Mary's Song/Zechariah's Song
Version: RSV
Luke 1:46-56
46. And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, 47. and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48. for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; 49. for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50. And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation. 51. He has shown strength with his arm, he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts, 52. he has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree; 53. he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away. 54. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55. as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity for ever." 56. And Mary remained with her[Elizabeth] about three months, and returned to her home.
Luke 1:67-79
67. And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying, 68. "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people, 69. and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, 70. as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 71. that we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us; 72. to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant, 73. the oath which he swore to our father Abraham, 74. to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 75. in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life. 76. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77. to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, 78. through the tender mercy of our God, when the day shall dawn upon us from on high 79. to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."
I don’t really know why both of these songs attracted me this morning—in a way they don’t seem to go together. The first thing that is so interesting is the polar opposites of Mary and Zechariah (John the Baptist’s father). Zechariah and Elizabeth are “old” and past the age when couples had children – God loves to do that doesn’t He!? And Mary, just entering puberty. One the mother of God, one the Father of John the Baptist.
Even before his birth, John leapt within Elizabeth at the sound of Mary’s voice. The expectation of birth, and of the coming of the Savior tied in together in this story. Mary’s obedience. Her faith without proof. Zechariah’s joy and belief—but with a sign. Both were faithful and obedient but one needed a bit more “help.” So did God choose these people because of their faithfulness, or did they become faithful after the Holy Spirit revealed God’s will to them? Or is this like the discussion about the chicken and the egg?
Had he been a typical, ordinary human, Zechariah might have gotten a bit competitive – why was he to be the father of John – a prophet and the announcer of the coming of Jesus? Why couldn’t his son be the Messiah?! But he didn’t ask that—nor apparently even question. He was so overjoyed to father a child—and one long promised in the Old Testament at that! Not the Messiah, but His messenger—baptizer of the Christ; cousin of the Son of God; connected through the millennia as descendents of David—recipients of and fulfilled testimony of the prophets.
God’s will and plan was all these two incredible people needed to know. Not why. Not how. Not why now? God’s plan, God’s timing, God’s will. It was enough and more than enough. They were just excited at the possibilities! And the opportunities!
It’s so easy to lose that sense of expectation in our lives today. We get up, go to work, or run our errands; come home; cook; clean; drop the kids off at sports practice; run up to a meeting at church, or in the community; run, run, run. No sense of excitement or expectation—just the same old drill, day after day, after day. No promise of a Messiah—or even of His messenger entering our lives in this day and time! But we have something even better. We have the fulfilled promise! He is Risen! He is Risen indeed! That is how we rekindle the expectation and excitement at being Christians! We remember as we run, run, run, that He walked among us; he ate and drank; laughed and cried; lived and died; just like us. But then something unexpected happened—or was it? He arose! And that is the only joy we need! The only excitement! The only promise! He is risen!
I hope you’ll spend your day in excitement and expectation because of your heritage—a child of God and brother of sister of the Risen Christ!
Mary
