Saturday, December 14, 2013

Mary's Great Reversal

            In her book, Homespun Memories from the Heart, Karen Ehman recalls reading a Christmas story to her children.  When she had finished the story, her son, Mitchell, asked her “to read him a story from the Bible about the other Jesus.”

            “‘What other Jesus?’” she asked. 

            “‘Not baby Jesus,’ he replied.  ‘Big Jesus, who died on the cross.’” 

            Karen Ehman realized that in her young son’s mind there were actually two people named, Jesus.  She continues by observing, “We can’t have one part of the story without the other.  We can never forget that the hand-hewn manger one day became a rugged cross.  Nor can we peer lovingly into that same manger without looking to the cross.”[i]

            This weekend, we continue our preparation for Christmas by reading about and reflecting on Mary, the mother of Jesus.  On Saturday evening, I will be preaching on Mary’s “song,” from Luke 1: 46-55.  Mary’s song is one of both praise and prophecy.

            The passage begins with Mary giving thanks for being chosen as the woman who will give birth to the Messiah.  Mary says, “‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.  Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed…”(verses 47-48).

            Mary’s song is also one of prophecy, as she looks ahead to Jesus’ life and ministry.  Later in her song, Mary proclaims a time of “great reversal” in society, brought about by Jesus the Messiah:

            “He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly;
             He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.”
                                                                                                      (verses 52-53)

            During the Christmas season, as we focus on the baby Jesus, it is easy to ignore or dismiss the prophetic vision contained in Mary’s Song.  Yet, if we are Christians of genuine faith, then we must allow our lives to be transformed by the other Jesus who died on the cross.  This transformation includes taking seriously Mary’s prophetic vision and allowing it to change our outlook and our lives. 

            We live in a society that has vast discrepancies in income and wealth.  Earlier this week, Robinson Canó, the baseball player, signed a new contract valued at $240 million.  Yet, at the same time, 20% of children in our society live below the poverty line.  How can a truly just society tolerate such disparities in resources and opportunities?

            Jesus expects his disciples to join with him as partners in establishing God’s Reign on Earth.  An important part of being a faithful Christian is working for social justice within our society.  Yet, our churches—as our society—are deeply divided politically.  Within my church in Meriden, we have Republicans and Democrats, progressives and conservatives, all worshipping together, side-by-side, in the same pews.  As a result, many pastors are afraid to preach on social justice because they are afraid this topic will divide their congregation—as a result, Mary’s prophetic vision gets overlooked and ignored.

            In my message on Saturday evening, I will suggest that, despite the risks, faithful Christians must work for social justice, but that this doesn’t have to divide congregations.  Rather, than focusing on what divides us, we need to begin with issues where we can agree. For instance, regardless of our political outlook, we can all agree that human trafficking (modern slavery) is wrong, and we can join together to stop this injustice.  Similarly, regardless of our political outlook, we can all agree that every child in our society deserves the basic resources needed to develop their potential in life.

 

If you live in the Meriden-area and do not have a regular church home, please consider attending Meriden United Methodist Church.  We have two worship services each weekend:

Ø  Our contemporary service starts at 6 pm on Saturday evenings.

Ø  Our classic service starts on at 10 am on Sunday mornings.

This Saturday evening, I will be preaching on the “great reversal” in Mary’s Song.  On Sunday morning, our Adult Choir will be performing a Christmas cantata, “Glory to the Newborn King.”

Everyone is welcome and accepted because God loves us all.



[i] Karen Ehman, Homespun Memories from the Heart (Ada, Michigan:  Revell, A Division of Baker Publishing Group, 2005).

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