Magnificat 2.0

The first time I preached the Magnificat, it was a traditional English Carol Service, with a chance to pitch the message at the congregation in just 15 minutes. This time I had double that, even more if I'd wanted, and I was preaching at a congregation that would generally want more depth. What I've tried to here is preach the gospel to the converted - that is, give depth and clarity that will strengthen the believer and clarify their understanding of the gospel.
At the same service the song was sung that I posted around this time last year in my first Magnificat post. It was a joy to serve God's people in this double fashion.
I also think that this sermon show the progress that God is making in granting me a proper understanding of the gospel: just how much it centres on Him and His ways.
The text below is scarcely edited and is clearly a script to be spoken.

Magnificat – Luke 1:46-55

Before we look at these famous words together, I want to read them from the English Standard Version.
And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for He has looked on the humble estate of His servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His Name. And His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent empty away. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever."
On Wednesday, an atheist in my Philosophy of Religion class raised the big question. We're reading Descartes. Descartes describes God as “infinite, eternal, unchangeable, independent, supremely intelligent, supremely powerful, which created myself and anything else which may exist.” “There may be such a being, but I don't accept Christianity, God being Jesus, born in a manger and dying on a cross. If there is such a being, why would He bother with tiny little insignificant human beings.” I don't suppose Descartes would have made much sense to Mary. But I suspect had she been with us on Wednesday morning, she would have agreed. That student is right. If there is such a being as God, why would He bother with tiny little insignificant human beings? It makes no sense. But she knew something he doesn't. There is such a being as God. And He has bothered. We don't find Mary pondering the implications of her pregnancy for philosophy of religion. She sings. Down in verse 46: My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour. Mary's words are not the result of human reflection on the divine. They are the response of a soul that has met God and is inspired by the Holy Spirit. And what has she discovered? That God does bother. God bothered with her. She discovered the mercy of God. The word is in verses 50 and 54. I want to consider these famous words under three headings. Mercy is a blessing. Mercy is for the Needy. Mercy implies Sacrifice.

Mercy is a Blessing.
Let's read verses 46 to 49 again. I'll read them out as you have it in the NIV. My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for He has been mindful of the humble state of His servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me – Holy is His Name. Why does Mary say we shall call her blessed? Her answer is clear: beginning of verse 49. For the Mighty One has done great things for me. That's her explanation. She is blessed because He has done great things for her. God is the cause of her being blessed. The cause of the cake on the tables over there is someone baking. The cause of Mary's being blessed is God doing great things for her. Why did He do great things for her? She can't answer that. She just blurts out praise, and I think the NIV is great here with the dash – can you see that dash in verse 49? For the Mighty One has done great things for me
Why? I can't think. Oh! Dash. Blurt of praise Holy is His Name. In other words, He's done great things for me because that's the unique, utterly different way of doing things of God. She doesn't get it. It's just His wonderful way of doing things. So what is this great blessing He has poured out on her? What is this great thing He has done. Verse 48, first half. He has been mindful of the humble state of His servant. The ESV is better here: He has looked on the humble estate of His servant. If we look at the Old Testament reading, we'll find more of what Mary means. Psalm 113, verses 4 to 9. The Lord is exalted over all the nations, His glory is above the heavens. Who is like the Lord our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, Who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth? He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; He seats them with princes, with the princes of their people. He settles the barren woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the Lord. You can see the parallel to Mary's song. I want to draw particular attention to verses 5 and 6. Who is like the Lord our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, Who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth? To stoop is to dive down, like an eagle diving from its flight high above the earth down to the rabbit on the field below. To find Mary, God has stooped down – stooped down low. But when God stoops, He stoops in mercy to be with us. Look back to Luke, our reading in chapter 1, verse 48. She declares herself of humble state – she's no one special. Luther translates here in his exposition of the Magnificat er hat die Nichtigkeit seiner Magd angesehen. She's nothing, insignificant. We'll see more of what she means in a moment. But for now, we are to see God stooping down, stooping down low to meet her. And that is exactly what He did when He came among us in the person of Christ. God stooped, stooped down low. Stooped down to an occupied and oft vilified people. Stooped down to a family from the backwater of Nazareth. Stooped down to a human body, to being born a baby. Stooped down to a manger and no proper bed. Mercy is God stooping down, coming down from His heavenly height to be with us. That makes it a blessing. It's not something we earn. The language of God in the height is a powerful metaphor. It shows us just how far away God in His holiness is. How do we get to God? Do we climb up or does He climb down to get us? Is heaven for spiritual climbers, full of good works? The answer lay in Bethlehem's manger. God stooped down to come and get us.So who does He stoop down to?

Mercy is for the Needy.
Let's read verses 50 to 53 again. As I read, spot the pairs of opposites. 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 inmost 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. Did you spot the pairs? These are the people God stoops to: Verse 50: those who fear Him. Verse 52: the humble. Verse 53: the hungry. Others find Him most unwelcoming. Verse 51: those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. Verse 52: rulers. Verse 53: the rich. How shall we understand these contrasts? My first point is very simple: these are statements of how God works. Mary is praising the God whom she has experienced. The words the humble at the end of verse 52 is the same word as she uses of herself in verse 48 when she says the humble state of His servant. Note that humble does not here refer to character. It refers to status. It the opposite of rulers. The rulers are the top of society. The humble here are the insignificant mass of ordinary people. The way God has dealt with her is His normal way of doing things. After all, the words we read in Psalm 113 make a similar point. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap;He seats them with princes, with the princes of their people. He settles the barren woman in her home as a happy mother of children. What shall we make of this? Is God simply on the side of the poor and underprivileged? Well, the contrasts between the rich and the hungry and between rulers and the humble seem to make that point. But remember the first contrast, between those who fear God and those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. That's not a contrast between the poor and the rich. Throughout Luke's Gospel, we see Mary's point made again and again. It's the peasants, fishermen and farmers of Galilee who follow Jesus, not the priests and princes of Jerusalem. It's the lepers, the blind, the deaf, those with bleeding, those about to bury their dead come to Jesus, not those for whom all is well. It's the tax collectors and prostitutes who follow Jesus, not the Pharisees. Remember the parable of the Pharisees and the tax collector? Who was proud in his inmost thoughts like the Pharisee? God, I thank you that I am not like other men – robbers, evildoers, adulterers – or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get. Who feared God – knew his terrible need before the Holy One – like the tax collector? God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Have mercy on me – stoop down to me. The tax collector in the parable was needy. And mercy is for the needy. Let's consider another contrast: the rich and hungry. Look carefully at what Mary says: both come to God. But they get treated differently. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. Let's go meet them in Luke chapter 21 verses 1 to 4. As He looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “I tell you the truth,” He said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All the others gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” Both the rich and the widow come to God in His temple. But Jesus dismisses the rich and accepts the widow. The rich no doubt thought themselves great benefactors – without them, God would not have such a wonderful and well-maintained temple. But she came, gave all she had – and where would her next meal come from? Only God knows the answer to that question. And she was certain as the coins rang in the treasury that His plan was good. The rich gave to do God a favour. The widow gave confident in God's favour to her. On this evidence, I think we can synthesise what Mary means with her contrasts. Let me illustrate her point this way. Imagine you are stooping down with God as He comes to show mercy. As you look on human society, what do you see? You can't see the faces of the proud, the rulers and the rich: they are looking down on others. If they are looking your way, they seem to expect God to be grateful for their assistance. Those faces are ugly with pride. Other faces are looking up: the hungry and the humble. Remember, the humble here are simply the ordinary, socially insignificant people. Many are looking up at the rich and rulers. They want their riches and their status. Their faces are twisted by jealousy, even hate. But they aren't looking up to God. Yet there are faces looking up to God. They are the hungry and humble who fear God. Their faces are open, pleading, dependent on God. As you descend, it is those faces God heads for. Mercy is for them. Mercy is for the needy.

Mercy implies Sacrifice.
Back in Luke 1, verses 54 and 55. He has helped His servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants for ever even as He said to our fathers. Why does God show mercy? Mary has answered that question. Holy is His Name! That's the startling truth about God. He's so unlike us in our sinfulness. And in His Holiness, He promised Abraham that He would show mercy to him and to his descendants for ever. This holy mercy is not simply bolt from the blue. God doesn't stoop down without telling us. He promises it. That promise, from the High and Holy King to humble, hungry, God-fearing people is His covenant. The King has promised and committed Himself to mercy. That's that. But there's an implication to that. When Habakkuk pleads with God to keep His covenant promises, he prays: In your wrath remember mercy. Here Mary says that He is remembering mercy – verse 54. But that does not mean He's forgotten His wrath. In mercy, God does not forget His wrath. Consider the first time God stooped in mercy. He had just scattered the proud of the Tower of Babel. Then he stooped down to Abraham. He promised Abraham a great land and a great nation of descendants. That mercy began to be shown when Abraham was miraculously given a son. What mercy, to stoop to an ageing nomad and his wife and give them a son. But then what happens? God requires that Isaac be sacrificed. And whenever we hear of sacrifice in the Bible, we are to think of God's anger. God's anger against our sin. That is, our living in His world as if it were ours, as if He wasn't there. Being proud in our inmost thoughts. Being our own rulers. Considering ourselves capable of making ourselves rich. And in all that forgetting the hungry and humble. And supremely not fearing Him, honouring Him as God. God cannot overlook the sin of the family of Abraham. So Isaac the first-born son must die. Abraham takes him up the mountain of Moriah. And we know the story. The ram takes the place of Isaac. In His mercy to Abraham, God does not forget His wrath. But He turns it aside onto the ram. Again, God remembered His covenant and mercy when He saw Israel enslaved in Egypt. But He did not forget His wrath. His anger was again to fall on the first-born son. But not in Israel. Once again, there was one to take the place of the son. This time, a lamb. Again, when God had brought Israel to the bottom of Sinai to make them His covenant people, what happens? He provides a whole system of sacrifice. As long as He shows mercy to Israel, from Exodus to Exile, there is a tabernacle or a temple where sacrifice is offered. Because in His mercy, God does not forget His wrath. Rather, he turns it aside to the sacrifice. So now, as we read of God remembering to be merciful, we ask, where is the sacrifice? Famous words of the Lord Jesus from Luke 22. He's speaking 24 hours before His death, sharing the Passover meal with His closest followers. He takes the cup of wine and says: This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. Here is mercy indeed. God stoops, stoops low. And becomes Himself, in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, the sacrifice. Once again wrath is not forgotten. Once again the first-born, in fact all God's people are free to know God's mercy. At the price of the blood of God the Son. As He poured out His blood on that cross, Jesus bore the wrath of God against our sin. Wrath has not been forgotten. It has turned from us to one who takes our place. There has been a sacrifice. We receive only mercy.

As we close, let's consider where we stand.
What shall we make of Mary's song? She has sung of the mercy of the God who stoops. He stoops low to the hungry, the humble, those who fear God. How can we know this mercy? The wrong answer is this: be a Mary. Or be humble. Or be hungry. Or fear God. This song is not about what we do or are. It is about who God is and what He has done. Mary is not a role model here to strive to emulate. Mary is not a role model –she is a realist. We are not to look up to her, put her on a pedestal. Rather, we are to realise she stands right here with us. Because before this Holy and Merciful God, we don't need to become hungry, or become humble. We are of humble state – nothing, insignificant, even sinful. We have no status or anything before God. We are hungry – hungry for mercy, hungry for Him to stoop to us – whether we realise it or not. That's why Jesus put a table in our churches. Whenever we gather around it He testifies to our hunger and His ability to fill us with good things. And we fear God. Oh, we may suppress that truth. But we are all totally dependent on Him every second. His word decides our fate every moment of our lives. One glimpse of His majesty would break us. Mary is not the super spiritual one over there we try to emulate. No, she stands among us, singing. She sings of our true state, that we might recognise it. Her song calls us to sees things as they really are. We are hungry, of humble state, God is to be feared. But supremely she sings of sweet mercy. Of the sweet mercy that stoops low to lift us. Of the sweet mercy that invites us to His table to fill us. Of the sweet mercy that never fails those who fear Him. Of the sweet mercy that was born among us and died for us.

A heart for the lost?

It's obvious to most careful Bible readers that the parables of Luke 15 - the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost Son (often called "prodigal") - are spoken to critical Pharisees(v1).
So in the Lost Son, the key contrast is between the father and the elder son, for these two characters represent the main protagonists in the debate: namely, the One Jesus represents, His Father, and the Pharisees.
The father has a passionate heart for his lost son; so God also is passionately concerned for the lost. The elder son cares nothing for the lost, only for advantage won by his loyalty; so to the Pharisee cared nothing for the lost, but only that his piety bring spiritual privilege.
I was left wondering, as I finished reading these familiar words, two things:
1. When will I actually finish mining the treasure of Scripture?
2. When will I have a heart so concerned for the lost that I am not a Pharisee?

The Magnificat

Three posts on day one! Well, there is some material I've pondered on making public for a while, and since my wife has blogged for a few days, I've decided to use this method to publish it. I'll slow down once I've emptied the back catalogue, but until then, hang on to your hat, my friend!

The books that matter most to you are the ones you read at the right time. I read Luther's Magnificat at the right time, in Summer 2005. My close friends will know the events of the time; suffice it in public to say that people with a certain authority were making judgements about me I felt unfair and quite unkind. Luther was my comfort. I read and reflected on the Magnificat (Mary's Song in Luke 1 for the uninitiated) quite a bit. Here's the short sermon and the song that came out of those reflections. I'll put the song first, as I think it's the more important, more profound and more personal reflection. The sermon is short and pitched evangelistically.

A song meditating on Luther's use of the word “Nichtigkeit” in his Magnificat.

When my future plans all seem to stall,

I thought I could run but I stumble and fall.

When my best efforts prove nothing at all,

My progress in life slows to a crawl,

Teach me, O Lord, Mary's song:

Magnify, O my soul, | glorify the Lord!

My spirit, rejoice! | in God my Saviour!

He has been mindful | of His lowly servant,

Holy is His Name!

His mercy extends| to all who fear Him!

His arm has performed | mighty deeds!

He's humbled the rich, | lifted up the humble!

Israel's Faithful One!

When my heart is full, overwhelmed with self-doubt,

When my life's going nowhere and there's no way out,

Afraid of the future, regretting the past,

When the progress I make never seems to last,

Teach me, O Lord, Mary's song:

Magnify, O my soul, | glorify the Lord! ...

In weakness,

In poverty,

In meekness,

And humility,

You chose her,

Though she was nothing at all,

For you raise the humble and the proud, they fall.

Teach me, O Lord, Mary's song:

Magnify, O my soul, | glorify the Lord! ...

Not in our strength or in the things we take pride,

But with a thorn in the flesh and a spear in the side,

God does not use the great and the good,

But those who cling to Calvary's wood,

For they have learnt Mary's song:

Magnify, O my soul, | glorify the Lord! ...

The Magnificat – A Carol Service Sermon

I was twenty-three or twenty-four when I finally figured out Hark the Herald Angels Sing. I really struggled to grasp it beforehand. There's that line: veiled in flesh the Godhead see. I had lots of problems with that. What's a Godhead – does it look like a human head? Well, when I became a Christian in my late teens, I found out about the Trinity. That problem solved. But then there was the word “see” at the end. Surely we should sing, “veiled in flesh the Godhead sees”.Now it's got flesh, the Godhead can see, I thought. Finally, as I say, about four, five years ago, I figured it out. The word “see” is the writer's encouragement to us. He means “see God come in human flesh among us.” You see, the meaning of the carol had been lost on me all those years. I wonder the same is true for us when it comes to Luke 1 verses 46-55.

These famous verses have come to be known as the Magnificat. For hundreds of years, millions of people have used these words. I don't doubt there are people here who can recite these words in Latin, German and English not for reasons of Christian commitment but because they love choral music. But I wonder if the meaning has been lost on us. These words flowed from a heart full of praise. Mary had met with God, experienced God. And it moved her. I've three point to clarify the meaning of the Magnificat. The first is this:

Mary's own experience

That where her praise begins. She herself has met with God, and she cannot hold it in: My soul glorifies the Lord

And my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour

For He has been mindful of the humble state of His servant.

From now on all generations will call me blessed,

For the Mighty One has done great things for me -

Holy is His Name.

She cannot believe He's taken an interest in her. The reason comes in verse 48.

She speaks of the humble state of His servant. She was nothing. She was probably still a teenager. She lived in a village at the wrong end of the country, a total backwater. She wasn't the poorest of the poor – she was engaged to the carpenter. But she wasn't anything special either. We all know that Mary's husband was called Joseph. But who knew his surname – that he was Joe Ordinary? God has stepped into her very ordinary life. She has absolutely no sense of deserving that. The language in that sentence is drawn from Psalm 113. That psalm speaks of God looking down on the earth from beyond creation's heights. And who does He see? The poor and needy, those who are nothing in the world's eyes. Mary puts herself alongside them, at the bottom of the pile, nothing special. But for reasons that she cannot grasp, God saw her. For reasons hidden in the heart of God, He has done great things for her, calling her to Himself, to be His special servant. So she knows herself blessed – given happiness and benefits she did not earn. And she cries out that His Name is holy – that there is none like Him. Mary's experience is model Christian experience. To be a Christian involves having a similar experience. Firstly, there is the realisation of our humble state. A Christian has realised they deserve nothing from God, that they're at the bottom of the pile. Perhaps not socially or economically, but certainly spiritually. True faith begins with the sense of being spiritually bankrupt. We know we owe God so much, having lived in His world without a word of thanks, showing His good laws disrespect, and turning our backs on Him. Secondly, there is the overwhelming sense of God having seen us. What that means is a sense of God's mercy, that He is willing to take our part even though we rejected Him. He doesn't look away, but in mercy is concerned for us. Finally, there is a grasp of the mighty things He has done for us. Supremely, He has sent Jesus into this world. That's what we celebrate at Christmas. Jesus is the great thing that God has done for everyone. Because Jesus has shown us fully what God is like. And because Jesus has paid in full the debt spiritually bankrupt people owe to God. He paid the price of ingratitude, disrespect and outright rebellion towards God when He died on the cross. And a debt, once paid, cannot again be demanded. God, in His mercy, has sent His Son to pay my debt, so I may come back to Him.

My soul glorifies the Lord

And my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour

But there's a second thing Mary sings about.

The world's split experience.

Mary knows her experience is not unique. But she also knows it is not universal. In verses 50 to 53, we meet three paired groups. In each pair, there is a split experience of God. One group shares Mary's experience, the other doesn't.

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 inmost thought.

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.

Did you spot the pairs? There were those who fear Him, and those proud in their inmost thoughts. There were those of humble estate, like Mary, and the rulers. There were those hungry, and the rich. Mercy, deliverance and satisfaction was for the one. For the other, scattering, bringing down and denial. Let's look at each pair in turn.

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 inmost thought.

What does it mean to fear God? Well, the opposite is pride in our inmost thoughts. To fear God is to put Him on the throne in our lives. Many today fear money. After all, money provides security today and a pension tomorrow. If you let financial concerns set your priorities, everything else will sort itself out. Jesus says Seek first God's kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. If we are proud in our inmost thoughts, we trust in our own ideas, schemes, and wisdom. Self-reliance, self-confidence and self-determination characterise us. A great Bible proverb says Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Those who look to Him in this spirit of fear – as we have seen, of trust, dependence, reliance, letting Him take first place in our lives – will find Him merciful. But those who go their own way will ultimately find themselves and their plans scattered.

He has brought down rulers from their thrones, but has lifted up the humble.

The rulers are those who would fix their own and others place in this world. Whether of national or merely household authority, they choose their own fate and that of others. But finally, our fate lies in God's hands. Those who try to choose their own fate will find their self-exaltation exposed. But the humble look to God. And He will exalt them – exalt them to a high place in His Son's Kingdom. If we are those determined to choose our place in the world, we'll lose it. But those who look to God to give them a place in the new world His Son is establishing will find that He grants them that place.

He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.

The rich are those who seek to provide for themselves. They look to their own wealth or business acumen find their fill. They seek to be independent of all, even God. And one day, He will enforce that independence and send them away empty. The hungry come to Him with their begging bowl, whether spiritual or physical. They are looking to His mercy alone, utterly dependent and reliant on Him, yet trusting Him to provide. He fills them. Do you see how actually each pair is very similar. There are those who humbly, trustingly, in dependence and reliance look to God. There are those who proudly look to themselves, exalt self, rely on what they have. The real issue is therefore, who is on the throne? Who is King in my life? Will I let God be my wisdom, let Him exalt or humble me, let Him satisify me? Or must I be in charge, with my own wisdom, my own power, my own riches? The world's experience of God will be a split one. For some it will be mercy and satisfaction – those who will have God as God. For others it will be scattering and emptiness – those who won't. But our final point is good news:

Israel's open experience

Mary finishes this way:

He has helped His servant Israel, remembering to be merciful

To Abraham and his descendants for ever

Even as He said to our fathers.

You see that word merciful again? Mary cannot get away from it. Like Mary's, Israel's experience is one of mercy. God's remembered to be merciful. That just means He's being Himself. He's being merciful. And it's working out in the experience of help. Psalm 103 verses 10-12 portray that mercy at work:

God does not treat us as our sins deserve

Or repay us according to our iniquities.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

So great is His love for those who fear Him.

As far as the east is from the west,

So far has He taken our sins from us.

These verses ultimately speak of Jesus' death. We are not repaid as our sins deserve. Jesus was. Sin is the inner pride and outward self-reliance that keeps people from God. It's that turning from God that means the world has a split experience of God. Jesus paid the price of that turning from God in His death. There He took our sins as far from us as they can be taken. The result: we may go free before God. That's the experience of God's people. That's the help He offers them. It's an experience of mercy. I called it an open experience. Why? The reason is somewhat hidden in the English, but very clear in Luke's own words. These final words tell us God helps Israel for the sake of Abraham and his children. Isn't Luke just repeating Himself? Aren't the people of Israel the people descended from Abraham? Well, yes. But also no. The Old Testament again and again looks forward to a day when Abraham's children will be a larger group than just Israel. There will be people who are children of Abraham by faith. That could be anyone. Anyone who trusts in God's promises. Anyone who like Mary will accept their lowliness, who like Israel will receive God's help, who will turn to Jesus. The experience of God's mercy is an open one. It is open to anyone. Mary was so taken by it she sang this song. I wonder where this mercy finds us?