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December 19, 2012

Prayers of Advent: Mary

Preacher: Pastor Braun Campbell Series: Advent midweek 2012: Prayers of Advent Category: Biblical Scripture: Luke 1:26–1:56

Advent Midweek 3
St. John's Lutheran Church, Alexandria, VA
Luke 1:26-56

“Prayers of Advent: Mary”

So are you ready yet? Christmas is less than a week away. Even so, you’ve got at least 1,500 minutes before it arrives! How are you spending that time? You might have a few things left to do before we celebrate the Nativity of Our Lord – maybe you’ve got more than a few. That’s not surprising, given how our cultures both inside and outside the Church have so much going on in this time leading up to Christmas. Here at St. John’s, our Advent midweek services have looked to the prayers of Advent as part of our preparations. We heard Hannah’s prayer of praise after she returned her son Samuel to the Lord for service in His house. We listened to Isaiah’s cry for the Lord to rend the heavens and come in deliverance for His people. If you’re like me, though, you might have found that you’ve been giving your attention over to other preparations as that great day is drawing closer. It can be hard to recognize what’s really going on as you are rushing around to get things done in advance of the celebration that’s waiting just around the corner.

By contrast, there’s a good bit of recognizing going on in our reading from Luke’s Gospel. After Mary receives God’s universe-changing message that she will bear the holy Son of God, she goes off to visit her relative Elizabeth. And as soon as Elizabeth hears Mary’s greeting, the Holy Spirit causes the baby John in her womb – along with his once-barren mother – to recognize that the Lord has come among them. Mother and son alike are caught up in joy from God as another mother brings God’s presence into their home. Mary responds in turn, recognizing the Mighty One who has made all these amazing things possible. Her song of praise, which we know as the Magnificat, serves as our third and final prayer of Advent as we wait, watch, and prepare for Christ’s coming among us.

Mary’s prayer calls for us to pause and recognize our situation, even as it speaks to what God is doing to and through her. In our midweek services this Advent, we’ve sung the Magnificat in the liturgy of Holden Evening Prayer. Despite the rush of the past few weeks, and especially after last week’s atrocity in Newtown, CT, this song of praise calls our wandering attention back to a God who does not abandon His people. In it, Mary recognizes who God is; the Mighty One who works wonders like giving a child to a woman who was called barren, or – even more astoundingly – to one who is a virgin. His actions are showing the extent of His greatness, magnifying Mary’s understanding of the extent of God’s effort to bring about His purposes for our straying souls. The Lord, the Holy One of Israel, is acting in the midst of the world that continually turns its back on Him. But why is He doing what He’s doing?

Mary’s prayer recognizes that God’s action is showing His mercy and grace. You know that the world is not the way that it is meant to be when violence assaults the innocent. You know that things are not as they ought to be when you rush to spend yourself on the trappings of a holiday but neglect to reflect on the significance of the event it commemorates. Life is broken and turned around. So God acts. He does not give Mary or you or me what we deserve; rather, He acts in love towards us and our broken and turned-around lives. He gives His love, exactly what we do not deserve.

Echoing Hannah’s prayer, the Magnificat points us to how God intervenes and turns situations around. He lifts up the lowly and the broken, pulling down those who once sat proudly and securely in seats of power. The former have no power over the latter – without outside intervention, there’s nothing that they could do to change their circumstances. There’s no hope. But God acts. The Lord alone is mighty to save, as Isaiah proclaimed, and Mary recognizes that God is at work to do just that in her miraculous pregnancy. In her child, Jesus the Messiah, she and all of God’s people will have the fulfillment of the Lord’s promise of Advent, given to Adam and Eve, Abraham, and all His people: He is coming to save, to redeem His creation from the power of sin. While we inherited the curse of sin through our first parents, God will deliver blessing for all people through Mary. She is indeed blessed.

Hear this good news in these remaining days before Christmas: Mary’s blessing is your blessing, for Jesus is coming into the world for you. Mary’s song is your song, for the Holy Spirit has come upon you to bring faith and made you to be God’s own child despite your lowly state. Like John and Elizabeth, like Mary, you get to be in the presence of God your Savior, the Mighty One who saves. This is what you and I get to celebrate today, as we gather in the Lord’s name and His Spirit draws us together. As we sing, we sing along with Mary and all those who have gone before us in the faith, joining in the Magnificat that recognizes who God is, who we are, and how He has acted to save us.

In the 1,500 or so minutes that you have before Christmas arrives, join in the Magnificat and all the songs and prayers of Advent, recognizing that they’re here for you. It’s a great way to get ready!

Amen.

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