Advent 3 Sermon - The Magnificent Magnificat

The Rev. Peter M. Carey

Advent III Sermon – 19 December 2010

The Magnificent Magnificat

Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Greenwood, VA

In the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia

What are the implications of Emmanuel, God With Us. Is it merely to give us comfort, to make us feel blessed in our present circumstances? Is it merely to affirm our selves as we are? What are the implications of Emmanuel, God with us? Is it merely to to affirm the way that we’ve always done things, the way that we’ve always been, the way that we’ve always seen the world?

I don’t know about you, but when I was younger, I spent a great deal of time thinking about what Jesus would be doing if he returned today. What would he be saying, what would he be doing, where would he be traveling, how would he be communicating? And, more pointedly, what would he be saying to me, what would he be doing around here, what would he be saying about the places where I go, what would he be saying about the things that I love to do, what would he be saying about my life. Have you ever engaged in this line of thought? There is, of course, the bracelet that you can buy, “what would Jesus do” and some claim that if only we do as Jesus would do, we’d be ok. Seems obvious enough, after all. We strive to follow Jesus, so why wouldn’t we try to live a life that is, in essence, in his footsteps. The trouble is, it isn’t so obvious. For one thing, we are not really empowered or called to “be” Jesus – afterall, he is the Son of God – fully human and divine, sent to earth for a somewhat radical and scandalous purpose – to die so that we might live. WWJD? Hmmm. Not sure that is exactly what we are supposed to do. Or is it?

What are the implications of Emmanuel, God with us? Another problem with the WWJD is that Jesus already came, he already lived, and taught, and inspired, and healed, and challenged, and liberated, and loved, and offered himself as a gift, once offered, to heal the fundamental break in the world. A gift or an “oblation, once offered, for the sin of the world.” And so, we are the recipients of that gift. What are the implications of Emmanuel, God with us?

Well, in the song of Mary – the Magnificat, Mary sings and prays a song in which she prays that her soul magnifies the Lord – in Latin – Magnificat. And, how well do we know these words? These words have been set to music, music that can lift us up, that can inspire us to hear these words more deeply. However, the music sometimes can pacify the radical nature of the Magnificat. How well do we know these words? How ready are we to hear them. What are the implications of Emmanuel, God with us?

The Song of Mary Magnificat 
Luke 1:46-55

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,


my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; *


for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.


From this day all generations will call me blessed: *


the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name.


He has mercy on those who fear him *


in every generation.


He has shown the strength of his arm, *


he has scattered the proud in their conceit.


He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, *


and has lifted up the lowly.


He has filled the hungry with good things, *


and the rich he has sent away empty.


He has come to the help of his servant Israel, *


for he has remembered his promise of mercy,


The promise he made to our fathers, *


to Abraham and his children for ever.

The song of Mary – mercy on those who fear God – do we fear God, or the next economic downturn. Do we fear God?

Scattered the proud in their conceit – are we proud, how highly do we think of ourselves. Do we regard others’ opinions at least as possibly valid as ours, do we consider that someone else may have a better idea? Do we consider that we may just be full of it most of the time?

Cast down the mighty from their thrones and lifted up the lowly. Are we at the top of the world’s economic scale? Just how much stuff do we need, and then we need more? Do we give, to we offer ourselves to others, or are others mere stepping stones to greater glory for ourselves.

Filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. Are we hungry or are we rich?  A table grace offers this, “We pray that those who are hungry are fed, and for those who are filled, we pray they hunger for justice.”

What are the implications of Emmanuel, God with us? What would Jesus do? Well, it is hard to know what Jesus would do, if he were to return. However the often-depicted gentle Good Shepherd Jesus often overlooks the fact that a shepherd had to be rather tough and protective. It overlooks the fact that Jesus laid out a program of judgment, in which he consistently predicted that there would be a time of separating the sheep from the goats, the wheat from the tares, the righteous from the unrighteous. What would Jesus do?

To walk the way of Jesus is a road that is a challenging one. To walk the way of Jesus is to walk a road that is a great adventure. All too often, the implications of Emmanuel, God with us, may get us to think that God merely blesses our present reality. We may start to think that no transformation is needed. We may start to believe that no change of heart, or change of behavior is demanded. The way of Jesus is an adventure, in part, because it is both inward and outward. For those of us who are rich, who are filled, proud and without fear of the Lord, we have to go deep – to consider the inner transformation that God is making. We then have to look outward. The implications of Emmanuel, God with us are that the blind see, the poor are given good things, the hungry are filled, the prisoners are set free, and the world is turned upside down so that God’s loving-kindness and God’s loving-justice will prevail.

The Magnificat is a wondrous song of praise, and when set to music is a glorious piece. However, don’t let it fool you into complacency. The implications of Emmanuel, God with us are that we are led into the way of Jesus. The path is one that is not always a walk in the park, and it includes many times of carrying our own cross, taking on the challenge and the adventure of following Jesus and helping to create a world in which the blind see, the hungry are fed, the prisoners are set free, the proud are cast down, and the humble are lifted up. The real question is not “WWJD” but rather, what will we do as we follow Jesus. WWWDAWFJ is not as catchy. What will we do as we follow Jesus?

Annunciation: Magnificat Luke 1:46-55

The Song of Mary Magnificat
Luke 1:46-55
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; *
    for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed: *
    the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him *
    in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm, *
    he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, *
    and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things, *
    and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel, *
    for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers, *
    to Abraham and his children for ever.

Read and pray the Magnificat!

Well, for many people, this Sunday is one in which we can find a way to pray and meditate on the Scriptures in the cozy comfort of our homes.  So, make sure to spend a few moments to worship today, whether you are able to be "at church" or not.  Because "the church" is not merely the place that may or may not be totally snowed in today, rather, "the church" is the people of God...even if we may be scattered physically, even if we are on Facebook (!), even if we are blogging, even if we are reading our Bible, taking care of our loved ones, and playing in the snow, helping those in need, or mourning a loss.

So, today, be the Church, wherever you may be.  A good place to spend some time is to read and reflect on the Magnificat!

But first, the Collect for today:

The Collect for the 4th Sunday of Advent
Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.


The Song of Mary Magnificat
Luke 1:46-55
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; *
    for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed: *
    the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him *
    in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm, *
    he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, *
    and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things, *
    and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel, *
    for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers, *
    to Abraham and his children for ever.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
    as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

My friend Steve at Draughting Theology has found through some online research that the verb tense in the Magnificat is one that does not merely connote the "past," but rather a tense in Greek that has to do with the fact that God did these things in the past, is doing these things now, and will be doing these things always.  So, when you read "He has," this really should be read "He has, and is still doing, and will always be doing..."

I wonder how this way of reading the Magnificat might change the way we hear it, the way we understand it, and the way we live out this prayer.  Because, for sure that one of the most important aspects of Christmas and the Incarnation is not that God became human in Jesus once in the past, but that God has now made the world God's home.  God is no longer merely a distant and transcendent God, but is a God that has become human, and remains an integral and living force in the world.

Have a blessed day!

~The Rev. Peter M. Carey

Bach's Magnificat in D Major

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord

Canticle 15 The Song of Mary Magnificat Luke 1:46-55

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; *
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed: *
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him *
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm, *
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, *
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things, *
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel, *
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers, *
to Abraham and his children for ever.

Have you read this prayer?  Have you heard this prayer sung?  How many times?  This prayer, this "Song of Mary," otherwise known as the Magnificat, has been set to music and is said often in Evensong in a great variety of churches.  I would say, however, that we probably need to visit it again, to attempt to see it with new eyes, to hear it with new ears, and to experience it as if we had never experienced it before.  This Song of Mary is a prayer sung to God with the awareness that God has lifted up the lowly, that God does care about the hungry, that God has remembered his promise of mercy, and that God will remember this promise to the children of Abraham for ever!  This is a song of praise and thanksgiving in awareness of God's glory, and God's compassion for all those in need, all those in turmoil, all those who suffer.  This Song of Mary is a song sung to God by a young woman who has very little materially, and this woman will suffer and will see her son suffer.  This young woman is aware of the sufferings of the world but also has had a great window opened in her awareness of God's and God's love for all God's people. The transformation of the world has begun, and Mary is aware of this illumination, this metamorphosis, this radical change that God is doing in the world.

Have you read this prayer recently?

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,

my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; *

for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed

~The Rev. Peter M. Carey

March 25th - Feast of the Annunciation