12-14-14: Magnified

Magnified

Luke 1: 46-56 (NIV)

And Mary said: “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. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.” Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.

When was the last time something so great happened in your life that you were just singing from the tree tops with joy?

When was the last time something so wonderful, so exciting happened to you that you couldn't stop talking about it? Something so joyous that you wanted to tell everyone?

Do you have a moment like that? A moment where you felt like you wanted to hire a sky writer so the whole world would know your glee? Or if not hire a sky writer, at least get on the phone and tell your best friend all about it?

Mary had a moment like that, and this morning's Gospel reading is her sining from the tree tops--her Magnificat that she can't help but burst into while she and Elizabeth talked about their miraculous pregnancies.

"Miraculous" seems like the only word there is to describe what Mary and Elizabeth shared. What other word could possibly describe finding out you're going to have a baby before you've even married your betrothed? What other word could describe finding out you're going to have a baby in your senior years, after being told throughout your whole adult life that you would never have children?

Mary and Elizabeth rejoice in the miraculous. Elsewhere, though, some of our other key players are, in fact, finding words other than "miraculous" to describe the news of these two wonder babies.

Zechariah, for example. Elizabeth's husband. He gets a visit from the angel Gabriel, in previous verses, and Gabriel tells him Congratulations! You're going to be a Dad!

Poor Zechariah is dumb-founded. He says, How can this be, since my wife is very old?

His word to describe this wonder baby was not "miraculous", but rather "unbelievable".

Gabriel didn't like that very much. As punishment for his disbelief, and for failing to appreciate the miracle, poor Zechariah is struck mute for the rest of Elizabeth's pregnancy. This might seem harsh, but hey, you don't talk back to God's angels.

To be fair to our friend Zechariah, he wasn't the only one who heard this wonderful news and responded with more than just joy. Mary was visited by the angel Gabriel too, and she also responded in disbelief--How can this be, she asked Gabriel, since I am a virgin?

But maybe Gabriel decided to cut Mary some slack for her disbelief and shock at the news of her pregnancy for a reason. Because if Zechariah's word for his wife's unlikely pregnancy was "unbelievable", Mary's word, even though she didn't say it, may very well have been "uh oh".

Zechariah was in a very, very different position than Mary. Certainly his wife's pregnancy with little John the Baptist would look unorthodox, but no one would question Elizabeth's character for being discovered to be with child. After all, she is married.

But not Mary. Mary wasn't married yet. She was betrothed, and to a good man, with a good job that would enable him to provide for her. But what would happen when he found out she was going to have a baby? He would know it wasn't his baby. Everyone would know. He'd have every right and reason to abandon her, and leave her shamed and destitute. And the thought crossed Joseph's mind--Matthew's Gospel tells us that before Joseph was enlightened by an angel visitor of his own, he had decided to quietly break up with Mary.

And that would be the best case scenario. If Joseph was spiteful, he could publicly accuse Mary of adultery, and watch her be killed by public stoning.

It takes guts to be a Mom. It takes even more guts to say yes to God's call even when you know there will be a heavy price to pay. But Mary had the guts to say yes to God.

She did more than that, though. Rather than finding out she was going to be in this difficult and potentially dire position and then react by going off to hide and feel conflicted about it, Mary went to see Elizabeth right away, so she could express her joy.

Mary saw that, even in the face of a difficult calling, even in the face of potential danger, and even in the face of her fear, there was a joy that couldn't be denied--she was going to have a baby! And instead of focusing on all of the negatives in her life, Mary set her sights on just that joy, and magnified it until it was all that mattered.

Part of what we can all celebrate during this Christmas season is our joy magnified. In spite of all the hecticness of this time of year, in spite of the busyness, and the stress, and the strain, God provides us with these wonderful moments of joy. Even if yours seems small, all of us have blessings in our lives that we can rejoice in.

And if we focus on those glimmers of joy, if we magnify them, if we join Mary in song, then we can follow her example of appreciating the greatness of our loving God in all times, in all places, and in all circumstances.

Amen.