What She Said

Luke 1:46b-55  (NRSV)

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.”

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Once upon a time . . .  That’s how some of our favorite stories begin.  Either that or “It was a dark and stormy night.”   In the Bible there is really no standard formula to begin a story, but some of the best stories begin with, “Now in this particular place there was living a woman whose name was (blank) and she was barren and without children.  Her husband loved her very much, even though she bore him no sons.”    Sarah was one of those women, remember?  And in her old age she became the mother of Isaac, whose son Jacob was the father of the 12 tribes of Israel.   Elizabeth was one of those women, who also had a son in her old age, who we know as John the Baptist.  And Hannah, the mother of Samuel, last of the judges, first of the prophets, he who put both Saul and David on the throne of Israel.  

Hannah is one of my favorite characters.  Greatly loved by her husband even though childless, she was teased and tormented by his other wife, who had borne many sons.  Hannah’s husband tried to convince her it was ok, he would always love her.  But he didn’t have to live with that other woman the way Hannah did, you know?  She prayed for a child in Shiloh, where the Ark of the Covenant was kept - because the Temple wasn’t built yet - and was so distraught and emotional in her praying that Eli, chief priest at the time, thought she was drunk.  But after speaking with her, he assured her that her prayer had been heard.  And truly God had heard her prayer, because she soon became pregnant and gave birth to a son who she named Samuel, which means Name of God.  Then she vowed to give him in to the service of God as soon as he was old enough.  When he was weaned, she took him to Eli and gave her son into his care.  Every year she would go and take Samuel a robe she had made for him, and she was rewarded for her faithfulness with three sons and two daughters.  I love that story, truly.  

But the best part of the story, in my mind, is what Hannah said after she took her young son to Eli, after she gave up her first born child into the service of God.  After taking her son to Shiloh

2 Hannah prayed and said,

“My heart exults in the Lord;

    my strength is exalted in my God.

My mouth derides my enemies,

    because I rejoice in my victory.

2 “There is no Holy One like the Lord,

    no one besides you;

    there is no Rock like our God.

3 Talk no more so very proudly,

    let not arrogance come from your mouth;

for the Lord is a God of knowledge,

    and by him actions are weighed.

4 The bows of the mighty are broken,

    but the feeble gird on strength.

5 Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,

    but those who were hungry are fat with spoil.

The barren has borne seven,

    but she who has many children is forlorn.

6 The Lord kills and brings to life;

    he brings down to Sheol and raises up.

7 The Lord makes poor and makes rich;

    he brings low, he also exalts.

8 He raises up the poor from the dust;

    he lifts the needy from the ash heap,

to make them sit with princes

    and inherit a seat of honor.

For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,

    and on them he has set the world. (1 Samuel 2:1-8  NRSV)

If you were paying attention during this morning’s scripture reading, this will sound familiar to you, because Mary pretty much repeated what she said.  

God has done great things for me, and my heart, my soul, exult in Him, magnify Him!

There is one very significant difference between the two stories, of course.  Hannah was receiving something she had desired for many years.  Her life was miserable before Samuel’s birth, and blessed afterward in ways that are considered normal.  She was no longer teased or tormented by the other women.  On the contrary, not only had she had a son, but she dedicated him to God!  That’s a big deal, and something the other women would have admired her for - especially once she had another son.  Mary, on the other hand, was young, at the very beginning of womanhood.  She wasn’t even married yet!  Once she was known to be pregnant, once other people began to count on their fingers, there would be teasing and tormenting. There would be whispers when she took her jug to the well in the mornings, where the other women were gathered.   She ran the very real risk of Joseph putting her aside, even of being stoned to death for her infidelity.  Her life was about to get very difficult.  Gabriel had said to her, “Do not fear.” But even after the angel had left, even after she had agreed to what God was asking of her, Mary had every reason to be fearful.

When she went to visit her much older cousin Elizabeth, however, she was greeted with the words, “Blessed is she who believed!”  Blessed is she who believed that what God said would happen actually would happen. Remember Sarah?  Remember how she laughed at the messenger from God when she was told she would have a son in her old age?  She didn’t believe.  She disbelieved so completely that she convinced Abraham to conceive a child by Hagar.  But Mary, she believed right away.  And Elizabeth knew this, because God’s messenger had been speaking with her, as well.   But believing you are doing the right thing doesn’t always take away the fear of doing something new and different.  

Believing God is with you in that new thing, now that’s an entirely different proposition.  The meditation in our Advent book from Tuesday said, in part:  “I am afraid” is a sentence.  “I am not alone” is a song.  “God is with me” is the chorus to that song. 

We have been hearing that song and that chorus in the stories that Alan and Christian and Jessica have told us during this Advent Season.  I was afraid, they said, but God was with me, and all is well now.  We all have fears to face, sometimes big ones, sometimes small ones.  I’m driving to our regional office on Wednesday for a meeting with the Committee the Ministry Recognition and Standing.  I’ve never been to San Ramon.  I’m not sure what traffic or parking will be like. I don’t know anyone on the committee.  I am prone to panic attacks if I get lost - hence my great love for Siri!   I really don’t want to go, because I have all these little fears, but I know I am not alone.  God is with me.  (And Siri.)  

But there is a lot more to Mary’s song and Hannah’s prayer than just, “the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name!”  There is also a very detailed description of God’s relationship with God’s people, more than just this one woman who is being blessed above all women.  

Mary said:   

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.

And Hannah said: 

4 The bows of the mighty are broken,

    but the feeble gird on strength.

5 Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,

    but those who were hungry are fat with spoil.

8 He raises up the poor from the dust;

    he lifts the needy from the ash heap,

to make them sit with princes

    and inherit a seat of honor.

The proud are cast down, the poor are made rich, the weak are made strong, the needy are given what they need.  This is who our God is, and we are his hands and his feet in the world.  Mary said: “His mercy is for those who fear him,” not in the, “I am afraid of God because God will punish me forever” kind of fear I was raised with, but more like awe - the kind of fear you might feel in the midst of a thunderstorm, looking out from the safety of your home watching the lightning strikes, seeing its tremendous power, but knowing yourself to be safe.   God’s mercy is for those who know his true power, and lift up their hearts and lives to God, who dedicate themselves to doing God’s work in the world.  God’s mercy is for those who walk through their fear of him, of whatever change they may be facing in their lives, knowing that God is with them, and that they will be ok, no matter what.

Mary said:  “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.”

And we are among those descendants, because we are the sisters and brothers of Jesus, the Christ, the son of the living God, the child of Mary.  

As we go forward into the days and weeks ahead, let us remember what she said.  Let us celebrate God, not just for what has been done for us, but also for what God does for all of our brothers and sisters in the world, for what God does in the hearts and minds of those who fear Him, those who worship him, those who need him in their lives.  And may the love of Christ, which surpasses all understanding, fill our hearts to overflowing, that we may truly be God’s hands and feet in the world, now and always.  Amen.