At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!”
And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me — holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers.”

Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.

Luke 1:39-56

This story is about…

• Mary’s cross-country trip, to find …
• a leaping baby in the tummy of a spirit-filled Elizabeth, who gives Mary…
• confirmation of God’s plan, which inspires Mary to sing…
• one of the greatest songs ever

the journey/something about Mary: after hearing the angel Gabriel tell her that she had been chosen to bear the savior, and how her kinswoman Elizabeth was also pregnant, Mary got moving. She had to see Elizabeth.

The journey from Nazareth to Zechariah and Elizabeth’s home in Ein Karem near Jerusalem was about 120 miles. Whether on foot or beast, that is one long trip, the kind of trip only made once or twice a year for religious holidays.

That Mary made this major of a move tells us something about her reaction to the news of Jesus’ coming. She was no doubt trying to make human sense out of a divine moment, and because Gabriel had connected Mary’s pregancy with Elizabeth’s, Elizabeth became the person Mary could talk with to help her understand God’s plan.

the jumping bean baby:

Elizabeth was six-plus months pregnant when Mary arrived. The little preacher inside of Elizabeth got his first inspired moment when Mary gave John’s mom a hug. Unable to shout “Alleluia,” the mini-Baptist worked up an extraordinary kick, a pre-natal leap of faith which made its way into the Bible.

John’s life calling, even from before his birth, was to give glory to Jesus. The life calling of JBap (academic abbreviation for John the Baptist) was to prepare people for Jesus; to point Jesus out as the one to follow. His very early ministry to Mary was to kick hard inside Elizabeth, and through Elizabeth’s response to confirm Mary’s calling to be the savior’s Mom.

the confirmation:

When Elizabeth felt John’s kick, she immediately felt the Spirit’s presence on her. In the Spirit she says Mary is blessed, favored by God. Amazingly, Elizabeth calls Mary “the mother of my Lord.”

How does it happen that a pregnant mom receives a visit from a relative, feels her baby kick inside her, then names her visiting kinswoman “the mother of my Lord?”

All by God’s Spirit. As I read today’s text, what strikes me is not so much Mary or Elizabeth, but God’s Spirit orchestrating everything. There are sections of narrative in scripture that seem particularly heavy with the Spirit’s sovereign work; to name three – the birth of Jesus, the events leading up to his death, and the early and middle chapters of Acts.

Imagine being in the thick of these events. Luke’s telling of nativity stories helps us to feel like “flies on the wall,” observing people to be sure, but what Luke does in his retelling is to highlight the Spirit’s sovereign leadership.

the song: What are some of your favorite songs? Mary’s song in Luke doesn’t come with a soundtrack, but as we read it we hear sounds from an even more ancient past – echoes of Hannah, who prayed and wept before God in her old age because she wanted children but had none. Eli the priest blessed Hannah for her faithfulness, and then we read in 1 Samuel that God remembered her. After her new baby Samuel was weaned, Hannah gave thanks:

“My heart rejoices in the LORD; in the LORD my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance. “There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. “Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the LORD is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed. “The bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength. Those who were full hire themselves out for food, but those who were hungry hunger no more. She who was barren has borne seven children, but she who has had many sons pines away. “The LORD brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up. The LORD sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor. “For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s; upon them he has set the world. He will guard the feet of his saints, but the wicked will be silenced in darkness. “It is not by strength that one prevails; those who oppose the LORD will be shattered. He will thunder against them from heaven; the LORD will judge the ends of the earth. “He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.”

1 Samuel 2:1-10

Now read Mary’s song again:

“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me — holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers.”

What I hear in Mary’s song is something like this:

Hannah’s song + the grace of Jesus = Mary’s song

The message is similar: God is sovereign and mighty to save. But Mary sings more of God’s gracious and personal help.  Mighty God has come near to Mary, and what she senses is a saving God, but salvation is not just for her. Through Mary’s child the mercy she knows will extend to generations, even to us.

In Luke’s gospel there is a big emphasis on the great reversal; the “have-everythings” are brought down a notch because they really do not have everything. The One Who Is Everything has come to bless the “have-nothings”, the mighty and lowly, the humble, those with no claim to fame; the ordinary. People like Mary, like me, like you.

 

run to Sunday!