mary’s story. Once you hear it, you can never forget. A teenage virgin betrothed to a carpenter is startled by an angel and humbled by the announcement that she would bear the Son of God. Her explanation for the pregnancy is unbelievable, even blasphemous. Her fiancé breaks up with her and Mary leaves town under a cloud of shame and suspicion to visit her aunt Elizabeth in the hill country of Judea. If anyone can understand Mary’s troubles, it’s Elizabeth. She, likewise, experienced a miraculous conception.

Even though Elizabeth was well beyond child-bearing years, God promised her a son in her old age. By the time Mary arrives, Elizabeth is in her third trimester. As soon as Mary knocked on the door and called out “hello,” Elizabeth’s child leapt within her and she knew instantly that Mary would be the mother of God. She announces to her niece, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!” (Luke 1:42 NIV).

Mary responds to Elizabeth’s blessing with a song of praise that has since been titled the Magnificat. It sounds like the name of a superhero cat to me, but it’s actually Latin for “my soul magnifies.” That’s what Mary does. She magnifies the Lord with this song that she signs. In it, she specifically magnifies three qualities or traits of God.

First, Mary praises God for being mindful.

• GOD IS MINDFUL

I heard about a little girl who watched her mom and dad get ready for Christmas. Her dad seemed preoccupied with burdens and bundles. Her mom was caught up in parties and presents. Neither had any time for her and she felt like she was being ignored, especially after hearing one of her parents say, “Would you please get out of the way?” That night before going to sleep, she knelt by her bed and prayed this prayer: “Our Father, who art in heaven, please forgive our Christmases as we forgive those who Christmas against us.” None of us like to be ignored, do we? We want to be noticed.

In the opening stanza of the Magnificat, Mary sings, “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant” (Luke 1:46-48 NIV). Mary was genuinely surprised that God would notice someone like her. The NLT translates this verse: “for he took notice of his lowly servant girl” (vs. 48 NLT).

Mary was… well, frankly, she was a nobody. She wasn’t a princess or prophetess. She never wrote a book, never held a political office, never graduated high-school or went to college, never visited a big city, never even won a chili cook-off. She probably never traveled more than a hundred miles from her hometown. And did I mention that her hometown was Nazareth?

The fact that Mary lived in Nazareth means that she came from humble beginnings. Nazareth wasn’t known for much. It was a small, insignificant town on the outskirts of a Roman garrison. It boasted a few bars and a red light district that offered a little weekend entertainment to imperial soldiers. Estimates put the population during Jesus’ day at around 80. Needless to say, Nazareth wasn’t the brightest star in the ancient Near East. It was more of a wide spot on the road. There was even a saying once repeated by Philip, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” (John 1:46 NLT). It seems like this little dig was repeated often enough that Mary became convinced the answer was no. Maybe Mary felt just as small and insignificant as the town from which she hailed.