Tag: Mary

Red Letter Year: 6/18

Luke 1:39-56

39 A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town 40 where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. 41 At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

42 Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. 43 Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? 44 When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. 45 You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.”

46 Mary responded, “Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.

47 How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!

48 For he took notice of his lowly servant girl, and from now on all generations will call me blessed.

49 For the Mighty One is holy, and he has done great things for me.

50 He shows mercy from generation to generation to all who fear him.

51 His mighty arm has done tremendous things! He has scattered the proud and haughty ones.

52 He has brought down princes from their thrones and exalted the humble.

53 He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away with empty hands.

54 He has helped his servant Israel and remembered to be merciful.

55 For he made this promise to our ancestors, to Abraham and his children forever.”

56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back to her own home.

Comments

Mary uses some strong language in her worship song. God’s mighty arm has scattered the proud and haughty. God has knocked over thrones and those who sit on them. God has emptied the bank accounts of the rich. God has shown mercy to the lowly. God has exalted the humble. God has given good things to those who had nothing. Sounds like a Robin Hood story. Sounds like the messianic expectations that Jesus refused to meet in Matthew. But it should also make you think of the Temple clearing we read recently (and a number of Psalms). Luke highlights Mary’s song at the very beginning of his Gospel, not to present misinformed messianic expectations, but to tell us at the very outset that this is what his Gospel is about – that this is an essential part of the kingdom Jesus inaugurates. Matthew told us the “poor in spirit” were blessed. Luke alters that to say the poor are blessed. This does not necessarily contradict Matthew, but it adds an important dimension to the overall Gospel of Jesus Christ that these four accounts together give us. Luke wants us to know that going in, he wants to put us on alert to be looking for this as we read. Mary’s worship song serves as Luke’s thesis statement.

The New Living Translation (NLT)Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale HousePublishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Red Letter Year: 6/17

Luke 1:26-38

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, 27 to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. 28 Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!”

29 Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. 30 “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”

34 Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”

35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. 36 What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. 37 For nothing is impossible with God.”

38 Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.

Comments

“Good morning! You are beautiful with God’s beauty, beautiful inside and out! God be with you.” That is how Gabriel greets Mary in Eugene Peterson’s The Message. She has found favor with God, not because of any measure her world would use. She is too young, too female, too poor, too powerless for the world to honor. But she is highly esteemed by God. We will read this week about another angelic birth announcement, about John the Baptist. That one will be given to his father Zechariah, who enjoys more status for his age, gender, position. But the angel does not greet him with such lofty admiration and his doubtful response earns him several months of being mute. By contrast, Mary responds in faith and obedience, confirming the praise the angel has given her.

We can learn from Mary here. The beauty of God potentially exists in each of us. God wants to birth wonderful, amazing, confounding things in each of our lives. All that stands between us and seeing the beauty of God birthed in our lives is our willingness to say with Mary: “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” Say that today and mean it and watch the beauty of God unfold in your life.

The New Living Translation (NLT)Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale HousePublishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.