Readings: Psalm 89, 2 Samuel 7:1-11, Romans 16:25-27, Luke 1:46-55
Preached at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, NY, December 24, 2023
At the heart of the Christmas story is the expectation of the birth of a very special child. Of course, every parent and grandparent know, every child born into their family is a very special child.
But not every child has their birth greeted by angels, shepherds and travelers from the East bringing gifts of Frankincense, Gold and Myrrh. The Christmas child, our Lord Jesus Christ, God incarnate born in Bethlehem’s manger is… if you like… beyond special.
Scripture tells us that Mary, the mother of Jesus will be counted as blessed for generations to come. What I find intriguing about Mary is that she who bore the most special child ever, claimed to be nobody special. Mary is crystal clear that if glory were to be placed anywhere or given to anybody, then glory must be given to God.
Her great song of praise, known as the ‘Magnificat’, begins by proclaiming, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He has looked with favor on the lowliness of His servant.”
The Message Bible transliterates those verses. “I'm bursting with God-news; I'm dancing the song of my Savior God. God took one good look at me and look what happened— I'm the most fortunate woman on earth!” To put it another way; “Look at me! I’m nobody. Yet unbelievably God is doing something wonderful in my ordinary life. Better put on your dancing shoes, God is much greater than we believe!”
To our human way of thinking somebody destined to be a King should be born in noble circumstances. To a throne. To richness. To the proud and significant. Yet the Son of God is born to young girl, struggling to make ends meet, in the middle of nowhere. The angel comes to one who realized that she was an extremely unlikely candidate for God’s favor and can hardly fathom what is taking place.
There is a sense of “Can you believe it?” attached to the wonder in her words. ‘He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly; He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.”
This hymn of praise is about a lot more than just Mary and the child she bore. It is a song that is phrased and springs from the rich imagery of the Old Testament. It calls upon the listener to remember the glorious past in such a way as it becomes a present reality. To magnify in our minds the notion that the God who has done wonders in the past has wonders still to do in the future.
We easily forget that between the closing prophecies of the Old Testament and the beginnings of the gospel story many years rolled by. The nation was not what it used to be. God seemed conspicuous by His absence rather than by His Presence. So, we are given these reminders that God hadn’t left the building or given up on His people. Verse 50 “His mercy is for those who fear Him from generation to generation”
The eternal nature of the great promises of covenant and blessings given to the Fathers of the faith are recalled. “He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, according to the promise He made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to His descendants forever." Mary is aware that what is happening to her has a significance for the whole people, not just for herself and her circle of friends and family.
This call to “Magnify the Lord with me” is not just about, “Hey… guess what I’m having a baby” but is telling us that our conception of God has become too small and too limited. Remember what God can do! Remember how God has worked! And as you remember… get ready… because God is about to do something you wouldn’t believe!
What an awesome text this is to be focusing on Christmas Eve. I can’t speak for you but I’m prone to forget. I forget that when God shows up God usually works through the common place and the ordinary to do extraordinary things. I forget that in God’s economy the little things often turn out to be the big things and that the most important thing is showing love through the next thing we do.
I lose sight of the fact that God wants to fulfill Gods purposes through an army of ordinary people. I forget that it’s not about what I can do, but about what the Holy Spirit of God can work through me when in humility I admit I am powerless and weak and lost. I forget that God is still God every day that God creates.
So, I invite us this day to hear Mary’s song. "My soul magnifies the Lord”. To magnify something means you take something small, and you make it bigger. I ask you to pray that God will take our small smoldering simmering attempts at being faithful and make them grow into something that changes other peoples’ lives.
I pray that God may use the limited expectations we attach to a Christmas holiday and turn them into a true experience of celebrating the glory and majesty of the real message of Christmas – that God is still in the business of redeeming and saving and renewing and creating.
Rejoice in God.
Rejoice in God.
Rejoice in God!
God looks with favor upon our life. God sees our life as fertile ground for His promises to be fulfilled. And it’s not about us. If it were all about us then it would never happen. We are not that significant. But when God breathes life into our daily routines, when God takes our daily lot and it becomes the work of building His Kingdom, then our lives have a significance that is beyond anything we dare imagine.
As we sing during this Christmas season...
Joy to the world, the Lord has come
Let earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare Him room
And Heaven and nature sing
And Heaven and nature sing
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing
We have lit candles for Hope, Peace, Joy and Love. We have gathered to praise God in Advent anticipation. It's Christmas Eve! We have gathered this morning. We will light candles and sing carols and hear afresh the Christmas story this evening as our Sunday School presents the Nativity.
It’s still not enough. It’s still just a taster. Magnify it. It’s not about what we’re doing, it’s about what God has done, is doing and will do throughout the whole of creation, heaven, and nature now and forever. And rejoice because it is through the faithfulness of ordinary lives that the colors are added to the bigger picture.
Mary declares: "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” Mary's song was the prelude. Today we rejoice that the promises were fulfilled, the Christ will come, His love will change everything.
The challenge is... how will we be changed? How will Christ be birthed in our hearts and lives in ways that declare to all people the reason for the season? How will our everyday ordinariness be transformed by the glory of the Christmas story?
Will it be a little thing? Or will we allow the message of His coming to be birthed in our hearts so we cannot help but allow God's love to bubble up and overflow. Will we respond to Mary's invitation... “Come and magnify the Lord with me!”
Know that into the darkness of our world a Savior will come. Know that through His life and love God will demonstrate that whatever life may bring, God will travel with us, through the joy and through the darkness. That's huge. We are not alone. God is with us.
Glory to God. Amen!
Rev Adrian J. Pratt B.D.
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