O Favored Ones Series

Our Souls Magnify the Lord!

Luke 1:46b-55

† In His Name †

Grace and peace,f rom God our Father, and our Lord, Jesus, the Messiah!

Hilarious News!

Sarah, Hannah, Elizabeth, Mary, and You

Sarah thought it was most amusing, Hannah realized it was a gift of God, delivering her from her misery, a gift beyond any comprehension, Elizabeth’s felt similarly, and her husband was so awe-struck by the news, that despite being a preacher, he couldn’t speak for 9 months! And Mary, well Mary said words, that have become a song, words that echo through churches even until now.

They all reacted to the same news, that they were pregnant! Joy, laughter, relief, filled their hearts, praises flowed from their voices. Well, except for Zechariah, Elizabeth’s Husband, and probably Joseph’s, who had a bit of trouble believing the news.

As we work our way through our Gospel reading this day, I want you to see yourselves in Mary’s shoes, to realize the awe that she felt, to rejoice with her, to share in the joy, of knowing what it means to be pregnant with Christ, to bear Him in love, not just for your salvation, but for the salvation of the world.

For you see, by the end of the sermon, I hope you will understand, each one of you, even the guys, are pregnant. Yes, I did say, each on of you is pregnant. Ladies, stop looking at your husbands and picturing them pregnant. Seriously, you bear Christ the Messiah, and you have the incredible blessing to deliver Him to the world, just as this young lady did.

We are going to look at this song of Mary today, at her claims of how God has worked in her life. As we do, we will realize that God is working in our lives, in the exact same manner.

And then, our souls shall magnify the Lord, and our spirits rejoice in God, our Savior.

(pause)

1. Low Estate of the slave/servant–

a. Mary wasn’t anything special

b. Devastated, slave to sin

c. You ain’t there? You will be

We shall deal with the opening of the song, towards the end. In verse 48, we start examining the song,

48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

The humble estate of His servant, is how Mary describes her situation, at least in this translation. Her situation was not what we call advantageous; even as we translate the words into English, the translators are kind. The words used to describe her, are in other places translated as humiliation, instead of humble estate, and slave, instead of servant. Her future was not what we would call bright, her future husband, nothing more than a common construction worker, the kind that is hired by the day. Yet to this humble lady, we find an incredible blessing coming.

Yet, even here, we can identify with Mary, for before we bear Christ, we to are in a situation that, should we think about it, is humiliating. The stigma for a young woman, unmarried, to be found pregnant in those days, was incredible. People assumed that it was evidence of sin, and yet she bore it. Can you imagine if the evidence of each our sins were so clear to see? What kind of humiliation would we have put ourselves under? She was called a servant, a slave, because of economics; whereas we were slaves to sin, unable to serve any other master. What humiliation, to realize that we are enslaved to the sins, and passions that so easily betray us.

Yet, when God gave this young woman the Messiah, and that was known, she was called blessed. So too are we blessed, when the Holy Spirit calls us to life, and we are joined to Christ in our baptism. When we are given forgiveness and the gift of the Holy Spirit. All shame is gone. Like Mary, we find the truth of verse 52 – He does lift up, for that is what exalt means, he does lift up those who are humiliated. He forgives us, and takes us from the lowest of the low, and makes us children of the King.

It must be noted, that God does humble those who refuse to recognize their need. Those who believe they are at the top, that they do not need God, for they have achieved everything else themselves. Part of me wants to rejoice, for I see the powerful humiliated; yet even more, can I rejoice, when I see, that because they are humble, they can see God, and be exalted along with us! That is part of the incredible work of Christ that we deliver to the world, that enemies can be reconciled.