Mission Focussed Church - Gary Davidge
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39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea,
40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth.
41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!
43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.
45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”
46 And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name.
50 His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.
51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful
55 to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.”
Rumours about the song they tried to ban
Rumours about the song they tried to ban
Did you know that the governments of at least three countries have tried to ban Mary’s song?
I have read that in several academic books, but sadly I haven’t actually been able to back it up. I think it might be one of those myths like the time Birmingham city council tried to ban Christmas, when actually all they were trying to do was make more money by extending the market season.
But there’s a reason that the myth about Mary’s song persists - and it’s because it’s believable. After all, this is uncomfortable stuff for the powerful.
At the funeral of Queen Elizabeth, the abbey was filled with the great and powerful from across the world. There was jostling for position, and a refusal by some world leaders to get on the bus with everyone else. Prime Ministers past and present were gathered, and all manner of Royals. Justin Welby preached a great sermon. He talked of the Queen’s faith in Jesus Christ, and he said these words:
But in all cases those who serve will be loved and remembered when those who cling to power and privileges are long forgotten.
I wonder if anyone listening felt a bit of a dig there. I had my own stint in politics, and though I don’t think I went into it looking for power or privilege, it was amazing to me how quickly power, once gained, becomes the master. I was put into positions I didn’t seek, then became desperate to keep them. I had to daily examine myself. It was easier not to seek power when I had none.
When the powerful are confronted with the Gospel, it’s uncomfortable.
But before we look at Mary’s radical song, whether or not it was banned, let’s look at the occasion.
Mary has had an angelic visit, and has been told that something unprecedented will happen to her. She will conceive a child by the Holy Spirit. And the angel had said these words to her:
31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.
32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,
33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
And almost as an afterthought, the angel Gabriel tells her:
36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month.
So, Mary got ready and hurried to an unnamed town. It either doesn’t matter where it was, or it was just incredibly unimportant. Most of my life, when I met people and they asked where I was from, I’d say London. Sometimes they’d ask for more detail, and I’d say ‘Poplar’ and they would kind of glaze over. But after Call the Midwife came out, there was a bit more recognition. Mary’s family are not important people. They’re not the Kensington type. They’re Poplar before Call the Midwife.
So Mary goes to visit Elizabeth, and immediately Elizabeth’s baby leaps for joy and Elizabeth herself is filled with the Holy Spirit. We’ve been looking at, and in the new year we’ll be looking more at the gifts of the Spirit.
I think what we see in Elizabeth here is that being filled with the Holy Spirit gives her knowledge and insight about physical and spiritual matters. She proclaims that Mary is going to have a child, and she calls that child ‘my Lord’ in verse 43. In Luke’s Gospel, Elizabeth is the first person to call Jesus Lord, which in context is a divine title.
Elizabeth isn’t the only person filled with the Spirit. These opening chapters of Luke are full of the Holy Spirit and prophecy. The baby in Elizabeth’s womb, who will be called John, leaps at the sound of Mary’s voice. And again, Elizabeth has insight into what is going on - she interprets the baby’s movement - “the baby in my womb leaped for joy” (v. 44). Many readers have interpreted this as prophetic on baby John’s part.
And then Elizabeth says what I think is the centre of my message this morning:
45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”
This passage today echoes with two words - blessing, and generations.
We find blessing in verse 42 where Elizabeth says Mary and her baby are blessed, and in verse 45 where she who has trusted in the Lord is blessed. Then in Mary’s own song she says in verse 48:
48 for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed,
And we see so many references to the generations. From the baby leaping in Elizabeth’s womb to the child Mary will bear. Again, Mary refers to the generations as she says:
48 for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed,
And the mercy of God is passed down:
50 His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.
For Mary, what is happening to her is linked right back through the ages, as she says:
54 He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful
55 to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.”
The connection between the generations is the mercy of God - promised to Abraham, enacted through the times of Moses and the judges and the Kings and even the exile and the return. Mary is anchoring the birth of Jesus in the story of Israel’s God - the One who made promises to the ancestors and has kept those promises.
So let’s look at Mary’s song. Why is it so believable that authoritarian governments might want to ban it?
Well I want to be clear that this isn’t a political song. It is a song that should make politicians tremble, but it begins and ends with God glorified. In fact, the revolutionary parts of it are firmly anchored in the character and nature of God. Mary’s song is first and foremost a hymn about who God is.
What is God like? Who is He?
Have passage on screen at this point
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name.
50 His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.
51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful
55 to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.”
He is the Mighty One in being and in deed (vv49, 51)
Holy is His name (v49)
Merciful (vv50, 54)
He brings down the proud and rich (vv51, 52, 53)
He lifts up the humble and hungry (v52, 53)
And He is the promise keeper (v55)
If someone asks ‘do you believe in God?’, I think the most sensible answer is ‘which one?’ Mary believes in a specific God, who is Himself very powerful, but unlike other so-called gods He does not admire and exalt the powerful, but rather He lifts up the humble.
And this is the same God that we see walking the earth through the coming pages of Luke’s gospel. Jesus is the one who pays attention to the humble and the hungry. The rich literally go away from Him empty, while the poor have their lives transformed and five thousand hungry people are fed. We see Him do great and powerful things - healing and even raising the dead.
But Jesus is also the humble One who was lifted up. Firstly, on the cross, for us. Raised up, undignified and bruised for all to see. Literally lifted up in humility. But then, through the resurrection, lifted up to his rightful place, at the right hand of the Father who sent Him. And the ruler of this world has lost his throne and his dominion because of the humble One who was lifted up.
Now I said earlier that the centre of this message for me is in verse 45:
45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”
Here’s my question for you - is that just for Mary, or for all of us?
I think the message of the Bible is that those who trust in God are blessed. But I want us to think about what we mean by the promises of God. We can get it really wrong when we ascribe promises to God that He hasn’t made, and when we miss the ones He has.
Not all of us will fulfil this:
31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.
That was a specific promise to a specific person, and it was fulfilled. But there are other promises that are for us. Jesus promised that He would never leave or forsake us. He promised that He would return the book of Revelation promises that He will heal the world.
20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.
The blessed one is the one who trusts what God has said. The first, and most reliable way that God has spoken to us is through His Son, revealed by the Holy Spirit and in the Bible. He also speaks to us by the Holy Spirit as others exercise their spiritual gifts.
Example of my life group in recent months.
The joy of Elizabeth and the infant John is for all of us. Their joy was the joy that Jesus was coming. That God’s promise to Israel, the redeemer King who would save them, was being fulfilled. We live in that reality now.
Mary’s characterisation of Israel’s God is good news for all of us. Let’s remind ourselves what God is like:
He is the Mighty One in being and in deed (vv49, 51)
Holy is His name (v49)
Merciful (vv50, 54)
He brings down the proud and rich (vv51, 52, 53)
He lifts up the humble and hungry (v52, 53)
And He is the promise keeper (v55)
That is good news for all of us, unless we are wealthy and proud!
Mary’s song promises a future in which the proud and mighty are brought down, not by godless violence, but because there is a good God who is merciful, who Himself laid low, for us.
Finish with the song - way maker. Light in the darkness.
Reflect on the ways that God has kept his promises to you. Bring to him the areas that you find it hard to trust Him for. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfil His promises.
Questions
Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit, and this results in insight and knowledge. How have you recently encountered the Holy Spirit, either in yourself or in someone else?
Mary’s song describes Mary’s God - as you read her song again, what aspect of God’s character stands out to you most?
Elizabeth says “Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” How do we know which promises in the Bible are for us, now?