Who is This Glad Girl and Why is She Singing?
Luke 1:46-56
All the Whos down in Who-ville liked Christmas a lot
But the Grinch, who lived just north of Who-ville did not…
So begins the classic tale How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Theodore Geisel, a. k. a. Dr. Seuss. Do you know the story? High above a small town where people joyfully celebrate Christmas lives a creature known as the Grinch. He can’t understand what all this noise and singing and feasting and giving of presents is all about. Even after he sneaks into Who-ville dressed as St. Nick and steals all the presents from the Whos, he is dumbfounded to find that them still singing and celebrating. While the Grinch experiences a sort of conversion Dr. Seuss still leaves the question largely unanswered: why is everybody so happy at Christmas?
Has this question ever crossed your mind? You ever find yourself surrounded by people full of holiday cheer, but you don’t felt much like singing? Everybody around you is smiling and laughing, but you feel like weeping. They’re all so carefree while your mind is full of worry, stress and pain? Maybe you’re on the Grinch’s side: why is everybody else so happy?
When I feel that way, I like to reread the story of a young girl in the Bible who had a lot of reasons to be a Grinch at Christmas. She is a member of the poorest class of her people having no political power or rights. She is young and female in a culture that treats women as little more than property. She’s an unwed mother, which is often an automatic death sentence in her community. Her fiancée is seriously considering calling the marriage off, which could mean she would never find a husband who would have her. Christmas is coming- in fact the very first Christmas- and in spite of all she can be worried and sad about, the Bible tells us in Luke 1:46-56 that she is so happy she is singing a song. Who is this glad girl and why is she singing?
As we look at her song this morning, my prayer is that the song of this young girl named Mary will put a song in your heart too. Let’s pray
PRAYER
Let me suggest 4 ways Mary’s song can set your heart singing this Christmas:
I. BECAUSE GOD MAKES YOU HAPPY. (v 46-47)
What has 4 legs and an arm? A happy pit bull.
What makes you happy? There may be more than a million answers to that question. Some say money can make you happy, that marriage can make you happy, that divorce can make you happy, that a new house/car/boat, can make you happy, that family can make you happy, that religion can make you happy. What or Who would you say makes you happy?
Mary’s song makes it clear the reason she’s singing is because God makes her happy. My soul rejoices in God my Savior
There are a couple of things I notice about the opening verse of Mary’s hymn of happiness.
First of all, I notice that Mary knows God personally. God she says is my Savior. She’ not one of these folks that store up a lot of religious trivia about God in her mind. Her relationship is real and personal.
Second I notice that Mary doesn’t claim to be sinless She knows she is a sinner who needs God as her Savior just as anybody else does. Mary is a special young lady, but she is human and depraved, just as you and I are.
Finally, did you notice how she feels about her relationship with God? Joyful. That word literally means to jump up and down for joy. Think of a child, so happy they literally leap for joy. This is how Mary describes her relationship with God. This young woman sings because God makes her happy.
Who or what could make you that happy? Millions of people think they know the answer to this question, but I fear they are mistaken. Watch “Wheel of Fortune” or “The Price is Right” and you will see people jump for joy over a new car, or a new house or a fabulous vacation for two to Cancun Mexico. Watch the fans and the players scream and shout when their team wins the championship. People experience happiness and joy when they get married, when a baby is born, when they get a Christmas bonus. Its not hard to be happy when things go good.
But Mary’s song was not produced by a deeper joy than this. She was happy even though she didn’t have much money. She sang for joy even when it seemed she was numbered among the losers in life. She found her joy in the Lord and it was a joy that couldn’t be shaken nor taken by anyone or anything else.
This joy is the reason Mary could sing. This joy is available to you too. It is a happiness that does not depend on your bank account or what’s in your garage. It is a joy that flows even through tears and suffering. It is the joy Jesus Himself promises to anyone who will hear His Word and believe it
Jn 15:11 These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.
One wise man put it this way:
Happiness of heart can no more be attained without God than light and sunshine can be had without the sun. On every side, in every part of the universe men and women are seeking happiness and cannot find it because they do not seek it from God.
My friend let me guarantee you this: unless you find your happiness in God, you will never truly be happy. Who is this girl and why is she singing? She is Mary, mother of Jesus who finds her happiness in God. Her song calls you to find your happiness in God, too
Mary’s Song also describes another reason you and I can sing for joy:
II. BECAUSE GOD HAS A SPECIAL PART FOR YOU TO PLAY (v. 48-50)
Two of the most amazing discoveries you will ever in life come when you realize:
1) God is working out His plan for this world, and
2) He has chosen a special part for you to play in accomplishing His plan.
Mary’s song celebrates the part God has for her to play in His plan for the world. The angel Gabriel has already revealed in vs. 26-38 that she will be privileged to be the mother of God’s Messiah. God gives her a very important part to play in His plan and it excites her that she can do this for Him.
But pause for a moment and remember: this opportunity will cost Mary. She and Joseph know the truth about her pregnancy, but her story might be a little hard to swallow for others. After Jesus is born, King Herod will present a real danger to Mary and her family. And don’t forget the words of the prophet Simeon addressed specifically to Mary in
Lk 2:35 …yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also…
And yet in spite of the challenges and problems, Mary is glad to be chosen for this special part to play in God’s plan. She sees beyond her own struggle and pain to God’s power, mercy, and holiness. Mary sings for joy that a God so great not only notices a poor nobody like her but actually invites her to be a part of His plan to save the world.
Let me ask you: have you discovered your part to play in God’s plan? John Powell writes:
I have a sign in the mirror of my room I see it every morning in my groggy condition, when I first wake up: WHAT HAVE YOU GOT GOING TODAY, GOD? I’D LIKE TO BE A PART OF IT. THANKS FOR LOVING ME.
I have to find my place in God’s plans, rather than make my own little plans and then ask God to support them: "Come on, God, give me an A in this course. Come on, God, do this for me." Instead, I pray, "What have you got going today, God? You love this world. You loved this world into life. You created this world. We’re all yours. What’s my part in the drama? What part do you want me to play? I will play any part you say. Want me to be a success? I’ll be a success for you. Want me to be a failure? I’ll fail for you. Whatever you want."
My friends, this is the recipe for joy: find your part to play in God’s plan. In spite of the mess people make out of this sad, sinful world, God is still working out His incredible, glorious plan to change the world. Just like Mary, He has a part for you to play in His plan; but also like Mary, you have to say “Yes” to God’s plan in your life. Will it cost you? Yes. But then anything you do that makes a real difference is costly
The question is, do you just want to pass away time, or do you want your life to count for something? Who is this girl and why is she singing? She is Mary, mother of Jesus, a woman who gladly plays her part in God’s plan. Her song calls you and I to find our part in His plan and play it, too.
But Mary’s song is not done. She goes on to sing about God’s plans to instigate a revolution
III. BECAUSE GOD TURNS THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN (v. 51-53)
So many misunderstand Christmas because they misunderstand what God did when He sent His Son to earth. Jesus was not born to make us nicer people, or to somehow help us learn how to play nice with one another. He came to usher in God’s kingdom in a fallen world. He came to turn everything on its head, and show us reality is not defined by human reasoning, but by God’s standards- which are very different from our own. Mary recognizes this revolutionary way of thinking in these verses.
He has shown strength with His arm= He has bared His arm. The image is God baring His muscle to use His power. What is He doing?
Putting down the proud and lifting up the humble. Those who sit on thrones of pride God pulls down and lays low. Those who humble themselves, He lifts up. No matter how high the proud sit, they are headed for a tumble; no matter how low the humble stoop, they are destined for higher ground. God turns the world of the proud and the humble upside down.
Starving the rich, and satisfying the hungry. Mary’s words remind me of Jesus’ words in Lk 6:21, 25 21Blessed are you who hunger now, For you shall be filled…25Woe to you who are full, For you shall hunger… Those who are hungry God satisfies. Those who eat high off the hog God sends away hungry. God turns the world of the full and the hungry upside down.
The images here in Mary’s song of praise celebrate God’s power to change the status quo. People like to think that selfishness and pride are what it takes to get to the top; but God says that is just a detour to the bottom. The real way to climb higher is to humble yourself before God. People like to think that the self- satisfied and self-sufficient are those who have it made in life; but God says it is those who hunger and thirst for righteousness that will find real satisfaction in life. The world says the happiest people are those who serve and satisfy themselves, but God says these are the real failures. The truly successful people in life are those who are humble and hungry enough to be used by God. Mary celebrates the fact that God’s power can put this upside down world right-side up again.
It is strange to think that the road to joy is open only if you are humble and hungry, but that’s what Mary is telling us. Only when you step off the throne and fall at the feet of Jesus will you ever find true joy.
Only when you are starving for the Bread of Life and the Water of Life will your soul truly find satisfaction. Are you bowed at the feet of Jesus this morning? Are you hungry and thirsty to know Him more?
Who is this girl and why is she singing? She’s Mary, mother of Jesus, glad that God is turning this world upside down. Her song calls you and I to let God turn our world upside down too. Finally, Mary’s song celebrates the fact of God’s faithfulness
IV. BECAUSE GOD ALWAYS KEEPS HIS PROMISES (v. 54-56)
It was the day after Christmas at a church when the pastor noticed that the baby Jesus was missing from the manger scene set up inside the church. He hurries outside and sees a little boy with a red wagon and in the wagon was the figure of the little infant Jesus. He walks up to the boy and says, "Where did you get your passenger?" The little boy replied, "I got him from the church." "And why did you take him out of the church?" The boy explains, "Well, a week before Christmas I prayed to the little Lord Jesus and I told him if he would bring me a red wagon for Christmas I would give him a ride around the block in it."
Kids know the importance of keeping your promises, even if we adults sometimes forget.
Christmas is the fulfillment of God’s promises made over 1900 years earlier to an old man named Abraham. Wrapped up in His Word to the father of the faithful was this pledge:
Ge 12:3 …in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
For almost 2000 years Israel would hold on to God’s promise through their stormy history. They would go into slavery, be liberated from bondage, only to rebel against God and almost be destroyed. He would forgive them, and give them a king, but then their unfaithfulness would lead them into exile. Some would hold on to God’s promise made by the prophets of a Messiah, a Savior and King Who would be born to finally fulfill Gods promise made to Abraham. Some would wonder if God has forgotten His promise. But Mary sings about God’s …remembrance of His mercy.. To Abraham and to his seed forever. (v. 54, 55)
Mary believes in the God Who keeps His promises. Her song proclaims God will not forget His mercy. God will not forget His people. God will not forget His promise. My Son will be proof that God always keeps His promises.
What a marvelous thing a promise is! When a person makes a promise, she reaches out into an unpredictable future and makes one thing predictable: she will be there even when being there costs her more than she wants to pay. When a person makes a promise, he stretches himself out into circumstances that no one can control and controls at least one thing: he will be there no matter what the circumstances turn out to be. With one simple word of promise, a person creates an island of certainty in a sea of uncertainty.
That’s what a promise is supposed to be. But too often, people don’t keep their promises and you end up wondering if anybody ever keeps them. Mary sings out loud and clear for everyone to hear: God always keeps His promises
The Bible is full of God’s promises to you and me: promises of His love, promises of eternal, abundant life through Christ, promises that He will never leave nor forsake you, promises that He cares about you, no matter who you are. Do you believe God keeps His promises?
Who is this girl, and why is she singing? She’s Mary, mother of Jesus, a woman who testifies that God always keeps His promises.
Who are you, and what do you have to sing about this morning?
I know you have your share of troubles and heartaches. Many of us are stressed out and anxious during the holiday. I know many of you share a secret ache especially at this time of year. It would be so easy for you and I to live at the top of Mt Crumpet with the Grinch instead down in Who-ville with all those noisy, singing Whos.
But still there is this song, sung by this young girl who had her own plate loaded down with trouble and uncertainty, and yet she could sing. She sang because God had made her heart happy; she sang because she knew she had a special part to play in God’s plan. She sang because God was turning her world upside down. She sang because God always keeps His promises.
My friend, this Christmas, why not let God put a song in your heart? You’ve tried to find happiness in so many other places- why not come and find your joy in Jesus? Why not bow before the Savior Who once lay in that manger and later died on the Cross and rose from the grave to give you a song of life and joy that will never end? This is what He offers you right now if you will come and receive it.
