WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.840 But first, a bit of an intro. 00:00:02.980 --> 00:00:09.620 The majority of our dating relationship, Christine, lived in France, about an hour or so north of Paris. 00:00:09.620 --> 00:00:15.660 ! She was helping out at a small church plant with a lovely, lovely couple. 00:00:15.759 --> 00:00:18.000 I've mentioned David and Catherine in the past. 00:00:18.760 --> 00:00:19.980 We love them so much. 00:00:20.260 --> 00:00:21.280 Anyways, I went to visit her. 00:00:23.179 --> 00:00:26.620 And one of the days, we went to see a movie. 00:00:27.260 --> 00:00:32.460 Because why explore the French countryside when we can just sit in front of a screen for two hours? 00:00:33.340 --> 00:00:36.460 Anyways, we watched The Monuments Men. 00:00:36.460 --> 00:00:38.060 Maybe you've seen it. It's a George Clooney movie. 00:00:38.900 --> 00:00:47.859 And it is about these artists turned soldiers who were tasked to recover and rescue the great art pieces of Europe 00:00:47.859 --> 00:00:50.760 that were stolen by the Nazis before and during the war. 00:00:50.759 --> 00:00:58.539 The key art piece in this movie centered around the Bruges Madonna and Child. 00:00:59.820 --> 00:01:01.479 Michelangelo's Madonna and Child. 00:01:02.719 --> 00:01:08.420 Turns out that Bruges was three hours away, so we decided the next day to go on a day trip. 00:01:08.780 --> 00:01:09.640 So we drove there. 00:01:10.780 --> 00:01:11.680 We were going to do other things. 00:01:11.739 --> 00:01:13.280 It wasn't just to see the statue. 00:01:13.280 --> 00:01:15.420 But we lined up. 00:01:16.120 --> 00:01:18.500 I don't know how long we waited, but it was a lineup outside. 00:01:19.040 --> 00:01:21.540 We paid four euro each or whatever it was. 00:01:22.320 --> 00:01:25.379 We were filed inside in a queue. 00:01:26.420 --> 00:01:29.540 We looked at the statue for a whole 30 seconds. 00:01:29.760 --> 00:01:33.799 It was like 30, 40 feet away from us behind a fenced off area. 00:01:33.799 --> 00:01:38.759 And then we were ushered out the side of the church. 00:01:40.899 --> 00:01:48.700 In the movie, in The Monuments Men, the men, when they finally discovered the Bruges Madonna, they were mesmerized. 00:01:49.319 --> 00:01:52.359 It's like it almost glowed in the movie if you've seen it. 00:01:52.900 --> 00:01:54.459 It was not my experience. 00:01:55.479 --> 00:01:58.620 And it's not because the statue wasn't beautiful. 00:01:59.780 --> 00:02:01.140 It's because I was rushed. 00:02:01.659 --> 00:02:03.319 I don't know Christine's experience with it. 00:02:04.119 --> 00:02:08.560 But for me, it felt like that's what we drove to Bruges for. 00:02:08.780 --> 00:02:09.780 I've never been there before. 00:02:09.959 --> 00:02:11.819 It was great that we spent the rest of the day there. 00:02:11.879 --> 00:02:12.579 We had a great time. 00:02:13.879 --> 00:02:15.019 But I was in. 00:02:15.120 --> 00:02:15.680 I was out. 00:02:15.759 --> 00:02:21.900 I'm not an art connoisseur, but maybe I'd like to look at it for more than 30 seconds to appreciate it, to see it up close. 00:02:22.419 --> 00:02:23.500 I wasn't going to touch it. 00:02:23.560 --> 00:02:24.319 I'm a grown adult. 00:02:24.780 --> 00:02:26.340 I resist such things. 00:02:26.340 --> 00:02:32.900 But nevertheless, I wanted to take my time and look at this masterpiece by Michelangelo. 00:02:33.319 --> 00:02:42.019 This is a bit of an introduction to talk about the Magnificat. 00:02:42.020 --> 00:02:45.700 It is the Song of Mary. 00:02:46.480 --> 00:02:53.200 If you do evening prayer with the Book of Common Prayer, it is something that is familiar to you. 00:02:53.199 --> 00:02:58.579 It is quite possibly, apart from the Lord's Prayer, the most famous prayer in the Bible. 00:02:59.659 --> 00:03:06.739 And it is coming from a woman who longs for God to be close. 00:03:06.740 --> 00:03:14.020 And then when she finds out he is, and not just close, but is inside of her, she magnifies the Lord. 00:03:14.100 --> 00:03:16.640 That's where we get the term, the Magnificat, from. 00:03:17.620 --> 00:03:28.960 But it's important that we consider what led up to Mary praying and really singing this song of praise to the Lord. 00:03:28.960 --> 00:03:39.659 By the time the first century came around, there were some thousand years since King David and King Solomon's reign, the high point of Israel, of the kingdom of Israel. 00:03:40.620 --> 00:03:42.060 There had been an exile. 00:03:43.379 --> 00:03:47.680 It was absolutely horrific for the people of God. 00:03:47.780 --> 00:03:52.439 It stretched across seven centuries and four successive oppressive empires. 00:03:52.439 --> 00:04:00.639 And in addition to all of this, it had been 500 years since God had spoken to his people through a prophet. 00:04:01.659 --> 00:04:02.579 God was silent. 00:04:03.520 --> 00:04:04.620 He was far away. 00:04:04.780 --> 00:04:06.740 Maybe he didn't exist at all. 00:04:07.400 --> 00:04:09.659 There was nothing to marvel at. 00:04:10.939 --> 00:04:16.240 There was nothing that would lead the people to magnify the Lord. 00:04:16.240 --> 00:04:32.740 So as we begin this season of Advent, we read and remember the story of God's people and how they yearned for God's salvation, God's fulfilled promises of redemption, but mostly for God to come back to them. 00:04:34.600 --> 00:04:37.960 They were longing to once again marvel at their God. 00:04:37.959 --> 00:04:47.000 And such a longing was not just the longing of the Israelites, but really the longing of all people, of all ethnicities, of all cultures, of all time. 00:04:47.639 --> 00:04:56.379 A desire to know God and to be known to him, to be close to God, to marvel at the creator of heaven and earth. 00:04:58.539 --> 00:05:00.740 So we're going to open our Advent series. 00:05:00.899 --> 00:05:06.120 We're going to be looking at four songs for the Savior. 00:05:06.120 --> 00:05:08.840 And we begin with the Magnificat. 00:05:10.879 --> 00:05:25.879 In it, we will see how the Lord not only satisfies the yearning of the human soul through the most unexpected way, through the lowliness and humility of a child and of a woman and of an entire nation, 00:05:26.639 --> 00:05:35.500 but also it will show us how God knows in our heart of hearts that we desire to marvel at something. 00:05:35.500 --> 00:05:45.740 In fact, that we desire to marvel at someone and how he is that one and how he provides not just salvation, but he provides himself for us to marvel at. 00:05:46.560 --> 00:05:52.079 So, I mentioned a lowly child, a lowly woman, a lowly nation. 00:05:52.079 --> 00:05:56.500 We'll jump right into it and look at this lowly child. 00:05:57.579 --> 00:06:05.560 Mary has no idea, at least from what we can discern from scripture, what Jesus will be like, what he'll look like. 00:06:05.639 --> 00:06:11.459 There's no indication that she knows how her son will bring about the promised redemption, only that he is the promised one. 00:06:11.459 --> 00:06:20.620 And that he will right wrongs, that he will topple thrones, he will lift up the poor, he will feed the hungry. 00:06:21.719 --> 00:06:30.459 She herself is a lowly woman from a poor part of a Roman province who has become pregnant before her marriage to her betrothed. 00:06:30.459 --> 00:06:36.060 First century was not like our century. 00:06:37.779 --> 00:06:41.799 It's hard to be a single mom, an unwed mother now. 00:06:42.039 --> 00:06:54.240 In the first century, in a shame and honor society, it was certainly the very end of one's life. 00:06:54.240 --> 00:07:00.400 She would be at a severe disadvantage, and therefore her son was already at a disadvantage. 00:07:01.519 --> 00:07:13.620 We are used to a good underdog story, so we see the incarnation, we see the virgin birth, this lowly woman who is betrothed but is pregnant. 00:07:13.620 --> 00:07:28.160 And we can imagine that this is just the beginning of a wonderful story whereby the poor and lowly woman, the poor and lowly child will transcend their situation. 00:07:29.120 --> 00:07:31.980 We are used to certain stories like that. 00:07:33.000 --> 00:07:36.439 But we live in a time where social mobility isn't insurmountable. 00:07:37.060 --> 00:07:40.600 But in the first century, it was almost certainly insurmountable. 00:07:40.600 --> 00:07:45.720 You couldn't, almost certainly, you couldn't rise above your station in life. 00:07:46.700 --> 00:07:57.260 To be born into a family in Nazareth, to an unwed mother, in the first century in Judea was almost certainly an insurmountable thing. 00:08:00.360 --> 00:08:02.480 But here's another thing to consider in all of this. 00:08:02.480 --> 00:08:19.800 We live after, not just the birth of Christ, but after Jesus' life, after his passion, after his death, after his burial, after his resurrection, after his ascension, after the start of the church. 00:08:21.379 --> 00:08:25.860 As Christians, we revel in his finished and completed work upon the cross. 00:08:25.860 --> 00:08:31.199 We glory in his triumph over death, over sin, over the devil. 00:08:32.500 --> 00:08:36.759 We rejoice that he is seated in heaven, forever making intercession for us. 00:08:36.860 --> 00:08:42.340 We revel as Christians in what God has done in Christ. 00:08:44.139 --> 00:08:50.519 Again, I mentioned this already, that a huge aspect of the Advent season is longing for his second coming. 00:08:50.519 --> 00:09:01.620 But here's the thing, Mary is on the other side of Jesus' birth, and his life, and his passion, and his death, and his burial, and his resurrection, and his ascension. 00:09:02.100 --> 00:09:03.759 She's on the other side of it. 00:09:04.860 --> 00:09:09.100 In Luke 1, she is living a life before the birth of her Savior. 00:09:09.100 --> 00:09:16.399 She knows full well that she is at a disadvantage, socially speaking. 00:09:16.560 --> 00:09:20.540 That Jesus himself will be at a disadvantage, socially speaking. 00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:27.740 She knows full well how lowly and pedestrian her life is, and how her son's life will be. 00:09:27.740 --> 00:09:40.940 And yet, in spite of all that, you'll notice that Mary doesn't just declare that when her child will be born, the Messiah will come, and he will right all the wrongs. 00:09:41.220 --> 00:09:49.240 But as you read through, especially verses 49 to 54, you will see that Mary declares something that has already taken place. 00:09:51.379 --> 00:09:54.659 Look with me at verses 49 to 54. 00:09:54.659 --> 00:10:05.519 For he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 00:10:06.419 --> 00:10:10.299 And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. 00:10:10.679 --> 00:10:13.079 He has shown strength with his arm. 00:10:13.459 --> 00:10:16.839 He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. 00:10:17.240 --> 00:10:21.939 He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate. 00:10:21.940 --> 00:10:28.860 He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away. 00:10:29.800 --> 00:10:38.860 He has helped his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his offspring forever. 00:10:39.900 --> 00:10:48.680 He has, he has, he has, he has, he has done, he has looked, he has shown, he has scattered, he has filled, he has brought down, he has exalted. 00:10:48.679 --> 00:10:50.739 All of it is in the past tense. 00:10:50.879 --> 00:10:57.599 All of it, even though Jesus is yet to do it, has already become a foregone conclusion. 00:11:02.039 --> 00:11:07.479 Everything that will come in the life of this lowly child is already certain. 00:11:08.139 --> 00:11:09.899 The victory is certain. 00:11:11.319 --> 00:11:13.240 The salvation is certain. 00:11:13.240 --> 00:11:16.759 God will certainly visit his people once again. 00:11:18.759 --> 00:11:23.940 And we see that even though the child is lowly, born to a lowly mother, 00:11:24.840 --> 00:11:34.440 all of the activity in salvation that is from God above is through this lowly child. 00:11:34.440 --> 00:11:45.420 And all the yearnings of the human race will be satisfied and will be brought about, not through a strong arm, but a tiny child. 00:11:46.820 --> 00:11:47.940 Consider this for a moment. 00:11:49.200 --> 00:11:57.300 Think about how this upends human pride and shows us how helpless we are to satisfy our longings to know and be known by God. 00:11:57.299 --> 00:12:04.899 How he, how the best that we can do collectively to get close to God, it utterly falls short. 00:12:05.019 --> 00:12:12.139 And yet God, who could, I'm assuming so, redeem the world any way he chose to do so. 00:12:12.500 --> 00:12:13.579 He is God after all. 00:12:14.519 --> 00:12:17.299 He doesn't choose a mighty ruler. 00:12:17.299 --> 00:12:21.459 He doesn't choose an incredibly strong army. 00:12:21.620 --> 00:12:30.819 But instead he chooses a lowly woman so that he puts, takes upon human flesh, goes into her womb, 00:12:31.919 --> 00:12:35.959 for nine months is born into a small town. 00:12:36.339 --> 00:12:43.539 Remember, later on in the Gospels, it is spoken, Nazareth is spoken as a place where nothing good can come from it. 00:12:44.359 --> 00:12:46.299 Okay, so it's not like he's coming from high pedigree. 00:12:46.299 --> 00:12:57.279 But God chooses to show off his salvation in light of human strength by bringing salvation through a lowly woman. 00:13:00.620 --> 00:13:03.259 The economy of redemption is forever changed. 00:13:04.199 --> 00:13:12.099 The mighty hand of the mightiest man or woman cannot hope to achieve what the Lord has done through the womb of a peasant girl. 00:13:12.100 --> 00:13:12.740 Okay. 00:13:15.379 --> 00:13:21.300 This is the God that is showing himself, that is revealing himself to us. 00:13:23.259 --> 00:13:24.659 How does Mary respond? 00:13:24.659 --> 00:13:29.199 Let's look at the lowly recipient, the lowly woman. 00:13:29.379 --> 00:13:32.339 Look with me at verses 46 to 50. 00:13:36.179 --> 00:13:37.959 Well, yeah, 46 to 50. 00:13:37.960 --> 00:13:42.800 And Mary said, my soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior. 00:13:43.540 --> 00:13:46.000 For he has looked on the humble estate of his servants. 00:13:46.360 --> 00:13:49.840 It's literally, the servant is a slave girl. 00:13:50.840 --> 00:13:53.960 For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed. 00:13:54.780 --> 00:13:58.680 For he who is mighty has done great things for me and holy is his name. 00:13:58.679 --> 00:14:04.539 And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. 00:14:05.099 --> 00:14:11.179 In her song, like the form of many of the songs in our Psalter, 00:14:11.939 --> 00:14:16.539 she begins with thanksgiving and praise followed by a recalling of what God has done. 00:14:17.519 --> 00:14:24.839 Her entire being, her soul and spirit, which is to say every aspect of what makes Mary, Mary, is caught up in praise. 00:14:24.840 --> 00:14:32.879 She has recognized her lowliness, her inability to transcend her sin, her station in life. 00:14:32.980 --> 00:14:36.920 She is blessed because she has responded in faith to the Lord's mercy. 00:14:37.019 --> 00:14:44.460 Not because she is this grand, strong woman, but because God has given her such an honor 00:14:44.460 --> 00:14:48.420 as being the bearer of Jesus, the incarnate Son of God. 00:14:48.600 --> 00:14:50.900 I'll pause really quickly here for a moment. 00:14:51.740 --> 00:14:54.040 For those of us brought up in Protestant homes, 00:14:54.039 --> 00:15:00.439 we are prone to overlook the significance of Mary in redemptive history. 00:15:00.599 --> 00:15:02.019 She is not the savior of the world, 00:15:02.159 --> 00:15:07.980 but she certainly plays quite an important and honorable part in salvation, 00:15:08.159 --> 00:15:09.639 in the entire biblical story. 00:15:09.959 --> 00:15:13.419 In fact, I'm not sure that there is somebody, humanly speaking, 00:15:14.379 --> 00:15:18.299 that has been used by God in such a special way. 00:15:18.299 --> 00:15:23.819 She is the mother of our Lord. 00:15:25.319 --> 00:15:28.719 As those who hold on to scripture as being the ultimate authority, 00:15:30.059 --> 00:15:33.699 we should rightly call Mary blessed, for she calls herself blessed. 00:15:33.700 --> 00:15:38.340 But for those of us who come from a Roman Catholic background, 00:15:39.060 --> 00:15:42.400 it's important also to recognize that Mary says in verse 47, 00:15:44.259 --> 00:15:48.800 that God is her savior, which would imply that she needs saving. 00:15:51.440 --> 00:15:54.720 Perfect people without sin do not need saving. 00:15:54.720 --> 00:15:59.160 And yet here Mary is calling God her savior, 00:15:59.720 --> 00:16:05.980 looking to the child in her womb as the one who would rescue her from her sin. 00:16:08.120 --> 00:16:12.779 Mary is indeed blessed, but she is not without sin. 00:16:14.300 --> 00:16:15.460 So back to the text. 00:16:15.560 --> 00:16:16.820 Mary, she is truly blessed. 00:16:17.500 --> 00:16:19.980 She understands that those who are weak will be made strong. 00:16:20.660 --> 00:16:22.300 Those who are hungry will be fed. 00:16:22.299 --> 00:16:25.539 Those who are of humble estate will be lifted up. 00:16:25.639 --> 00:16:27.979 Those who are scattered will be made whole. 00:16:29.120 --> 00:16:34.740 In short, Mary is exercising faith in God's salvation. 00:16:36.359 --> 00:16:40.559 And she recognizes really an important thing for us to see. 00:16:41.039 --> 00:16:42.519 She is an exemplar of the faith. 00:16:43.139 --> 00:16:47.979 She recognizes that she is a passive participant in the Lord's activity. 00:16:48.500 --> 00:16:49.120 She receives. 00:16:49.299 --> 00:16:50.099 This is all she does. 00:16:50.219 --> 00:16:50.779 She receives. 00:16:50.779 --> 00:16:55.559 She is not the active agent, but she is a humble, passive participant. 00:16:56.559 --> 00:16:59.139 Even though she is playing a huge part, humanly speaking, 00:16:59.519 --> 00:17:07.779 she recognizes her lowliness and need for the Lord to do a work that she or anybody else could never do themselves. 00:17:07.779 --> 00:17:14.160 She is called to receive with gratitude and praise this gift of salvation. 00:17:14.160 --> 00:17:16.519 She does such a fine job of it. 00:17:18.200 --> 00:17:19.740 Proclaiming the goodness of the Lord. 00:17:20.220 --> 00:17:21.540 Magnifying his holy name. 00:17:21.539 --> 00:17:27.980 But a really important thing that could get lost and is quick to get lost for us, 00:17:29.319 --> 00:17:38.220 as we live week by week and month by month and year by year as people that are Christians, 00:17:38.920 --> 00:17:40.279 decade by decade, 00:17:40.279 --> 00:17:47.480 Mary's faith that she is proclaiming is not a stiff, unfeeling one. 00:17:48.379 --> 00:17:58.319 It is not a response of propriety to a distant God that is 30 or 40 feet behind a fenced area. 00:17:58.319 --> 00:18:08.960 Rather, she is expressing and proclaiming a love for God, a God who is close and who is near. 00:18:11.960 --> 00:18:17.159 Christine and the kids went to see the king this spring, the king and queen, 00:18:17.160 --> 00:18:23.600 and they were at Lansdowne and they waited a good long while to get a glimpse of the king and queen. 00:18:24.440 --> 00:18:25.040 Wonderful thing. 00:18:25.120 --> 00:18:26.300 The kids still talk about it. 00:18:28.400 --> 00:18:29.700 But the king was far away. 00:18:30.960 --> 00:18:33.960 And yes, he was, he's their king. 00:18:34.920 --> 00:18:36.500 He is our sovereign. 00:18:37.700 --> 00:18:40.060 But he was certainly not personable. 00:18:41.019 --> 00:18:41.200 Okay? 00:18:41.759 --> 00:18:42.800 And that's not a criticism. 00:18:43.279 --> 00:18:44.140 He's the king. 00:18:44.259 --> 00:18:44.700 He's there. 00:18:44.900 --> 00:18:45.800 He's touring around. 00:18:45.799 --> 00:18:47.599 He has a very full itinerary. 00:18:47.700 --> 00:18:48.419 He is far away. 00:18:48.619 --> 00:18:49.299 He is not personal. 00:18:50.259 --> 00:18:53.119 We do not get this in the Magnificat. 00:18:53.539 --> 00:18:53.700 Okay? 00:18:54.059 --> 00:18:59.419 The king that Mary is magnifying isn't far away but is close. 00:18:59.500 --> 00:19:02.680 And not just because he is close in her womb, 00:19:03.000 --> 00:19:05.680 but because he has visited his people. 00:19:07.039 --> 00:19:10.279 It is because God has kept his promises. 00:19:12.200 --> 00:19:14.399 This brings us to our third and final point. 00:19:14.400 --> 00:19:17.180 The promises made to a lowly nation. 00:19:17.460 --> 00:19:20.280 Read verses 54 and 55 with me. 00:19:22.860 --> 00:19:25.920 He has helped his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy, 00:19:26.440 --> 00:19:31.960 as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his offspring or seed forever. 00:19:31.960 --> 00:19:34.620 Salvation has come to Israel. 00:19:35.299 --> 00:19:39.640 The reason for this turn of fortune is not that Israel has shown strength, 00:19:40.559 --> 00:19:47.360 or not even that they've really even turned away from the behavior that caused them to be exiles in the first place. 00:19:48.860 --> 00:19:49.819 They were weak. 00:19:50.539 --> 00:19:52.740 They suffered with unbelief. 00:19:53.160 --> 00:19:56.440 The constant refrain in the Bible is to remember. 00:19:56.920 --> 00:19:57.140 Why? 00:19:57.140 --> 00:19:59.160 Because Israel is constantly forgetting. 00:20:01.060 --> 00:20:02.420 Israel was not mighty. 00:20:03.200 --> 00:20:03.960 They were lowly. 00:20:05.600 --> 00:20:13.300 They were left hungry and scattered and poor and subjugated. 00:20:13.299 --> 00:20:17.379 Consider Deuteronomy 7, verses 7 and 8. 00:20:17.440 --> 00:20:21.899 This is before the exile, but this is God speaking of why he chose Israel. 00:20:21.900 --> 00:20:29.480 It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, 00:20:29.920 --> 00:20:31.940 for you were fewest of all peoples. 00:20:32.720 --> 00:20:37.200 But it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers 00:20:37.200 --> 00:20:42.640 that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, 00:20:43.240 --> 00:20:45.280 from the house of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. 00:20:45.279 --> 00:20:47.460 Why did the Lord bring salvation to Israel? 00:20:48.779 --> 00:20:50.799 And from Israel to the entire world? 00:20:51.519 --> 00:20:55.660 Simply put, because he remembered the promise that he made to Abraham. 00:20:56.799 --> 00:20:57.920 And what was that promise? 00:20:58.460 --> 00:21:02.980 The promise was that Abraham's seed, his offspring, 00:21:03.639 --> 00:21:07.279 that through his offspring, the entire world would be blessed, 00:21:07.279 --> 00:21:13.639 and that his offsprings would not just be of his own, from his own body, 00:21:13.779 --> 00:21:21.920 but would be so numerous that the stars in the sky and the grains of sand on the seashore 00:21:21.920 --> 00:21:26.519 would not suffice to understand the amount of offsprings, 00:21:26.639 --> 00:21:28.220 the amount of blessing that would come from him. 00:21:30.559 --> 00:21:36.059 It is a promise that through the seed of Abraham, the world would be blessed. 00:21:36.059 --> 00:21:40.940 And that is also a promise that we see in Genesis chapter 3, 00:21:41.079 --> 00:21:44.159 that the seed of the woman, interesting that in the text, 00:21:44.319 --> 00:21:48.220 it's the seed of the woman that would crush the serpent. 00:21:48.919 --> 00:21:52.839 The first promise of salvation in the entire Bible. 00:21:53.500 --> 00:21:58.879 And now Mary is picking that up in verses 54 and 55. 00:22:00.119 --> 00:22:03.379 You see, the promise made to Abraham some 2,000 years earlier 00:22:03.380 --> 00:22:06.300 was that he would be blessed. 00:22:07.120 --> 00:22:08.960 And the promise was long. 00:22:09.000 --> 00:22:11.660 It took a long time to be fulfilled, but it certainly was. 00:22:12.440 --> 00:22:14.700 And the promise was greater, far greater, 00:22:14.820 --> 00:22:16.840 than even Abraham could have imagined, 00:22:16.960 --> 00:22:21.960 for his descendants transcend his physical body, 00:22:22.080 --> 00:22:23.380 his physical ethnicity, 00:22:23.560 --> 00:22:25.640 but became a spiritual reality. 00:22:25.640 --> 00:22:29.460 So that all the people, regardless of where they come from, 00:22:29.520 --> 00:22:31.160 not just Israel, but all people, 00:22:31.560 --> 00:22:33.540 if they put their faith in the God of Abraham, 00:22:33.700 --> 00:22:37.400 they are considered recipients of the promise made to Abraham. 00:22:38.020 --> 00:22:40.259 They're his spiritual sons and daughters. 00:22:42.820 --> 00:22:46.040 Mary proclaims the fulfilled promises of God 00:22:46.040 --> 00:22:49.000 because she knows them. 00:22:49.000 --> 00:22:51.259 She is familiar with them. 00:22:51.880 --> 00:22:54.339 Which is an important thing for us to consider 00:22:54.339 --> 00:22:58.500 that maybe we need to continue 00:22:58.500 --> 00:23:01.559 or to reacquaint ourselves with the scriptures 00:23:01.559 --> 00:23:05.579 on a more consistent basis. 00:23:06.400 --> 00:23:08.880 To read the scriptures, to be formed by the scriptures, 00:23:09.019 --> 00:23:10.660 to have our minds renewed by the scriptures, 00:23:11.059 --> 00:23:13.279 to have our hearts shaped by the scriptures, 00:23:13.759 --> 00:23:15.359 that the scriptures become the lens 00:23:15.359 --> 00:23:17.480 by which we live out our lives 00:23:17.480 --> 00:23:18.660 and we consider reality. 00:23:24.099 --> 00:23:25.759 Those who recognize and trust 00:23:25.759 --> 00:23:27.940 in the promises of the Lord 00:23:27.940 --> 00:23:30.440 are those that know God's word. 00:23:31.720 --> 00:23:32.620 So back to Mary. 00:23:33.140 --> 00:23:34.920 She knows that the entirety of the scriptures 00:23:34.920 --> 00:23:37.539 point to God fulfilling and exacting the promise 00:23:37.539 --> 00:23:40.819 that he made to Abraham. 00:23:41.640 --> 00:23:43.339 The coming of the Messiah in her womb 00:23:43.339 --> 00:23:45.279 would be the fulfillment of God's remembrance 00:23:45.279 --> 00:23:47.579 of mercy to his people. 00:23:48.299 --> 00:23:50.119 The promise that he spoke of salvation 00:23:50.119 --> 00:23:53.440 that would be everlasting and for all peoples. 00:23:56.660 --> 00:23:58.480 It's a remarkable thing that in this 00:23:58.480 --> 00:24:00.839 Song of Mary, 00:24:01.460 --> 00:24:04.339 what is envisioned is that the God of Israel, 00:24:04.839 --> 00:24:09.200 he would visit not just lowly Israel, 00:24:09.200 --> 00:24:11.880 but lowly Burundi, 00:24:12.720 --> 00:24:14.360 or lowly Laos, 00:24:15.559 --> 00:24:16.779 lowly Kazakhstan, 00:24:18.100 --> 00:24:19.720 the lowly Ottawa Valley, 00:24:19.840 --> 00:24:23.120 the lowly homes in Stitzville and Canada 00:24:23.120 --> 00:24:26.480 and parts of Barhaven and all over Ottawa 00:24:26.480 --> 00:24:31.480 that baked in to this Song of Mary's 00:24:31.480 --> 00:24:34.319 is this promise that God would redeem all of the lowly. 00:24:34.319 --> 00:24:37.220 And the reality is, 00:24:37.819 --> 00:24:39.579 is that if we are humble 00:24:39.579 --> 00:24:42.819 and consider our inability 00:24:42.819 --> 00:24:45.460 to gain our own salvation, 00:24:45.759 --> 00:24:49.919 to enjoy the fulfillment 00:24:49.919 --> 00:24:51.939 of the longings of our heart, 00:24:52.000 --> 00:24:53.720 that we truly are lowly 00:24:53.720 --> 00:24:57.159 and that we need the Savior. 00:24:57.160 --> 00:25:02.920 You know, this promise 00:25:02.920 --> 00:25:04.840 that God made to Abraham, 00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:06.960 really that he made to Adam and Eve, 00:25:07.060 --> 00:25:08.019 but in this case, 00:25:08.900 --> 00:25:10.120 you know, the references to Abraham, 00:25:10.380 --> 00:25:12.300 it can bear the weight of our hope 00:25:12.300 --> 00:25:15.380 for two big reasons. 00:25:16.060 --> 00:25:17.720 Because nothing else can, 00:25:18.900 --> 00:25:20.880 nothing else can rid us 00:25:20.880 --> 00:25:22.680 of our sin and shame, 00:25:22.680 --> 00:25:26.500 of the guilt that we may feel, 00:25:27.160 --> 00:25:28.340 nothing else can free us 00:25:28.340 --> 00:25:29.740 from our suffering and loss, 00:25:30.460 --> 00:25:33.620 or can fulfill us 00:25:33.620 --> 00:25:35.759 in our desire to love 00:25:35.759 --> 00:25:37.400 and be loved for all of eternity. 00:25:37.900 --> 00:25:38.940 In short, 00:25:39.380 --> 00:25:42.480 there is nothing that we can hope for on earth 00:25:42.480 --> 00:25:46.580 that can bring us salvation 00:25:46.580 --> 00:25:47.840 for something, 00:25:48.000 --> 00:25:49.360 but also from something. 00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:52.060 From sin and shame and death 00:25:52.060 --> 00:25:53.580 and for ultimate love. 00:25:53.579 --> 00:25:59.859 And the promise made to Abraham 00:25:59.859 --> 00:26:01.240 can bear our weight. 00:26:01.359 --> 00:26:01.639 Why? 00:26:02.500 --> 00:26:04.480 Because it came true. 00:26:05.399 --> 00:26:06.839 In Christ, it came true. 00:26:08.139 --> 00:26:10.519 The promise that he made to Abraham 00:26:10.519 --> 00:26:12.879 came true in the womb of Mary, 00:26:12.980 --> 00:26:13.879 which is to say 00:26:13.879 --> 00:26:16.779 that God fulfills his promises 00:26:16.779 --> 00:26:18.299 even if it takes a long time, 00:26:18.299 --> 00:26:20.940 even if it seems all is lost, 00:26:21.039 --> 00:26:23.759 even if there is 700 years of exile 00:26:23.759 --> 00:26:26.039 and 500 years of silence 00:26:26.039 --> 00:26:28.960 and a whole family line 00:26:28.960 --> 00:26:30.539 that might be 00:26:30.539 --> 00:26:34.000 kind of rotten to the core. 00:26:36.700 --> 00:26:38.619 And I'm not talking about family lines 00:26:38.619 --> 00:26:40.339 2,000 years ago. 00:26:40.419 --> 00:26:41.359 I'm talking about it today. 00:26:42.940 --> 00:26:44.359 Difficulties that we struggle with 00:26:44.359 --> 00:26:46.740 where we feel like we come from 00:26:46.740 --> 00:26:48.859 potentially a line of 00:26:48.859 --> 00:26:50.799 not do-gooders, 00:26:50.959 --> 00:26:52.199 but no-gooders. 00:26:53.479 --> 00:26:56.559 Things that we can't transcend out of. 00:26:58.359 --> 00:27:00.419 That God will fulfill his promise. 00:27:00.559 --> 00:27:01.479 In fact, he has. 00:27:03.679 --> 00:27:04.740 I'll end with this. 00:27:05.779 --> 00:27:07.299 God is not far off 00:27:07.299 --> 00:27:07.579 like 00:27:07.579 --> 00:27:11.919 the Bruges Madonna and child. 00:27:11.920 --> 00:27:13.740 30, 40 feet 00:27:13.740 --> 00:27:15.500 gated away, 00:27:16.060 --> 00:27:16.880 but he is close. 00:27:18.060 --> 00:27:19.220 And because he is close, 00:27:19.320 --> 00:27:20.320 we are able to marvel 00:27:20.320 --> 00:27:22.039 at what we have seen. 00:27:22.860 --> 00:27:23.480 And like Mary, 00:27:23.580 --> 00:27:24.480 we begin to realize 00:27:24.480 --> 00:27:26.140 that we did not travel to God 00:27:26.140 --> 00:27:27.140 to be in his presence 00:27:27.140 --> 00:27:28.740 only to fail, 00:27:29.340 --> 00:27:32.400 but rather that he came to us. 00:27:35.880 --> 00:27:37.060 At our men's gathering 00:27:37.060 --> 00:27:38.160 this past Monday, 00:27:38.160 --> 00:27:40.779 we read a short little homily 00:27:40.779 --> 00:27:41.779 from St. Augustine. 00:27:42.360 --> 00:27:43.660 where he talked about how 00:27:43.660 --> 00:27:45.580 the bread of heaven 00:27:45.580 --> 00:27:48.420 took on human flesh 00:27:48.420 --> 00:27:51.340 and suckled from the breast 00:27:51.340 --> 00:27:52.120 that he created. 00:27:55.060 --> 00:27:57.060 That he was born 00:27:57.060 --> 00:28:00.300 the word of God 00:28:00.300 --> 00:28:02.519 so that he would be 00:28:02.519 --> 00:28:03.400 a babbling child. 00:28:04.420 --> 00:28:05.300 That's how close 00:28:05.300 --> 00:28:07.380 the Lord God came. 00:28:07.380 --> 00:28:10.580 That's how face-to-face 00:28:10.580 --> 00:28:12.420 he was to us 00:28:12.420 --> 00:28:14.720 when he became incarnate 00:28:14.720 --> 00:28:15.980 in Mary. 00:28:17.480 --> 00:28:17.940 Friends, 00:28:18.600 --> 00:28:19.840 God has looked upon us, 00:28:20.300 --> 00:28:21.360 upon our humble estate. 00:28:22.240 --> 00:28:23.300 We are low in spirit. 00:28:24.120 --> 00:28:24.880 We were slaves 00:28:24.880 --> 00:28:25.840 to our appetites, 00:28:25.920 --> 00:28:26.500 to our vices, 00:28:26.720 --> 00:28:27.800 to sin without hope. 00:28:28.800 --> 00:28:29.860 And through the incarnation, 00:28:29.859 --> 00:28:32.599 the lie that salvation 00:28:32.599 --> 00:28:33.399 is within 00:28:33.399 --> 00:28:35.859 has been utterly shattered. 00:28:36.859 --> 00:28:37.939 We can put our hope 00:28:37.939 --> 00:28:38.939 in someone 00:28:38.939 --> 00:28:40.459 who can be trusted 00:28:40.459 --> 00:28:41.019 completely 00:28:41.019 --> 00:28:42.459 and therefore, 00:28:42.719 --> 00:28:43.759 our hope is not in vain. 00:28:43.859 --> 00:28:44.319 You'll remember, 00:28:44.719 --> 00:28:45.579 we just finished up 00:28:45.579 --> 00:28:46.500 a sermon series 00:28:46.500 --> 00:28:47.359 in Ecclesiastes. 00:28:48.059 --> 00:28:49.399 Our hope is not in vain. 00:28:49.400 --> 00:28:52.680 So the appropriate response 00:28:52.680 --> 00:28:54.580 should be like Mary. 00:28:55.600 --> 00:28:56.540 Let our soul 00:28:56.540 --> 00:28:58.160 magnify the Lord. 00:28:58.960 --> 00:28:59.660 Let our spirit 00:28:59.660 --> 00:29:00.660 rejoice in God, 00:29:00.720 --> 00:29:01.160 our Savior. 00:29:02.100 --> 00:29:03.300 Let us with the eyes 00:29:03.300 --> 00:29:03.900 of our hearts 00:29:03.900 --> 00:29:05.180 gaze upon the beautiful 00:29:05.180 --> 00:29:06.880 mystery of the incarnation. 00:29:08.500 --> 00:29:09.940 For in the incarnation, 00:29:10.580 --> 00:29:11.759 the divine eyes 00:29:11.759 --> 00:29:12.740 of God himself, 00:29:12.880 --> 00:29:13.420 Father, Son, 00:29:13.460 --> 00:29:14.100 and Holy Spirit, 00:29:14.380 --> 00:29:15.580 gaze upon us.