Subversive Peace
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Everyone of us are born out of an expectation. Our parents have dreams and desires, hopes and outcomes for us. Whether they come to fruition is another thing. But it doesn’t mean they don’t try. Besides the Cs in Chinese, the lawyers, engineers, architects and accountants. They dream of what’s best for us. What kind of house we will live in. What our spouse would be like. How many children we have. What are their names and the meaning. Does it follow a certain ancestral pattern or not.
WE
And some of us try to fulfill these goals and aspirations all our life. Some of us feel defined, even confined by these expectations. Again, parents mean well. After all, the most important for us for them is to not starve, be safe, and contribute to society. Or for the more ambitious, to climb as high as we can, be as successful as we can be, as fast as we can be.
But here’s a question: what would the mother of God want for her child?
GOD
We are concluding our Advent series today with a futher rewind of the story of Jesus’ birth. We go back to before even John is born, before he came into the wilderness to proclaim repentance of sin through baptism in anticipation for the coming one, Jesus. You may ask, why would we go backwards instead of forwards into the later chapter 3 of Luke. For one thing, the later Luke 3 is a long, albeit, important geneaology of Jesus which traces through King David back to Abraham to Adam. But more importantly, by going back to chapter 1 of Luke, we find Mary’s song, known as the Magnificat which we will explore from verse 46-55. Magnificat simply is the first word in latin, which in English is translated as Magnifies. The Greek sentence also traces this flow: Magnify my soul the Lord, where the verb precedes the subject. This poem reveals much about the heightened anticipation we’ve been talking about throughout this series. And the interaction between Mary and her elder cousin Elizabeth gives us a firsthand account of those closest to Jesus’ birth in an intimate way (mother and aunt) how they see his birth and what story does it write, and what future does it bring. Here’s what we believe:
The Coming Lord Jesus brings great reversal to the future of God’s people.
The Coming Lord Jesus brings great reversal to the future of God’s people.
We begin shortly after Mary heard from the angel she will conceive a child through God’s Holy Spirit who will be the holy Son of God. She accepts this incredible call with the utmost obedience, and heads to the Judea hill country eagerly to also see if what the angel said about Elizabeth, well in her and beyond childbearing years, has also been fulfilled. She enters Zechariah’s house and this is where we pick up the story:
I. Elizabeth cries out a reversal had taken place in Mary and her life (41-45).
I. Elizabeth cries out a reversal had taken place in Mary and her life (41-45).
41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
Mary probably greeted her cousin who would have a noticeable belly with the customary peace or shalom. And Elizabeth felt a leap of joy in her womb. The word leap carries with it a continuous action so we can just imagine Elizabeth is both thrilled (though not as thrilled and estatic as John) and also in great discomfort as her womb rocks to the tune on Mary’s greeting! What is implicit about this is Mary is already carrying the Lord inside of her, which result in like a high five, an acknowledgement in the womb of each other’s presence: the waymaker, and the Way. Then, supernaturally the Spirit fills this encounter with praises and blessing through the lips of Elizabeth who cried out Mary’s unique circumstance:
There are many woman in Israel, and indeed the world, but only one has been chosen to be the Lord Jesus’ mother. He who will bring about the great reversal rest peacefully in her womb. She will no longer be called the peasant virgin, the wife of Joseph in the little town of Bethlehem. She will be called “mother of my Lord.”
Before Jesus does a great reversal in the world, he first does so in the life and status of those closest to him, even before he was born, simply because of who he is. And so Elizabeth blesses mother of her Lord:
44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
The fulfillment would be what was spoken to her by the angelic visit of Gabriel:
30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
And when she acknowledge the impossibility of bearing a child with Joseph prior to marriage:
35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.
37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”
These are what the Lord through Gabriel had spoken to her, that she is favored, and therefore will be blessed. She will bear Jesus, the name of Joshua, God saves. Not just any son, but God’s son. And the promise to King David of an everlasting kingdom will rest on his shoulder. Jacob, who is known as Israel, his house, the twelve tribes which represents the whole of God’s promise to Abraham of land, seed, and blessing will be set in place, and its rule will be forever. The final story is about to unfold. This, through the miraculous conception through the Holy Spirit, fathers a child most holy. A creation not from union between man and woman, but by the possible and mighty power of God.
Having received from Elizabeth that she is blessed to have this prophecy fulfilled, believed, not just in her head, but in her heart and will to be God’s instrument to bring about salvation, Mary steps up and sang a beautiful song. A song which contains two parts, praising and worshipping God. In this song she lays out the expectations of a mother. But not just any mother’s hope. But a mother’s hope lined up with God’s will. What will she hope for her son to become? Not only does Mary sing, Mary interpreted God’s word through Gabriel, and with what she has known from the holy scriptures, skillfully weave together a chorus as a resident theologian, with great wisdom and power; a song of subversive peace.
To let you see just the sheer magnitude of this song, here’s a snippet of all the references each line carries from the holy scriptures:
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We simply won’t have time to go into every verse, but this song blends the promise of prophets and sages, the hope of a Messiah, the launching of a new exodus, and the character of God; his faithfulness and mercy.
The first part of this song, the Magnificat:
II. Mary sings of God’s exalting of her lowly status to bear the Saviour (46-51)
II. Mary sings of God’s exalting of her lowly status to bear the Saviour (46-51)
46 And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
Mary acknowledges the reversal of her state from a nobody to somebody, not because of her, but God sees favour in her and chose her. And therefore in parallel thought her soul and her spirit magnifies and rejoices in the Lord her Savior! Mary wants the Lord to be larger and larger in everyone who hears and celebrates her being a chosen vessel to bear the Lord, though she is unworthy by human account. But all who unworthy will receive mercy because they fear, that is they submit, obey, and trust God. It foreshadows her son being the Son of God yet does not exploit his royalty but grows up in a humble estate and ministers to all in a humble estate; the poor, the blind, the broken, the tax collectors, the children and women.
Right here we find our call to discipleship. Like Mary, we bear not the Christ-child, but God’s spirit through the mercy of the Father in the sacrificial death of his Son Jesus, dwells in us. We must realize who we are. We are chosen instruments of God’s work! We are his beloved children. Let’s pause and rejoice in the very fact we are given a new identity. Those of us who think we are nobody are somebody in the eyes of God, not because who we are, but because of who He is and what he has done in us and for us. That we are counted worthy to be saved and redeemed and equipped to serve the living God! Can you imagine? We think we aren’t accepted. We think we have so many flaws, and so unlovable. We who think we don’t deserve to be loved. We who try so hard to please others to love and accept us. We no longer need to be lost in our human dignity, being the most, the -est, richest, greatest, fastest. God has given us a reversal, from sin to sanctity. From poverty to riches, not in terms of money, but in terms of the fruitful purpose of our lives.
Not only that, all generations will call her blessed because all generations has been waiting for her son to appear, 400 years of silence. And God is about to bring about a new exodus, an new rescue, only not Pharaoh’s grip of his slaves being delivered, but all future Pharaohs, rulers, dictators, despots, those in verse 51 who are proud. Just as in the old Exodus God will dethrone all earthly powers and bring them to ruins, sending devestating plagues and sinking mighty armies, he will rescue his people once again with his arm.
50 And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
Such an swesome and fearful image and recollection of God almighty, the Lord of host foreshadows how it will be done.
Mary now launches into the second part of her song:
III. Mary sings of her people’s destiny through Jesus to rescue his lowly people from the powerful (52-55)
III. Mary sings of her people’s destiny through Jesus to rescue his lowly people from the powerful (52-55)
52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
In a series of reversal, God once again through Mary’s song revealed how this rescue will be accomplished! We already mentioned the dethroning of Pharaohs, rulers, dictators, but in their time, no one is more feared and loathed than those who followed our series, Luke 3:1-2, Tiberius, the reigning Caesar. The Tetrarchs of Herods descendants, all who split up parts of David’s kingdom for their taking, and with Agrippa ever more ambitious to become the King of the Jews again through his own treacherous ways. We have the governor Pontius Pilate, who hated the Jews and their customs, and deliberately entice the religious and common people to anger and madness in profaning the sacred. And the High Priest Annas and Caipahas navigates politically to ensure their strict religious ways are maintained, and with that their power to rule over the people religiously! The list of thrones which need to be toppled goes on and on. Mary sings of a day when the common people, but uncommon in their faith and loyalty to the Lord will be exalted. No, not a reversal of oppressive rule against these elites, lest they now become the proud and rich who needs to be scattered. But God will “level the playing field.” That’s found in verse 53, the rich being rich already have their share, and therefore are not getting more then they need from God. But the hungry, who has nothing, are given good things so as to be like those who have plenty. This also foreshadows her son Our Lord Jesus’ fulfillment in Luke 4 of the Isaiah scroll, where the blind with see, the lame will walk, the imprisoned are set free, and the oppressed are rescued! And finally:
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55 as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
Once again, Mary reminds in her song the purpose of Israel as the Lord’s servant, is not just for Israel, but to be God’s chosen people as God rules in heaven is on earth, their steadfast love and loyalty to their God would draw all the other nations to return to their God. His merciful hand time and time again brought Israel out of sin and wars, overcoming armies larger, more fiercer, and more boastful then them.
3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
or Isaiah, the beginning of the servant songs:
1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my Spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations.
Except we know Israel had failed this mission time and time again, so a servant, chosen by the Lord God almighty, filled with the spirit, shall bring salvation to all the nations.
Mary’s song is her expectation. Her expectation is Jesus her son would be this servant. But what Mary didn’t expect was how this would be accomplished.
From Mary’s song, she knew her son would be destined for great things. But the greatest of the great reversal is how Jesus would fulfill this song. He draw a people to himself, yet they were not armed with weapons of violence but with the power to heal, to forgive, and to exorcise demons. He taught subversive teachings which spoke of an end to the rule of all rulers, yet there was no army, no chariots, not even calling one of the angel host at his disposal. Yet his penetrating words and warnings were enough to reveal the hearts and intentions of rulers they had to destroy him.
And when he brought about great power they were not instruments of killing but signs of the future kingdom and judgment.
He did not fit the picture of the promised warrior Messiah, but fit instead the picture of the sacrificial lamb that would be slain.
Mary sang the song of God’s mighty power and celebrate his salvation, but little did she know it was ultimately the cross where the scores would be settled, not in the battlefield, and her son would be given over to pay the penalty of sin and death and destruction on the cross.
If you were Mary, knowing what you sang, would you have thought of a different outcome?
YOU
Yet precisely this is the reversal even Mary did not anticipate. I love how N.T. Wright puts it:
Luke for Everyone The Magnificat: Mary’s Song of Praise (Luke 1:39–56)
She will lose him for three days when he’s twelve. She will think he’s gone mad when he’s thirty. She will despair completely for a further three days in Jerusalem, as the God she now wildly celebrates seems to have deceived her (that, too, is part of the p 15 same Jewish tradition she draws on in this song). All of us who sing her song should remember these things too. But the moment of triumph will return with Easter and Pentecost, and this time it won’t be taken away.
So how do you respond to a song like that? Because brothers and sisters, if we sing this song, then like Mary, we have enlisted ourselves to bring about subversive peace. We joined in the hope of the prophets and psalmists in wanting for the Lord’s return. But we also will not know what does it mean for us to play our part in His salvation and redemption story. How we may, not through violence, but loving action, not through triumphal boasting, but through humble service, not through kissing up to the powers and influencers, but to trust in being powerless and irrelevant, and maybe for some of us, losts, heartbreaks, betrayals and injustice to bring about Jesus in a world that has grown increasing cold and dark.
WE
Maybe this means for those of us who are parents, we evaluate what our will and wish and aspiration is and does it square with Mary’s for Jesus. No, your children will not be a Saviour. But will he or she grow up to be more like Jesus or more like the American (or Canadian) dream?
For those who are single, or married but without children, what are your hopes, if any, for the next generation? Or think about the expectations that were placed on your by your parents. In what ways can you honour your parents yet ultimately follow the way of Christ, that of being a humble and subversive peacemaker?
For those who are grandparents, do you pray each day for their success and health only, which are important, or do you pray that they would be more godly?
And if God’s will were to be place on your children, or children’s children, even if it means suffering and oppression by the world, would you be willing to let go?
May the song of Mary, this subversive, countercultural, revolutionary song of defiance and reversal be the song you sing to your son or daughter, to yourself, and as a church tonight.
Amen.