At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
In a loud voice she exclaimed, Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear.
But why am I so favoured, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished.
And Mary said, My soul glories the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.
For now 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 innermost 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 Abram and his descendants forever,
even as he said to our fathers.
Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months, and then returned home.
Thanks very much, Ross.
Thanks.
I haven't any sheets with notes, but there is a new sheet,
which has got a great Christmas theme on the inside.
I wasn't very observant.
I even looked at it and read it and didn't realise that it was actually in the shape of a Christmas tree.
So, sorry about that.
But it's very nice.
Yeah, but there are new sheets, and on the back there's a place where you can take notes.
So let's look at this familiar song of Mary, often called the Magnificat.
And we're going to look at that specifically this morning.
But before we do, we're going to pray and ask for God's help.
So let's pray right now.
Our Father God, we thank you so much that we have a record of the story,
the true story of the coming of Christ.
And we pray that these words that we look at, that may be familiar,
maybe we've heard them sung already this Christmas,
that they would penetrate deep into our lives,
bringing a fresh understanding,
but by the power of your Holy Spirit,
that they would transform us and change us,
so that we become the people that you intend us to be.
So we ask for your help in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Enjoy your Christmas.
Those were some of the words that I was writing in my Christmas cards to some relatives this week.
It's the sort of thing that we say to our friends as we've been leaving work
or we bump into somebody while we've been out shopping.
Enjoy your Christmas.
Well, how are we meant to enjoy Christmas?
Because for many people, Christmas is anything but joyful.
Like how is the community of Newtown in the US
who endured those terrible school shootings meant to enjoy Christmas?
Or the families that we've heard about in recent days
who are coping with the suicide of a father or a couple of daughters.
How are they meant to enjoy Christmas?
You see, for many people, Christmas is anything but joyful.
Perhaps you know somebody who's lost a job
and it's, you know, it's financially tight and it's been a struggle.
Maybe somebody's been diagnosed with a serious illness.
Where are we to find joy when life is turned upside down?
Well, Luke's account of the Christmas story is one that is filled with joy.
Luke opens his gospel in chapter 1 with the announcement of two births.
The first birth concerns Elizabeth and Zachariah.
We read about them in chapter 1, verse 7.
They had no children because Elizabeth was barren
and they were both well on in years.
They were past the age of having children.
But God had different ideas.
Verse 13.
But the angel said to him,
Do not be afraid, Zachariah.
Your prayer has been heard.
Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son
and you are to give him the name John.
This would be John the Baptist.
Verse 14.
He will be a joy and a delight to you
and many will rejoice because of his birth.
Now we can understand parents who get excited
and who are joyful because they're going to have a child
and their close friends would be joyful.
But Luke tells us here in verse 14
that many will rejoice because of his birth.
Well, why would people who don't even know this family
be filled with joy?
Well, the answer comes in verse 16 of chapter 1.
This is telling us what John will do when he grows up.
Verse 16.
Many of the people of Israel will John,
that's he, will bring back to the Lord their God
and he will go on before the Lord.
What will we do?
Look at the end of verse 17.
To make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
John was to be an announcer.
He was to stand before the people
and announce good news to tell people
that God's Messiah, Jesus Christ, was coming.
The long-awaited King,
who has come to renew broken lives
and restore this disordered world,
was about to come and enter into this world.
That's why many people would rejoice.
But then there was the announcement of another birth.
We read of that in verse 31 of chapter 1.
Mary is told she's going to have a baby.
And the angel said to her, verse 31,
you will be with child and give birth to a son
and you are to give him the name Jesus.
He will be great and will be called
Son of the Most High.
The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David
and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever.
His kingdom will never end.
Here's the announcement that an eternal king
with absolute power and supreme authority
was going to bring justice and peace.
And on hearing this news,
Mary, who's going to have this child,
goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth,
who's also pregnant with John.
And we read of this meeting in verse 41.
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting,
the baby leaped in her womb
and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Now we're told what the significance
of this leap in the womb is.
Look at verse 44.
As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the baby in my womb leaped for joy.
Even the unborn John, it's interpreted,
was filled with joy.
The kicking in his mother's womb
was a kick of delight
because God's eternal king,
the rescuing Messiah,
was about to be born into this world.
And all of this leads up to Mary's song,
the Magnificat.
It's a song that is bursting with joy.
Let's look at verse 46.
So Mary said,
My soul glorifies,
or my soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices
in God my Saviour.
So Luke introduces us
to this great theme of joy,
and in particular,
this joy with the coming of Christ.
Now I think if we can get to the heart
of this joy,
we can,
whatever we experience in life,
not only enjoy Christmas,
but enjoy every day of the year.
And that doesn't mean to say
we'll all be jumping up and down
and waving banners
and all happy, happy,
but a deep inner joy,
even in times of hurt and struggle,
that sustains us and keeps us.
That is the joy that is on offer.
So we're going to look at this song together,
Mary's song,
and three things we're going to take from it.
The first is this,
the reason for joy.
The reason for joy.
Mary's joy is found,
look at verse 47,
my spirit rejoices
in God my Saviour.
So joy is not found in things,
it's not found in the amount of presents we get,
it's not found in people,
our spouse or our relationships,
it's not found in good fortune or success
or how healthy I feel,
no.
It's all found,
look at those words,
in God my Saviour.
And Mary's song is telling us
that this Saviour,
the salvation that God has to bring to us,
is not something that we have to achieve.
It's not something we have to do
to be able to get.
It's all something that has been done for you.
Look at verse 49.
She says,
for the Mighty One,
this is the Saviour,
the Mighty One has done great things for me.
Look how the rest of the song goes.
Verse 51.
He,
this is the Mighty One,
He has performed mighty deeds with His arm.
Verse 52,
He has brought down rulers.
Verse 53,
He has filled the hungry.
54,
He has helped.
It's all about what God has done for you.
He has achieved something for us.
And that's why Mary is filled with joy,
because it's not up to her,
it's all what God has done for her.
And we can have this same joy.
And if we can grasp the joy that's on offer,
it will change our lives forever.
Look at verse 48.
He has been mindful of the humble state of His servants.
From now on,
here's the change,
from now on,
all generations will call me blessed.
Mary will be considered blessed by people,
not because she's special,
not because she's given birth to God's Son,
but because she has received God's salvation.
The focus of her joy,
verse 47,
is in God my Saviour.
And because of that,
from now on,
her life is never going to be the same again.
Not because she has to get up and feed the child at night,
but because God has intervened into her life with salvation.
From now on,
all generations will call me blessed,
because I've received salvation.
her life has been changed and transformed.
It's nothing less than a new beginning.
And what happened to Mary
can also happen to us.
We too can have this,
from now on,
joy in our lives.
Let me give you an example of this
that comes a little bit later in Luke.
Luke chapter 5,
verse 8.
As we think about how we can have this
from now on experience.
Luke chapter 5 and verse 8.
This is about 30 years later.
Jesus, as an older man,
has just begun his ministry.
The men who would become his disciples
are out fishing on the boat.
They haven't caught anything.
And he says to them,
you know,
put your nets over
and they catch a whole load of fish.
And then there's this encounter
with Simon Peter
and Jesus,
verse 8.
When Simon Peter saw this,
he fell at Jesus' knees
and said,
go away from me, Lord.
I am a sinful man.
He observes there's this kind of distance.
How can I relate to this person?
Verse 9.
For he and all his companions
were astonished at the catch of fish
they had taken.
And so were James and John
and the sons of Zebedee,
Simon's partners.
Then Jesus said to Simon,
don't be afraid.
From now on,
you will catch men.
You see,
this encounter
with God's Saviour,
Jesus Christ,
has changed their life
at a juncture,
at a point in time
where he will say,
from now on,
your life is going to be different.
You're going to catch men.
You're going to bring people
to God.
And this is the same thing
that is happening
in Mary's life.
If God intervenes
and brings salvation,
from now on,
everything will be different
because of the salvation,
the joy
that God has brought
into your life.
So the reason for joy,
first of all,
is found
in God,
my Saviour,
who changes
our life.
the joy
is the joy
that Mary has.
The experience
of joy.
Because the joy
that Mary has
is something
for us to experience
every single day.
It's not just
a kind of once off
and that's it.
This is to be
experienced
every day.
Look at verse 50.
His mercy
extends to those
who fear Him
from generation
to generation.
The word mercy
means this.
God's unconditional
grace
and compassion.
That's what mercy
here means.
God's unconditional
grace and compassion.
We see it again
in verse 54.
He has helped
His servant Israel
remembering
to be merciful.
This is the character
of God.
That He continues
to pour out
His grace.
He continues
to remember
to pour out
His grace
and His compassion
upon His people.
It overflows
to His people.
That's why Mary
is filled with joy
because she's come
to experience
God's grace
and compassion
in her life.
But what does
this grace,
this mercy
look like
in our life?
Well, there's two things.
First, the humble
are lifted.
In verse 52,
the humble
are lifted.
He has brought
down rulers
from their thrones
but has lifted
up the humble.
Now, generally
speaking,
we think of those
who are in
positions of
power and influence.
They get what
they want
when they want
because they know
the right people
and they have
the right resources.
They just need
to click their fingers
or say this
and they get
what they want
because of their
position.
Whereas those
who fail
and fall,
they always
lose out
and they get
overlooked.
They're disregarded
and they're
rejected.
But God
completely
reverses
this way
of thinking.
God has
a different
way of
working
in our lives.
Look what it
says in verse 52.
He brings
down the rulers
from their
thrones
but he
lifts up
the humble.
God
takes people
of a low
position,
meaning those
who are
spiritually weak
and vulnerable
and he lifts
them up.
He forgives
them.
He welcomes
them.
And through
his salvation
we become
children of
the true
king and
become part
of his
eternal
kingdom.
The low
are the
ones who
are raised
to become
great in
the eyes
of God.
And they
are the
ones as we
read through
the Bible
story are
given thrones
on which to
rule from
in the new
heavens and
the new
earth.
So God
pours his
grace and
his mercy
into people's
lives to
bring them
up, to
elevate them
to becoming
children of
the true
king.
But not
only are the
humble lifted,
second, the
hungry are
filled.
Verse 53.
He has
filled the
hungry with
good things
but has
sent the
rich away
empty.
Again, we
think of those
who are rich
that they
have
everything
that they
want.
Money isn't
an object.
They can
go and
buy their
Apple iPod
and Apple
this and
everything else.
They can
get everything
they want.
But those
who are
poor, well
they stay
poor, they
get nothing.
They're
ignored, they're
isolated.
But God
again, he
reverses this
way of thinking.
God turns it
all on its
head.
Verse 53,
he fills the
hungry, he
fills them with
good things but
the rich are
sent away
empty.
What does
all that
mean?
Well, it
means those
who are
hungry in
the sense
that not
so much the
material wealth
we're thinking
here, but
those who see
their spiritual
emptiness.
And he
fills them.
He satisfies
them with
good things.
He brings
forgiveness into
their lives.
He fills
their life with
peace.
He pours
into their
life his
grace and
his compassion.
He fills
their lives
with joy.
Because in
God our
Saviour, we
have everything
that we need.
The perfect
gift.
It's never
going to
disappoint.
We're never
going to
lack anything.
Everything
that we need
is found
in God our
Saviour.
God's
very own
child.
He fills
the hungry
with good
things.
And this
is a
picture of
the God
who extends
his mercy
to us on
a day-to-day
basis.
He pours in
his grace and
compassion.
He reverses
our status and
our position
in life.
He fills
us and
he satisfies
us.
But before
we move
on, we
also need
to see that
this salvation
is what I
call holistic.
And by
that I mean
God is
concerned for
the whole
person.
Not just
the spiritual.
He's
concerned for
the whole
person and
the whole
world.
So God
is concerned
yes to
reconcile
broken
spiritual
lives.
But he's
come to
reconcile a
disordered
physical world.
This is
part of
Mary's
celebration
in her
song.
Yes, God
has come to
deal with
sins.
He's also
come to
establish
justice.
This is
Mary's
joy and
this can
be our
joy because
the salvation
of God
is so
extensive.
It's about
the restoration
of all
things.
It's about
the ruthless
rulers who
care little
for the
justice and
the peace of
other people
being pulled
down.
It's about
the wealthy
rich who
care little
for the
poor and
the hungry
being sent
away empty.
Because God
in his
salvation
reverses all
of that
disorder and
he renews
what is
broken.
He fixes
it all so
the world
is put right
again.
And one
day we
are going
to see
that in
all its
fullness.
And this
is what
Mary is
celebrating
that one
day God
is going
to put
everything
right.
And there
will not
be a
hungry
belly
left.
And there
will not
be a
rich
person
who
discounts
the
poor
or acts
with
injustice.
God
will do
it.
verse 54
he has
helped
his
servant
Israel
remembering
to be
merciful
to
Abraham
and
his
descendants
forever.
Even as
he said
to our
forefathers
he's done
this before
and he
will continue
to do
it.
So the
experience
of joy
comes as
we know
God's grace
and compassion
being poured
into our
lives.
and the
realisation
that he
is going
to change
this world
into something
glorious
and beautiful.
So we've
got the
reason for
joy,
the
experience
of joy
and then
the third
one is
simply this,
the path
to joy.
And it's
great talking
about Mary's
experience
and the
joy that
she has
joy.
But let's
just focus
this a
minute more
personally to
ourselves.
How do
we get
this same
joy into
our own
lives?
How do
we make
it part of
my day-to-day
experience?
Because
sometimes Mary
is portrayed
as somebody
who is above
human,
almost
God-like
status.
Well,
Mary was
special.
She was
chosen by
God to
bring her
son,
bring God's
son into
the world,
but Mary
was just
like you
and me.
And what
Mary
experienced
can also
be our
experience.
Let me
show us
how we
can get
this joy
into our
lives on
a day-to-day
basis.
Look at
verse 48.
It's
saying,
God has
been mindful
of the
humble
state
of his
servant.
Or look
at verse
52.
He has
brought
down
rulers
from their
thrones,
but has
lifted up
the
humble.
You see,
the path
to joy
is humility.
It's
only those
who recognize
their low
position.
It's
only those
who can
see within
themselves
that they
are empty,
that they
can be
filled
with joy.
And Mary
was that
kind of
person.
And so
in this
sense,
she's a
model
example
of how
we
receive
joy.
Now,
let's face
it,
humility
is not
something
any of
us are
very good
at.
We want
to be
seen as
self-sufficient,
self-dependent.
the world
teaches us
to manage
all by
ourselves.
We don't
need anyone
and we
don't need
anything.
In fact,
if anything's
broken,
I can
fix it.
And if
we are to
admit that
we need
help or
support,
well,
that's just
a sign of
weakness
and frailty.
But that's
not how we
come to
God.
That's not
how we
find joy.
In fact,
pride has
the opposite
effect.
Look at
verse 51.
He has
performed
mighty deeds
with his
arm,
but he
has scattered
those who
are proud
in their
inmost
thoughts.
Rather than
being welcomed
in and
filled and
satisfied,
the proud
instead are
scattered.
They are
brought down
low and
they are
left empty.
The true
sign of
humility
is to
say that
we have
nothing to
bring to
God.
We have
nothing to
offer to
God.
In fact,
all we can
bring to
God is
our
emptiness
and our
weakness.
That's the
only way we
can come to
God.
And when we
come in
humility,
God will
fill us
with his
joy.
God will
be
to
God will
be.
When we were
little,
we had a
very simple
television.
It was
black and
white,
RTE1 and
RTE2.
That was it.
And every
Christmas we
would watch the
same things.
It was
Willy Wonka's
Chocolate Factory
and maybe in the
afternoon,
Oliver Twist.
Twist.
And we
would watch
Oliver Twist
all the time.
And we
come to that
point, you
know the
story, little
Oliver, the
homeless orphan
in that
boarding school.
And there he
comes where
they get their
slop of porridge
or whatever it
is into the
bowl and they
all have their
fill.
Well, not
really because
they're still
hungry.
And Oliver
goes forward,
doesn't he, with
his empty bowl
and everybody
stops their
silence as he
makes his way
up to the
front to the
boarding master
and he holds
out his bowl
before him and
he goes,
please sir,
can I have
some more?
And then the
great big bellow,
more!
And then the
riot takes place
as they go
chasing after
Oliver, running
through the
legs of all the
kids and under
the tables.
But I want you
to take that
image and that
picture of
Oliver.
That's how
we're to
come before
God.
To come with
empty hands,
to come before
him,
please sir,
fill my
life,
fill my
life.
And the
difference here
though is not
that we get a
bellowing roar
more and being
chased out and
kicked out, but
we come before
a gracious,
compassionate,
merciful and
loving father
who will fill
our lives with
joy.
Fill our lives
with joy because
in God we find
our saviour.
We come with
our emptiness,
we come with
our poverty,
and he fills
us like
nothing before
till our lives
are overflowing
with joy.
A joy that we
can bring to
the world in
which we live.
So as we
think about
Christmas,
think about
the joy
that is found
only in
God our
saviour.
How we can
experience it
and how we
receive it
every day.
Come in
humility
with your
open hands
asking God
to fill
your life.
Let's pray.
Our
Father God,
we thank you
so much.
that in
you there
is everything
that we
need.
That you
fill us
and you
satisfy us
like none
other.
And without
Christ in
our lives
day to
day,
we will
always be
in want.
But we
thank you
that when we
humbly come
before you,
you fill us
with your
joy.
You give
us the joy
of salvation,
the joy
of your
grace and
compassion
every day,
the blessing
of a future,
of a world
that will be
put right.
Help us
as we come
before you
right now.
We hold
out our
hands,
our lives
before you,
humbly admit
our emptiness
and our
weakness
and pray
that you
would fill
us like
only you
can.
We ask
this in
Jesus'
name.
Amen.
Well,
we're going
to sing
angels from
the realms
of glory.
Come and
worship,
worship
Christ.
Amen.