December 21, 2003

Mindekirken Dec.21,2003
Pastor Jens Arne Dale

Luke 1.39-55

Today we get to hear about the women around Jesus. Mary has recently had a visit by the angel Gabriel and got to know that she will be the mother of Jesus. If she had lived in Minneapolis, the trip she made would have been like going to Duluth. She went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, the text says.

Elisabeth, to whom she was related, lived there. I guess Mary must have been very proud and joyful after the meeting with the angel Gabriel. She just had to tell what had happened to her. And nobody was closer to her now than Elisabeth, because the angel had said that she also conceived a son. That was a miracle by God, because Elisabeth was far too old to have a baby.

It’s not uncommon that cousins are the same age. Between Mary’s and Elisabeth’s sons, there would be six months difference. We get a very joyful picture of the meeting between the two relatives who are both expecting. Do you remember who was the son of Elisabeth? It was John the Baptist.

As Elisabeth saw Mary, the Baptist gave his mother a kick under her ribb, as if he also wanted to greet Jesus. Later on, his entire life would be concerned with pointing at Jesus and telling others who he was.

Elisabeth was filled with The Holy Spirit. She would also recognize the life Mary carried under her heart. "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb." Notice the great respect with which she speaks to Mary, even though Mary was only a teenager. "And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?"

In other words, Elisabeth calls the unborn life in Mary’s womb "My Lord." At this point, the physical condition of Jesus would be what we call an embryo, a fertilized egg. But Elisabeth calls it "My Lord." Such an acknowledgement of unborn life is worth considering for instance for the one who is faced with the difficult choice of having an abortion or not.

Jesus was vulnerable. God is vulnerable. This is about no less than the creator borrowing the biological and genetically heritage of Mary, he became flesh and blood as we are. Mary carries in her womb the one who carries the world in his hand. Her breast will feed him who nourishes all things. With her hands, she will protect he who holds his protecting hand over every one of us. Mary will bring up he who blesses our going out and coming in now and forever.

No wonder that Mary sings: "Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed…" In the Christian tradition Mary has been called teotokos, the one who gives birth to God. She has been exalted and worshiped, far beyond what the Bible gives us reason to do. Mary is the totally surprising choice of God.

Would a teenaged girl be worthy of being used to bring God into this world? The words of Paul might be applied to Mary: "God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God. "1 Cor1.29-29

And this is the nucleus of this wonderful text. Mary praises the Lord, not herself. She is filled with joy and gratitude for the grace which is shown her. Mary’s Song of Praise is a poetic and beautiful description of God as savior and liberator.

It has been strange to work on this text the same week as the news has been dominated by the capture of Saddam Hussein. TV has shown pictures of the once so mighty ruler of Baghdad, exhausted, humiliated and robbed of dignity and previous power. In a TV interview an Iraqi school boy said: "We are happy that he is caught, because he took all our food. We had to starve and he took all our money."

Mary’s Song of Praise speaks about revenge over tyrants. "He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty." V.53. The text does not describe Georg Bush or Paul Bremer and their effort to create a democratic Iraq. But it’s hard to avoid associating when it’s written: "He brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly." V.52.

God is on the side of the poor and hungry. God brings down the arrogant who trust their own strength. God removes the conceited rulers. Our poor and suppressed brothers and sisters in Latin America have for decades read Mary’s Song of Praise as a message of political and social liberation.

Here are lots of explosives for the one who would like to have a revolution. Famine, poverty, suffering, humiliation and depression are the condition of far too many people. Mary sings that God will reverse all this, even out and bring social injustice to an end.

There is a strong focus today on the economy, which is supposed to pick up. But increased private consumption, which in a lot of cases would mean wasting, is not an ethical value in itself. We hear about cuts in public budgets, but Mary’s Song of Praise reminds us that we shouldn’t forget the weakest groups when such cuts are made. Mary’s Song of Praise sees the world from beneath and up.

It’s words of help for the homeless, those who struggle with sickness and poverty, people who are involved in drugs and criminality. God is on their side. Do I exaggerate now? Doesn’t God have a limit by the self-inflicted suffering? We suppose God would help those who are victim to evil things. But does God help the ones who destroy their own lives by for instance drugs and criminality? The gospel gives us a very clear answer to this: God does not set the limit by the self-inflicted suffering. His salvation is aimed at the ones, or let’s say us, who are responsible ourselves for the impossible situation in which we are living.

Mary’s Song of Praise describes the old promise which is fulfilled. God had promised Abraham and his descendants mercy forever. Mercy means grace. The love of God is for the ones who have not deserved it. Jesus said: "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners." Mark 2.17. We are also included in the promise to Abraham: "In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." Gen 12.4 God gives us grace. The child in Mary’s womb witnesses that God is faithful. We are not forgotten by him.

Glory be to God, the Father, Son and The Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen.

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