WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.660 You know, I love this time of year, and one of the reasons I love it is because of the music. 00:00:07.640 --> 00:00:13.339 I just love the songs that we sing, and I'm particularly grateful for our music team. 00:00:14.240 --> 00:00:20.420 They do such a good job every year of singing familiar songs and then integrating new songs. 00:00:20.600 --> 00:00:25.760 A couple of these songs, I think, are newer, at least for me, and I love discovering new 00:00:25.760 --> 00:00:27.539 music around this time of year. 00:00:27.539 --> 00:00:32.859 You know, if you were to look at all of the songs that have ever been written for or 00:00:32.859 --> 00:00:40.439 about Christmas, you're dealing with a list of nearly 10,000 songs over the years, and 00:00:40.439 --> 00:00:43.399 some of these songs actually date back quite a long time. 00:00:44.019 --> 00:00:50.039 Silent Night, one of the favorites of many people, that was written in 1818, so it's 00:00:50.039 --> 00:00:50.879 been around for a while. 00:00:51.799 --> 00:00:56.820 The words, if not the melody to O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, go back to at least the 12th 00:00:56.820 --> 00:00:57.179 century. 00:00:58.259 --> 00:00:59.939 That's a fairly old song as well. 00:01:00.159 --> 00:01:01.020 There's even a carol. 00:01:01.060 --> 00:01:05.599 I'm not sure if we've ever done it at Advent, but there's a carol called The Angel's Hymn 00:01:05.599 --> 00:01:06.960 that was written in A.D. 00:01:07.019 --> 00:01:07.939 129. 00:01:08.500 --> 00:01:15.460 So people have been singing songs for and about Christmas for a long time, and this morning 00:01:15.460 --> 00:01:23.719 we're going to be looking at what many consider to be the first ever Christmas carol, written 00:01:23.719 --> 00:01:26.560 by the Holy Spirit, sung by Mary herself. 00:01:27.359 --> 00:01:33.579 This song has come to be known as the Magnificat, and I would suggest that it's perhaps the greatest 00:01:33.579 --> 00:01:41.340 song ever written because it's a song that turns the world upside down. 00:01:41.579 --> 00:01:42.960 That's what this song is about. 00:01:43.620 --> 00:01:45.980 It's more than just a melody. 00:01:45.980 --> 00:01:47.560 It's more than just words. 00:01:47.760 --> 00:01:48.600 It's a prophecy. 00:01:49.800 --> 00:01:56.520 And it declares the work that the coming Messiah will accomplish, and it does it with such confidence 00:01:56.520 --> 00:01:58.260 that it does it in the past tense. 00:01:59.840 --> 00:02:03.960 His arrival signals the certainty of the things that are going to happen. 00:02:04.040 --> 00:02:08.099 So we're going to look at this wonderful Christmas carol together that turns the world upside 00:02:08.099 --> 00:02:09.939 down in Luke chapter 3. 00:02:09.939 --> 00:02:13.800 First, we'll look a little bit at the singer, Mary, and then we're going to look at the song 00:02:13.800 --> 00:02:14.280 itself. 00:02:14.939 --> 00:02:15.599 So let's pray. 00:02:17.840 --> 00:02:20.240 Our Lord, we thank you for this time of year. 00:02:20.379 --> 00:02:22.060 We thank you for the hope that it brings. 00:02:22.180 --> 00:02:27.159 But we know that for many of us, there are some here who feel the excitement. 00:02:27.400 --> 00:02:28.319 We feel the love. 00:02:28.419 --> 00:02:29.800 We feel the anticipation. 00:02:30.300 --> 00:02:31.680 We're caught up in the season. 00:02:32.319 --> 00:02:35.360 And for others, this may be the hardest time of the year for us. 00:02:35.439 --> 00:02:36.240 We may be struggling. 00:02:36.539 --> 00:02:38.020 We may be alone. 00:02:38.020 --> 00:02:39.460 We may be depressed. 00:02:39.780 --> 00:02:41.920 We may be in the midst of grief or hardship. 00:02:42.920 --> 00:02:49.020 And Lord, we know that you are uniquely able to meet us and minister to us in whatever state 00:02:49.020 --> 00:02:50.400 we find ourselves this morning. 00:02:51.100 --> 00:02:55.340 So Lord, we open ourselves to you that you would do your work through your word in us. 00:02:55.460 --> 00:02:58.080 And we pray this for our good and for your glory. 00:02:58.740 --> 00:02:59.020 Amen. 00:03:00.420 --> 00:03:04.620 So first, let's look a bit at the singer of this first Christmas carol. 00:03:04.620 --> 00:03:11.080 At this point in the story, Mary has seen the angel Gabriel, what we call the Annunciation. 00:03:12.259 --> 00:03:17.259 And Gabriel has shared with her what is going to take place, that she's going to conceive, 00:03:17.640 --> 00:03:18.780 she's going to bear a son. 00:03:19.379 --> 00:03:21.300 She's to name this child Jesus. 00:03:23.240 --> 00:03:28.580 To Mary's great credit, it's clear that she doesn't fully understand what's about to happen. 00:03:28.580 --> 00:03:32.040 Nevertheless, she submits herself fully to the Lord. 00:03:33.240 --> 00:03:40.760 She doesn't fully understand what's about to happen until she visits her relative, Elizabeth. 00:03:40.980 --> 00:03:48.160 We can tell from the timing that she leaves almost immediately because she finds out that the Lord has also touched Elizabeth's life. 00:03:48.300 --> 00:03:49.840 Elizabeth is already pregnant. 00:03:49.840 --> 00:03:53.099 And so she visits her relative, Elizabeth. 00:03:54.360 --> 00:04:02.379 And at the moment she walks in, the child in Elizabeth's womb leaps in recognition, and Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit. 00:04:03.240 --> 00:04:07.300 Now, this is something that in the Old Testament only ever happened to the great prophets. 00:04:08.060 --> 00:04:11.879 And it happens when God wants to speak directly through a person. 00:04:11.879 --> 00:04:18.500 So God's Spirit fills Elizabeth, and she exclaims with a loud cry, 00:04:19.019 --> 00:04:22.000 Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 00:04:22.759 --> 00:04:27.319 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 00:04:27.480 --> 00:04:32.180 She refers to Mary as the mother of my Lord. 00:04:34.659 --> 00:04:36.779 But then she says, verse 45, 00:04:36.779 --> 00:04:44.979 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord. 00:04:46.579 --> 00:04:49.619 So it raises a very strange question. 00:04:50.000 --> 00:04:51.699 Who exactly is the Lord? 00:04:53.339 --> 00:04:57.799 There's the one who sent Gabriel, verse 26 of chapter 1. 00:04:57.899 --> 00:04:59.579 Gabriel sent from God. 00:05:00.859 --> 00:05:04.819 The one who's been directing all of this, the father of this child to come. 00:05:04.899 --> 00:05:05.779 There's that one. 00:05:06.779 --> 00:05:09.939 Then there's the one who would overshadow Mary. 00:05:10.599 --> 00:05:14.399 The one who fills Elizabeth to speak God's word. 00:05:14.899 --> 00:05:17.239 The one who will illuminate the truth of what's happening. 00:05:18.079 --> 00:05:19.619 There's that being. 00:05:19.979 --> 00:05:24.019 And then there's the child, who is also called Lord. 00:05:24.599 --> 00:05:26.619 The Son of the Most High, the Holy One. 00:05:26.699 --> 00:05:29.639 And so it raises this question, which one of them is the Lord? 00:05:30.259 --> 00:05:32.919 And of course the answer is yes. 00:05:32.920 --> 00:05:36.080 It's all three. 00:05:36.079 --> 00:05:47.539 And we see Mary and Elizabeth here being given a glimpse of the true mysterious nature of God as a trinity of persons. 00:05:47.699 --> 00:05:49.079 These are faithful Jewish women. 00:05:49.079 --> 00:05:55.339 They grew up praying the Shema, the core of the religious identity of the Jews. 00:05:55.680 --> 00:05:57.899 Hero Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 00:05:58.899 --> 00:06:00.560 They're faithful monotheists. 00:06:00.560 --> 00:06:06.560 And yet somehow the nature of that one God is being revealed to them ever so slightly. 00:06:06.680 --> 00:06:10.699 It would be centuries before the doctrine of the trinity would begin to be worked out. 00:06:10.839 --> 00:06:15.620 Mary and Elizabeth are given a unique glimpse into the mysteries that are unfolding. 00:06:15.620 --> 00:06:27.500 What this means is that the child to be born is no mere prophet, no mere teacher, no mere social activist, 00:06:27.879 --> 00:06:31.340 here to do some good and set an example for others to follow. 00:06:32.500 --> 00:06:37.819 What this means is that God himself is going to be born into the world through a human mother. 00:06:37.819 --> 00:06:44.839 Now, we've heard this time and time again every Christmas, but if we think about it, it has staggering implications. 00:06:46.339 --> 00:06:53.060 First of all, the uniqueness of the Christian faith as a result of these events. 00:06:54.000 --> 00:06:55.500 The uniqueness of the Christian faith. 00:06:55.899 --> 00:07:01.259 John Hick, up until recently, I think he passed away around maybe 10, 12 years ago. 00:07:01.259 --> 00:07:08.500 He was probably one of the most prominent, rigorous proponents of religious pluralism out there. 00:07:09.199 --> 00:07:17.240 His quest was to try to bring the religions of the world together so that they would fit together in harmony. 00:07:17.439 --> 00:07:22.860 Sort of the popular idea that many people have, you know, at the end of the day, all religions are basically the same. 00:07:22.939 --> 00:07:24.680 They're saying basically the same things. 00:07:25.860 --> 00:07:28.180 But he wrote this in his autobiography. 00:07:28.180 --> 00:07:38.439 He says, I came fairly soon to see that for Christianity, the problem of religious plurality, 00:07:38.519 --> 00:07:46.199 in other words, the issue that prevents us from being able to fit Christianity in with all of the other religions of the world, 00:07:47.360 --> 00:07:49.879 hinged on the central doctrine of the incarnation. 00:07:49.879 --> 00:07:59.779 He says, if Jesus was God incarnate, Christianity alone among the world religions was founded by God in person 00:07:59.779 --> 00:08:04.600 and must therefore be uniquely superior to all others. 00:08:07.100 --> 00:08:11.740 As much as people might prefer to think of all religions as being basically the same, 00:08:11.939 --> 00:08:15.639 Christmas means that that is simply not the case. 00:08:15.639 --> 00:08:25.419 Either God has entered into our world through a human mother, meaning, as John Hicks says, that Christianity is utterly unique, 00:08:25.819 --> 00:08:29.539 or the entire religion is built on a lie. 00:08:30.639 --> 00:08:32.740 Much worse than that, on blasphemy. 00:08:34.360 --> 00:08:34.620 Right? 00:08:34.740 --> 00:08:38.799 If you're Muslim, if you're Jewish, this idea is blasphemous. 00:08:38.799 --> 00:08:44.120 So it's either true or it is a horrible lie and it's blasphemous. 00:08:44.199 --> 00:08:46.959 So either we believe it or we reject it. 00:08:47.439 --> 00:08:53.639 But trying to fit it in among all the other religions of the world is simply not an option that we are afforded. 00:08:54.879 --> 00:08:56.339 That's not one of the choices. 00:08:57.339 --> 00:09:00.939 So it tells us something about the uniqueness of Christianity. 00:09:01.199 --> 00:09:03.559 It also reveals the uniqueness of Mary. 00:09:03.559 --> 00:09:11.839 You know, those of us who grew up Protestant probably need a bit of a corrective here when it comes to Mary. 00:09:13.439 --> 00:09:17.879 No greater honor has ever been bestowed upon a human being. 00:09:18.979 --> 00:09:24.799 Mary chosen by God to be the theotokos, the word that means the God-bearer. 00:09:24.799 --> 00:09:35.240 The early church fathers rightly understood how important it is to understand the role Mary plays in the coming of Jesus. 00:09:36.879 --> 00:09:42.799 Mary was more than just a channel or a vessel through which God entered the world. 00:09:44.439 --> 00:09:44.939 Right? 00:09:45.000 --> 00:09:49.519 The promise is that she would conceive and bear a son. 00:09:49.659 --> 00:09:51.579 That implies a gestation. 00:09:51.580 --> 00:09:55.960 Her body, in other words, formed his body. 00:09:57.060 --> 00:09:57.500 Right? 00:09:57.560 --> 00:10:06.100 The one who formed the heavens and the earth was himself formed in the body of a human mother. 00:10:07.600 --> 00:10:16.680 And so the early church fathers rightly understood that in order to have the right theology of Jesus as being both fully God and fully human, 00:10:17.600 --> 00:10:20.200 you have to have the correct theology of Mary. 00:10:20.200 --> 00:10:27.360 We need to recognize the unique place that Mary occupies in the history of the church, the theotokos, 00:10:27.540 --> 00:10:31.120 and that she is worthy of great honor and great respect. 00:10:33.240 --> 00:10:39.200 She's worthy of our celebration, as she has rightly been celebrated through much of the church, 00:10:39.680 --> 00:10:43.740 through all of history since these events took place. 00:10:43.940 --> 00:10:46.580 So this is the singer, Mary. 00:10:46.740 --> 00:10:49.220 But what does the song itself show us? 00:10:49.220 --> 00:10:52.879 Why does this song turn the world upside down? 00:10:54.180 --> 00:11:03.800 When the enormity of what is going to happen finally begins to sink in, Mary is so moved that her very soul breaks out in song. 00:11:03.879 --> 00:11:04.800 It's a beautiful moment. 00:11:05.060 --> 00:11:10.700 If you've ever had a moment like that where you're just filled with such joy, I mostly only ever see it in young children. 00:11:10.700 --> 00:11:16.540 I see it in my daughter when she's so happy that she just begins to sing with a band. 00:11:16.580 --> 00:11:19.000 And most of us adults, we're too self-conscious. 00:11:19.980 --> 00:11:21.980 And that's one of the wonderful things about this moment. 00:11:22.180 --> 00:11:24.720 There's a kind of blessed self-forgetfulness. 00:11:25.040 --> 00:11:26.700 She's so overwhelmed with joy. 00:11:26.700 --> 00:11:30.980 The spirit fills her and she's moved and her soul breaks out into song. 00:11:31.620 --> 00:11:35.720 And then her soul, through the song, magnifies the Lord. 00:11:37.060 --> 00:11:42.560 Opens up to us the range of things that this coming Lord is going to accomplish. 00:11:42.559 --> 00:11:49.099 The coming of Jesus is the beginning of a great revolution that turns everything upside down. 00:11:49.879 --> 00:11:55.259 The coming of Jesus, according to this song, is going to bring about a new world order. 00:11:56.399 --> 00:11:59.359 Socially, politically, spiritually. 00:12:00.239 --> 00:12:06.659 Many people make the mistake of missing the social and political implications of this story. 00:12:06.779 --> 00:12:07.359 They are there. 00:12:07.360 --> 00:12:12.860 Other people make the mistake of only focusing on the social and political implications. 00:12:13.220 --> 00:12:14.480 There's much more going on. 00:12:15.480 --> 00:12:23.159 But it's worth saying that this song has been used to justify Christian participation in revolutions 00:12:23.159 --> 00:12:26.779 against totalitarian regimes throughout history. 00:12:27.139 --> 00:12:29.759 That there is a time and a place to stand up to tyranny. 00:12:31.200 --> 00:12:35.759 And the Magnificat would justify that in the minds of many. 00:12:35.759 --> 00:12:47.439 If you're living in North Korea and you hear a song that prophesies that one day the totalitarian leaders 00:12:47.439 --> 00:12:50.319 that are oppressing you are going to be toppled from their thrones, 00:12:50.439 --> 00:12:53.000 that would fill you with great hope, as it should. 00:12:54.179 --> 00:12:55.899 But there's much more going on here. 00:12:57.240 --> 00:13:02.580 There's a spiritual new world order underneath the social and the political. 00:13:03.580 --> 00:13:04.679 What does this mean? 00:13:04.679 --> 00:13:11.000 Well, essentially, it means that the world we live in is a meritocracy. 00:13:12.099 --> 00:13:18.919 The world we live in is a world in which our worth, our value, hinges on what we do, 00:13:19.699 --> 00:13:22.579 what we accomplish, what we achieve. 00:13:22.699 --> 00:13:27.599 Our worth comes from what we do, what we're able to earn through our hard work, 00:13:28.179 --> 00:13:30.299 through our moral excellence. 00:13:30.299 --> 00:13:34.859 If you're a religiously inclined person, through our piety and our devotion, 00:13:36.139 --> 00:13:39.279 through our educational achievements, through our work success, 00:13:39.839 --> 00:13:43.439 whatever markers of success we choose to value, 00:13:44.439 --> 00:13:47.759 we rely on those things to prove our worth, to prove our excellence, 00:13:47.899 --> 00:13:49.740 to justify our existence in the world. 00:13:49.740 --> 00:13:51.659 And the world has always operated this way. 00:13:51.659 --> 00:13:54.240 It's baked into human nature. 00:13:54.240 --> 00:14:00.980 So it's easy to assume that God, if there is a God, would operate the same way. 00:14:00.980 --> 00:14:04.940 That's why when you look at the man-made religions of the world, 00:14:05.300 --> 00:14:08.980 they're all built around the idea of human merit. 00:14:10.340 --> 00:14:16.420 We have to earn our way into heaven, into nirvana, into wherever that next place is. 00:14:16.539 --> 00:14:19.039 We have to earn our way there through our moral performance, 00:14:19.680 --> 00:14:22.820 through our self-discipline, through our devotion, through our piety. 00:14:22.820 --> 00:14:28.940 Man-made religion says essentially, the good people go to heaven when they die, 00:14:29.040 --> 00:14:30.220 and the bad people get punished. 00:14:30.560 --> 00:14:33.960 I grew up always thinking that's what all religions said. 00:14:36.080 --> 00:14:39.460 Man-made religion says this, he sees you when you're sleeping. 00:14:39.660 --> 00:14:40.700 He knows when you're awake. 00:14:41.480 --> 00:14:44.360 He knows when you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake. 00:14:45.620 --> 00:14:47.540 That's the message of man-made religion. 00:14:47.539 --> 00:14:53.399 And Mary is singing this song that suggests, more than suggests, 00:14:53.519 --> 00:14:59.000 claims with divine authority that the coming of Jesus changes everything. 00:15:00.339 --> 00:15:03.079 That the coming of Jesus signals a new world order, 00:15:03.199 --> 00:15:05.519 not built around human merit but around grace, 00:15:06.579 --> 00:15:10.079 an entirely different operating system for the world. 00:15:10.819 --> 00:15:13.219 And in this new world order, those who are proud, 00:15:13.639 --> 00:15:16.599 those who are self-sufficient, they're going to be brought low. 00:15:17.539 --> 00:15:21.819 Those who are humble, those who are lowly, are going to be lifted up. 00:15:23.019 --> 00:15:24.719 So if you're among the proud, 00:15:25.500 --> 00:15:28.779 if you're the kind of person who believes you don't need God, 00:15:28.860 --> 00:15:30.279 you don't need saving, 00:15:30.679 --> 00:15:33.899 if you're generally successful, if you live a comfortable life, 00:15:34.259 --> 00:15:35.879 if you're fairly self-sufficient, 00:15:37.899 --> 00:15:41.799 the Magnificat says you may be exalted in this world for a while, 00:15:41.799 --> 00:15:48.679 but the time will come when you meet Jesus face-to-face, 00:15:49.179 --> 00:15:50.620 and you're going to be humbled, 00:15:50.979 --> 00:15:53.120 and you're going to be brought very low. 00:15:54.719 --> 00:15:58.879 You're going to realize that all of the markers of success in this world 00:15:58.879 --> 00:16:01.859 are meaningless in the kingdom of God. 00:16:01.860 --> 00:16:06.539 They were part of the economy of the old world order, 00:16:06.620 --> 00:16:08.019 but there is a new economy, 00:16:08.740 --> 00:16:11.060 and in that economy, they don't mean anything. 00:16:12.240 --> 00:16:15.300 And no amount of effort can ever earn God's blessing. 00:16:15.440 --> 00:16:16.300 You're going to be brought low. 00:16:17.620 --> 00:16:20.039 You're going to realize you built your life on the wrong things. 00:16:20.039 --> 00:16:22.659 But, she says, if you're humble, 00:16:23.379 --> 00:16:25.679 if you know the truth about yourself, 00:16:26.879 --> 00:16:30.620 if you know that we all need God's forgiveness 00:16:30.620 --> 00:16:34.059 because we live our lives mostly ignoring God 00:16:34.059 --> 00:16:35.480 in the world that he made, 00:16:35.899 --> 00:16:37.299 in bodies that he made, 00:16:38.419 --> 00:16:40.839 if you're the kind of person who knows you need a Savior, 00:16:41.339 --> 00:16:43.779 then God is going to pour his mercy in your life. 00:16:44.259 --> 00:16:45.959 He's going to lift you up. 00:16:46.719 --> 00:16:48.620 He's going to forgive you and restore you 00:16:48.620 --> 00:16:50.960 and renew you from the inside out. 00:16:52.840 --> 00:16:54.779 Grace turns everything upside down. 00:16:54.879 --> 00:16:56.060 It's a new operating system. 00:16:57.720 --> 00:16:58.659 So, grace doesn't, 00:16:58.919 --> 00:17:00.360 she doesn't sing that grace, 00:17:00.879 --> 00:17:03.060 that God's going to scatter the bad people 00:17:03.060 --> 00:17:05.500 and lift up the good people. 00:17:07.099 --> 00:17:09.680 God scatters the people who believe they're good. 00:17:10.720 --> 00:17:13.400 And he lifts up those people who know they need a Savior. 00:17:13.400 --> 00:17:20.540 You know, earlier I said that I believe Protestants need a corrective 00:17:20.540 --> 00:17:23.780 when it comes to the role of Mary. 00:17:24.620 --> 00:17:25.340 We do. 00:17:26.080 --> 00:17:26.980 On the other hand, 00:17:28.060 --> 00:17:29.500 in the Roman Catholic Church, 00:17:29.620 --> 00:17:31.460 various traditions and doctrines have arisen 00:17:31.460 --> 00:17:33.380 in the following centuries 00:17:33.380 --> 00:17:36.680 around the idea that Mary was not only uniquely blessed and honored, 00:17:36.780 --> 00:17:37.460 which she was, 00:17:37.460 --> 00:17:40.079 but that Mary was actually born sinless. 00:17:41.840 --> 00:17:44.039 This also, I would humbly suggest, 00:17:44.180 --> 00:17:44.940 needs correcting. 00:17:46.079 --> 00:17:47.980 Look what Mary herself says. 00:17:48.799 --> 00:17:51.519 My spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 00:17:51.900 --> 00:17:53.900 for he has looked on the humble estate, 00:17:54.120 --> 00:17:55.299 meaning the lowliness, 00:17:56.299 --> 00:17:57.340 of his servant. 00:17:57.339 --> 00:18:01.279 I think it is profoundly meaningful 00:18:01.279 --> 00:18:03.519 that she does not say, 00:18:03.819 --> 00:18:05.939 God looked with favor on my sinless life. 00:18:07.220 --> 00:18:09.779 God looked with favor on her virtue. 00:18:10.519 --> 00:18:13.500 God looked with favor on her social activism 00:18:13.500 --> 00:18:14.539 and level of engagement. 00:18:15.539 --> 00:18:17.779 God looked with favor on all of her achievements. 00:18:19.980 --> 00:18:20.699 It says here, 00:18:20.779 --> 00:18:22.720 God looked with favor on her lowliness. 00:18:22.720 --> 00:18:27.559 I believe this is the first and clearest sign 00:18:27.559 --> 00:18:30.400 that the upside-down revolution of Jesus 00:18:30.400 --> 00:18:32.160 has already begun. 00:18:32.519 --> 00:18:35.360 It began with the selection of Mary. 00:18:37.000 --> 00:18:37.519 Right? 00:18:37.579 --> 00:18:39.620 We see it in the fact that God did not choose 00:18:39.620 --> 00:18:43.460 a morally excellent, sinless, successful, powerful, 00:18:43.880 --> 00:18:45.839 famous person to be the mother of Jesus. 00:18:46.559 --> 00:18:48.279 He chose someone lowly. 00:18:49.360 --> 00:18:51.539 He chose an unmarried teenage girl 00:18:51.539 --> 00:18:53.200 from the margins of society. 00:18:54.700 --> 00:18:57.659 It is because Mary is so ordinary 00:18:57.659 --> 00:19:01.059 that this story is so extraordinary. 00:19:01.599 --> 00:19:04.319 And it is because Mary is sinful 00:19:04.319 --> 00:19:08.240 that this is a story not about merit, 00:19:08.440 --> 00:19:09.359 but about grace. 00:19:12.119 --> 00:19:14.859 Though Jesus was still in the womb, 00:19:16.399 --> 00:19:18.319 she declares with confidence 00:19:18.319 --> 00:19:20.460 that he is already her Savior. 00:19:20.460 --> 00:19:25.259 She is already a recipient of God's grace 00:19:25.259 --> 00:19:27.819 and mercy through Jesus. 00:19:28.980 --> 00:19:30.880 And this is what we see again and again and again. 00:19:30.960 --> 00:19:33.539 This is a society where if you were a clean person, 00:19:33.660 --> 00:19:35.079 you were terrified to come in contact 00:19:35.079 --> 00:19:37.220 with anything or anyone unclean 00:19:37.220 --> 00:19:39.460 because uncleanness was contagious. 00:19:40.620 --> 00:19:42.759 Uncleanness would make you unclean. 00:19:44.100 --> 00:19:46.660 But Jesus turns everything upside down. 00:19:46.660 --> 00:19:50.700 Jesus goes and he embraces the unclean. 00:19:50.700 --> 00:19:54.640 He sits and eats and dines and befriends the unclean. 00:19:55.880 --> 00:19:59.100 When he heals lepers, he doesn't do it from a distance. 00:19:59.380 --> 00:20:04.019 Speaking a word over a curtain, he touches them. 00:20:04.019 --> 00:20:08.019 And it's because Jesus turns everything upside down. 00:20:08.099 --> 00:20:11.079 With Jesus, holiness is contagious. 00:20:12.519 --> 00:20:13.879 Cleanliness is contagious. 00:20:14.079 --> 00:20:16.299 Everyone and everything he comes in contact with 00:20:16.299 --> 00:20:18.359 is made clean and made holy, 00:20:19.359 --> 00:20:20.720 beginning with his own mother, 00:20:21.720 --> 00:20:22.440 beginning with Mary. 00:20:22.440 --> 00:20:26.120 And because of all of this, 00:20:27.460 --> 00:20:29.779 Christmas continues to offer hope to the world. 00:20:30.759 --> 00:20:31.340 Verse 50, 00:20:32.259 --> 00:20:34.660 His mercy is for those who fear him 00:20:34.660 --> 00:20:36.440 from generation to generation. 00:20:37.140 --> 00:20:38.460 She's looking down the way. 00:20:38.779 --> 00:20:39.779 She's looking at us. 00:20:40.860 --> 00:20:42.240 The offer still stands. 00:20:42.240 --> 00:20:47.079 So for those of us who are here 00:20:47.079 --> 00:20:49.779 who might be considered successful 00:20:49.779 --> 00:20:54.819 or important or influential in the world's eyes, 00:20:55.440 --> 00:20:57.940 if you're there, chances are it's 00:20:57.940 --> 00:20:59.700 because God has put you there. 00:21:00.579 --> 00:21:03.480 But there is a very real temptation in our culture 00:21:03.480 --> 00:21:06.500 to chase status and to chase recognition 00:21:06.500 --> 00:21:08.480 and to chase influence 00:21:08.480 --> 00:21:11.359 and to promote ourselves at every opportunity. 00:21:12.240 --> 00:21:14.120 But if we want to experience 00:21:14.120 --> 00:21:16.519 and participate in the life of God, 00:21:17.259 --> 00:21:18.920 we have to let that go. 00:21:20.059 --> 00:21:23.000 If you want to participate in the life of God, 00:21:23.880 --> 00:21:25.920 know that God draws near to those 00:21:25.920 --> 00:21:27.420 who know they need him. 00:21:28.680 --> 00:21:30.579 God draws near to the lowly. 00:21:31.759 --> 00:21:33.240 God draws near to those 00:21:33.240 --> 00:21:35.579 who humble themselves before him. 00:21:37.539 --> 00:21:40.579 And for those of us who may feel lowly this morning, 00:21:40.579 --> 00:21:42.819 if you feel overlooked, 00:21:43.519 --> 00:21:45.039 if you feel forgotten, 00:21:45.839 --> 00:21:47.399 if you feel unworthy, 00:21:48.399 --> 00:21:50.000 if you feel unseen, 00:21:51.399 --> 00:21:56.139 God's favor rests with you. 00:21:56.140 --> 00:22:01.500 God draws near to people exactly like you. 00:22:03.040 --> 00:22:05.140 Mary's lowliness is not a disqualification. 00:22:06.240 --> 00:22:09.640 It's precisely the place where God enters in 00:22:09.640 --> 00:22:12.120 and does his best work. 00:22:13.580 --> 00:22:15.800 So our failures and our weaknesses 00:22:15.800 --> 00:22:17.200 and our character flaws 00:22:17.200 --> 00:22:20.900 are actually God's entry points into our lives. 00:22:21.060 --> 00:22:22.820 That's where he does his best work. 00:22:22.819 --> 00:22:27.519 So here's the message of the Magnificat. 00:22:27.659 --> 00:22:28.559 God sees you. 00:22:29.299 --> 00:22:30.539 God loves you. 00:22:31.000 --> 00:22:33.700 And your worth is found in his regard, 00:22:34.099 --> 00:22:37.819 not in the worldly markers of status and success. 00:22:38.179 --> 00:22:38.960 Let's pray. 00:22:38.960 --> 00:22:44.720 Our Lord, our Heavenly Father, 00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:46.819 these are great mysteries, 00:22:47.700 --> 00:22:49.600 and yet we know that 00:22:49.600 --> 00:22:53.960 while we can't understand everything 00:22:54.640 --> 00:22:56.680 or even close to everything 00:22:56.680 --> 00:22:58.559 about how this all took place, 00:22:59.000 --> 00:23:02.059 we know that it means that you love us dearly 00:23:02.059 --> 00:23:04.279 and that you have done the unimaginable 00:23:04.279 --> 00:23:06.360 to be near to us. 00:23:06.359 --> 00:23:09.519 And we pray for hearts that would be receptive to that. 00:23:10.139 --> 00:23:12.199 I pray particularly for those who 00:23:12.199 --> 00:23:15.319 need to be challenged, 00:23:15.679 --> 00:23:16.759 need to be humbled, 00:23:17.559 --> 00:23:20.559 that we would experience that this Christmas. 00:23:21.240 --> 00:23:23.619 I pray that those who feel alone, 00:23:23.919 --> 00:23:24.959 who feel forgotten, 00:23:25.259 --> 00:23:27.419 who feel that they are on the margins, 00:23:28.259 --> 00:23:29.539 we pray that this Christmas 00:23:29.539 --> 00:23:30.679 they would feel lifted up, 00:23:31.419 --> 00:23:32.619 that through your Holy Spirit 00:23:32.619 --> 00:23:36.079 they would feel your love and your closeness 00:23:36.079 --> 00:23:38.219 like no other time that they can remember. 00:23:38.959 --> 00:23:41.059 And we pray this in the power of your Holy Spirit, 00:23:41.479 --> 00:23:42.599 in the name of your Son, Jesus. 00:23:43.039 --> 00:23:43.239 Amen.