Who Are You Looking For?

46 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50 His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. 52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; 53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. 54 He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.” Luke 1:46-55 (NRSV)

Mary’s divinely inspired song of praise, her psalm for her unborn son, provides us with a glimpse of who she expects this son be and what she expects his presence on earth to bring. The blessed mother of Jesus understood the prophecies and the scriptures; in fact Mary’s song reflects Hannah’s song of praise for her son Samuel that we find in the book of 1 Samuel in the Old Testament. Mary anticipated the coming Messiah that the scriptures and the prophets described, and she knows that this child she is carrying is the Messiah. We’ve just heard that wonderful song “Mary Did You Know?” That is a song of rhetorical questions. Of course Mary knew! She knew what Isaiah had prophesied about the Messiah, that he would bring a new kingdom and that he would suffer for many, and she knew that she was to give birth to this Messiah.

You see, Mary’s position in Jewish society was with the pious poor, the people of Israel who were mired in abject poverty but worshiped God and held a great hope for the coming king, the Messiah promised in scripture, who would bring justice and restore them from their suffering and oppressed state into the kingdom. And she knew that she carried this Messiah.

This blessed mother to be was engaged to Joseph, an observant Jew, a man of the Torah, skilled as a carpenter. Mary found herself pregnant before the wedding ceremony and shunned even by the poor of Israel. But Mary knew that she carried this Messiah and that God had looked upon her with favor and because of the great things done for her by God, she would be called blessed.

Mary suffered with the pious poor, suffered as an unwed mother, and she would suffer as a widow. She knew the prophecies and that this Messiah she carried would suffer and that she would suffer as only a mother can when her child suffers. But she had great hope because she knew she carried the coming king.

She knew this king would scatter the proud, lift up the poor, provide daily bread for the hungry, and restore God’s people. Most of all, she knew that God saved her and that this Messiah would save the world.

Mary, the blessed mother of Jesus, was looking for the savior of the world, the king who would bring justice for his people. The justice of the Kingdom of God, not the justice of this world that is concerned with punishment and retribution, concerned with “taking a pound of flesh,” but the justice that restores mankind to God, to self, to others, and to all of creation. This is the justice that is experienced by Jesus’ disciples when they know, believe, and live the greatest commandment; “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”

Mary was looking for the Jesus that would bring this justice to the world. Justice that is found in the will of God being done on earth. Justice that is lived by his people in the Kingdom of God on earth.

As we celebrate the birth of Jesus tomorrow I want us to consider this question: Who is the Jesus we are looking for? Are we looking for Emmanuel, God with us? Are we looking for the king of eternity? Are we looking for the Jesus who brings the justice of his kingdom to earth? Or, are we looking for some other Jesus, one who fits in a tiny box that we open when it suits us, when we can’t get things done on our own? Or a Jesus who we try to fit into our notion of what he should be for us?

I want to challenge us to look for Emmanuel, because he is with us. I want us to look for the king of eternity because we entered eternity the moment we became his disciple. I want us to look for the Jesus who brings the justice of his kingdom to earth. If we will look for that Jesus we will find him. Not just tomorrow, but every day of the year.

If we will look for the Jesus that Mary was looking for and we will live out loving the Lord our God with all our hearts, and with all our souls, and with all our strength, and with all our minds; and our neighbors as ourselves, and I mean really living out loving God and others, every day of the year, we will not only find the Jesus who brings the justice of his kingdom to earth, we will experience it and lives will be changed in Colorado Springs and everywhere we go.

We’ve seen and experienced the justice of Jesus: loving god and loving others in a fantastic way the past couple of months. We have seen a phenomenal response by SCC to our Women of Valor Ministry, we’ve seen a phenomenal response to families in need as small groups and ministries have adopted families for the holidays, and we have seen a phenomenal response as nearly 100 people from this congregation volunteered to serve over 8,000 families today in partnership with Mr. Biggs and our community. And I want to applaud and affirm the justice we have seen. And I want you to understand clearly that that is exactly the justice Jesus brought everyday during his earthly ministry and that we need to bring everyday as his disciples.

Listen to the words of Jesus as he described the coming judgment:

34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ Matthew 25:34-40 (NRSV)

That is living the justice of Jesus. Let’s live every day loving God and others. Let’s live every day bringing the justice of Jesus to the world. Look for the Jesus that Mary was looking forward to and you will find him at work in your life, and through you at work in the world.

Let’s pray.

Father we praise you and thank you for sending your only Son, the Messiah. Be with us now and tomorrow and fill us with the power of your Spirit as we live as your instruments of justice as you restore this fallen world. Let your light shine through your disciples every day.