Gospel reflection for Advent 4

Luke 1.39-55 (NRSV)

Mary Visits Elizabeth

³⁹ In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, ⁴⁰where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit ⁴²and exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. ⁴³And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? ⁴⁴For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leapt for joy. ⁴⁵And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.’

Mary’s Song of Praise

⁴⁶ And Mary said,
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
⁴⁷   and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
⁴⁸ for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
   Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
⁴⁹ for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
   and holy is his name.
⁵⁰ 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.
⁵² He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
   and lifted up the lowly;
⁵³ he has filled the hungry with good things,
   and sent the rich away empty.
⁵⁴ He has helped his servant Israel,
   in remembrance of his mercy,
⁵⁵ according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
   to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’

When Mary was told the wonderful good news that she would be the mother of the son of God she must have been both delighted and frightened at the same time. This is the sort of thing many people experience – excitement over the prospect of something great that is going to happen but also not a little daunted by the prospect at the same time. In times like this it is good to speak to people whom you know will understand. The only person that would have had any understanding of Mary's situation would have been Elizabeth, because the same angel had given her wonderful news. God's provision for his people is always wonderful. He knows us better than we know ourselves and so knows our every need, even down to the smallest detail. God gave Mary the gift of Elizabeth for support, understanding and companionship. So as soon as it was possible, Mary travelled to visit Elizabeth. This is a beautiful passage of Scripture where we are given the chance to bask in people's joy.

Firstly, let us share in Elizabeth's joy – expressed in verses 39–45. When Mary entered her home and greeted her, the Holy Spirit filled her with joy, the baby moved within her and she exclaimed:

 ... "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord."

Notice the source of Mary's joy – the fact that she believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord. Faith is central in the Christian life. It is faith that saves us as Paul explains in Ephesians 2:8‑9:

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God ‑‑ not the result of works, so that no one may boast.

As Wiersbe explains:

Because Mary believed the Word of God, she experienced the power of God.

God speaks to us today in many ways, but the most important is through his word, the Scriptures and when we accept what he says to us, our faith grows and we know his power and joy in our lives. Paul explains this is in Romans 10:17:

So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.

Mary was delighted to hear Elizabeth's greeting. It confirmed everything for her and so she broke out into one of the most beautiful hymns of praise – what we call the Magnificat. In her hymn of praise, Mary uses passages from the Old Testament, especially the Psalms and the Song of Hannah. Some scholars suggest that this is an indication that these were in fact not the words used by Mary and that they are Luke's. Writing about the Magnificat, the Nunc Dimmitis and other canticles McBride explains:

Most scholars would agree that none of the speakers actually composed the canticles ascribed to them. It would appear that Luke has taken old compositions of Hebrew poetry which proclaimed the saving actions of God, and applied their general sentiments to the specific occasion of the speakers in his Gospel.

But it is all too easy to dismiss things because on the surface our ideas seem to make sense. Mary does not quote directly from the Scriptures. The Scriptures seem to have been so much part of her that she applied them to her particular situation. There is therefore a difference in tone. Morris comments:

Hannah's song is a shout of triumph in the face of her enemies, Mary's a humble contemplation of the mercies of God. ... Mary on her four days' journey to Elizabeth brooded over the story of Hannah and then uttered her own inspired song.

This is something that come out very clearly in all our readings of the Scriptures. The people that God used were people who knew his Word intimately, so intimately that it became almost part of them. There are many examples, not least being the Revelation of John which is almost a perpetual reference to the Old Testament, but one seldom finds a direct quotation – the Scriptures were part of John's experience. They were able to recognise the Word of God because it was part of their experience. Our faith too will grow, we will also be able to hear the voice of God more if we like Mary and others, make the Scriptures an integral part of our daily experience. When God's Word enters our lives we too will know the same joy. Paul explains in Colossians 3:16‑17:

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

 Wiersbe adds:

Mary hid God's Word in her heart and turned it into a song.

I am sure that many of you can also bear witness to the times when passages of Scripture have come to your mind at various times in your lives too.

Mary had a great deal to praise God for – and in her song she articulates many of these things. We share then also in Mary's joy.

Mary rejoiced because God had saved her. Mary was an ordinary sinner like any of us and so she needed also to trust God as her saviour. God had now also blessed her with the privilege of being the earthly Mother of the saviour of the world. God also chooses us for important roles to play in his plan of salvation. Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 1:26‑28 where he writes:

Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are ...

Even though Mary had very little evidence to go on – at least according to the standards of the time – she believed that God had done great things for her. Wiersbe comments:

Because she believed God and yielded to His will, He performed a miracle in her life and used her to bring the saviour into the world.

From thankfulness for what God has done for her, Mary then turns to contemplation on the greatness of God Himself. She concentrates on three important characteristics – Gods power, his holiness and His mercy. She realises that she is insignificant, a very ordinary young woman, but that does not matter because God is at work in and through her and He can do anything. She rejoiced in his holiness because God is worthy of worship apart from the wonderful things he has done and is doing simply because of who He is. And He is merciful so even weak and insignificant sinners have a chance – God can do great things through all who are willing to surrender their lives to him.

Verses 50–53 tell how God has blessed many other people as well – in every generation – and in a sense speaks of how he blesses people today. Mary speaks specifically about three groups whom God particularly cares for – the helpless, the humble and the hungry. Mary saw the Messiah as one who would turn things upside down – the weak would overthrow the mighty and powerful, the humble scattering the proud, insignificant people being exalted, the hungry filled and the rich becoming poor.

The passage ends with Mary reminding us that she could have all this confidence because she knew that God always kept his promises. Verses 54‑56 read:

He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever." And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.

Mary knew her Scriptures and as a result her faith was strengthened. She knew that God had made promises to Abraham and they had been fulfilled and that he had made many other promises and they had all been fulfilled. If we too spend more time with our Scriptures we will also learn more about God and his promises for us and all those who remain faithful to him. J C Ryle comments:

Promises are, in fact, the manna that we should daily drink, as we travel through the wilderness of this world. ... We walk by faith, and this faith leans on promises. ... We shall find one day, like the Virgin Mary, that God keeps His word, and that what he has spoken, so He will in due time perform.

We can know God's joy in our lives when we spend time with Him in His word. When God's word becomes more and more part of our experience, we will hear more from him, our faith will grow, we will know more peace in our lives and we will begin to know life and that in all abundance.